Does your bra really fit?

[OakLeaf]

It's been a while (I'm due for some new bras) but I usually just pick two or three bras that I like the looks of, and take a collection back into the fitting room in four combinations of cup and band sizes (32A, 32B, 34A, 34B). Considering I wear anything from XS to L in regular clothing, I don't find the variation in bra sizes unusual.

[Crankin]

GLC, I always wear the pads in the Handful bra, maybe that makes a difference?
It just doesn't feel so constricting, and perhaps covers more of my b00bs than an x small would. I just got tired of the horrible red lines under my chest and across my back from sports bras. My skin is extremely sensitive, even my socks leave lines, and sometimes I even get hives from being irritated, so this works.

[GLC1968]

GLC, I always wear the pads in the Handful bra, maybe that makes a difference?
It just doesn't feel so constricting, and perhaps covers more of my b00bs than an x small would. I just got tired of the horrible red lines under my chest and across my back from sports bras. My skin is extremely sensitive, even my socks leave lines, and sometimes I even get hives from being irritated, so this works.

OK, that does make more sense. Plus, if I was wearing these for low impact stuff, I probably would have chosen the small as well but I wanted more support for running longer distances. Phew! I started really questioning my decision-making skills there for a minute!

[amb]

It's equally hard to find small bras at the stores. There's maybe (1) 32B, if you're lucky. It's hard to find one that has some padding (to round out my somewhat pointy, small breasts) but not adding 2-3 cups sizes. I just don't see the point of that. I had a great Maidenform bra that I loved but of course they stopped making it. We have a high end LLS (SOL - Store of Lingerie) here locally that is supposed to be great for fittings but I just can't bring myself to spend $60-120 on a bra!

And to the other poster who was surprised to be a 32B....I am very small as well but that seems to be the best size for me too.

[Crankin]

The bras I bought were about 40.00. I've spent more. It's worth every penny. Go to a real lingerie store; mine has a huge range of sizes, and will order for you if they don't have it.

[quilts4homeless]

What does everyone do with their old bras? I work with a great group of ladies making quilts for those less fortunate. We use old bras in part of the quilts. All of this talk of getting fitted and getting all new bras got me thinking about what is done with your old ones?

[Artista]

I'm resurrecting this thread to thank Kathi for bringing up this topic. I read the entire thread and related posts with interest, but since I rarely filled out even A and B cups, I was skeptical that I could benefit from a larger cup size.

Boy was I wrong! It turns out that the A and B cups that I had been wearing are set too close together for my shape. I have little tissue toward the center of my chest to fill those closely spaced cups while I had a significant amount of tissue that wasn't covered by the small cups toward the side of my chest. I ended up shrinking the band size significantly and increasing the cup size to C and D, which spread the cups properly for my shape. Now I completely fill the cups, everything is covered properly, and I'm much better supported.

On the topic of stores and fittings, I visited Nordstrom's, an LLS, and Victoria's Secret to shop for my new bras. I'm pretty sure that each of the stores would have tried to put me into larger bands and smaller cup sizes had I let them measure me. Since I went in requesting specific sizes, each store helped fit me into the sizes that I was focused on.

I tried on 8 - 12 bras at Nordstrom's and the LLS. The"mature" staff at both stores tried to convince me that 90% of the bras fit me well enough in spite of the fact that I could identify major fit issues. These women ultimately became impatient with me and kind of gave up.

The much younger women at Victoria's Secret, however, really seemed to understand proper fit and were infinitely patient with me. They probably brought me 25 different styles and sizes until I found two bras that fit properly.

I'll stick with VS from now on, thank you. They have kind and patient staff, a plethora of sizes and styles, and the staff knows their products well. I just won't let me measure me

[barrelgal]

If you are lucky enough to live in a city that has one, I can't reccomend intimacy highly enough. They reccomended the smaller band bigger cup to me and all their bras feel soooooo good. Also buy my sports bras from there. They also will alter you bras for life for free. I had band stretch out and the shortened it for me 2 years after buying for free! Great company to do business with IMO.

Edited to add: I think their full name is intimacy bra fit stylists

[Wasp]

Check out figleaves.com
They have a USA site as well as a UK site. I've ordered many bra's from both websites, and the service is excellent. They have a big selection and cover a wide range of sizes. Elomi is my personal favorite brand. It keeps the girls high, locked and loaded

[meganm]

I used to avoid wearing a bra at all costs when I was in college. The discomfort of the bra was less important than the discomfort of bouncing, so I just dealt with it. There were many days that my bra ended up in my purse or backpack because I couldn't deal with it after a few hours.

All of that changed after I got a fitting and realized I had no idea what I was doing when I went shopping. After getting fitted and realizing that it is possible to find a bra that doesn't make me want to rip it off after an hour, the engineer in me took over and I decided that I wasn't going to settle for discomfort. If my girls are going to be strapped down for 12-14 hours/day in a harness of wires, straps, and hooks, that harness needs to do its job and not annoy me.

I get fitted whenever I feel like I'm not getting support, and I'm now willing to spend a lot of time trying them on. I even have a bra with for days around my period when things are a little more bloated. While I'm a fashionista in all other aspects of my life, when it comes to bras, I'm a functionista. No lace, bows, or decorations for me.

I won't go as far as to say that I'm comfortable or that I like wearing them, I will say that my time spent getting fitted frequently and trying them on has resulted in me being able to tolerate it without constant annoyance.

[Becky]

I've been telling my mother for months that, if her two daughters wear 30" bands, there's no way that she (of similar build) needs a 36" band. She resisted forever but, while doing some other shopping last weekend, I finally persuaded her to try on her actual bra size, not that miserable +4 nonsense. I didn't even bother with a tape measure, just grabbed stuff that was her current band size - 4 and appropriately scaled the cup up. She was thrilled with the fit!

Now I just have to find her some lingerie sales/coupons so that she can start replacing all of those terrible ill-fitting bras!

[Antaresia]

I'm a total bra heathen. My size is....medium, lol.

I was doing some traveling a while ago, and wanted a bra that I could sleep in (for the train)/wash easily/wear for maybe a few days straight if had too. I got a stretchy, one-piece, yoga-bra type thing, and now it's all I wear. I really don't care about looking busty, I'd strap em' down completely if that was comfortable.

It's a bonus that I can throw them in the washing machine, and the straps don't look like bra straps. When I wear a tank top it just looks like I have another tank underneath (I used to hate visible bra straps).

NO MORE UNDERWIRE, FFFFFFFF.

[nuliajuk]

I've been telling my mother for months that, if her two daughters wear 30" bands, there's no way that she (of similar build) needs a 36" band. She resisted forever but, while doing some other shopping last weekend, I finally persuaded her to try on her actual bra size, not that miserable +4 nonsense. I didn't even bother with a tape measure, just grabbed stuff that was her current band size - 4 and appropriately scaled the cup up. She was thrilled with the fit!

Now I just have to find her some lingerie sales/coupons so that she can start replacing all of those terrible ill-fitting bras!

I'd really like to know where that +4" thing came from, because it never worked for me, and if millions of women are walking around in the wrong size, it obviously doesn't work for very many people.
After watching a daytime t.v. show dealing with bra fit (possibly Oprah), I went to a department store and tried on dozens of bras in sizes I wouldn't normally have even considered. Surprise surprise, I was actually a "D" cup, not some unfindable size of an "A" cup as the charts put me in. I couldn't believe the difference.

[Becky]

I'd really like to know where that +4" thing came from, because it never worked for me, and if millions of women are walking around in the wrong size, it obviously doesn't work for very many people.
After watching a daytime t.v. show dealing with bra fit (possibly Oprah), I went to a department store and tried on dozens of bras in sizes I wouldn't normally have even considered. Surprise surprise, I was actually a "D" cup, not some unfindable size of an "A" cup as the charts put me in. I couldn't believe the difference.

I read a really good blog post about the whole +4 thing, and now I can't find it. What I recall is that +4 came from the days when bra materials were very rigid and sizing up was required in order to be able to breathe. If I can find the actual post, I'll share it here. ETA: Found it! http://sophiajenner.wordpress.com/20...y-ill-fitting/. Kathi posted it earlier in this thread.

I spent years thinking that I was a 34 band cuz that's what the fitters and size charts told me. The first 30 band bra that I bought was life changing.