Does your bra really fit?

[ny biker]

The last time I was measured, the woman at Nordstrom's insisted I'm a 34B and the woman at VS said I was a 36A. But I find both sizes to be too tight. They might seem okay in the fitting room but after about an hour I can't stand them anymore. The woman at Nordstrom's refused to believe that I could not wear a 34 band. The woman at VS was much more understanding, but she didn't have any 38s in small cup sizes (I would need AA and they don't even have A).

Also I can't wear underwires because they dig into the front of my rib cage. Very painful.

I went to a local specialty store and bought a bunch of "spa bras" which are 1-size-fits-most with wide bands and cookies to which provide a little more volume and hide the headlights. They're pretty comfortable, though I get tired of having to position the cookies every time I put them on. They don't provide any support so they wouldn't work for someone who needs a larger cup size.

I also have a some Barely There unpadded bras. They used to be available in 38A, and I have several of those, but a couple of years ago they "improved their sizing" by switching to S-M-L. The large is a little snug in the band but they're cheap and come in fun colors so I bought a bunch a few months ago. They stretch enough to be comfortable on most days. I use Bezi bra discs with them when I'm wearing a t-shirt or thin sweater.

BTW the woman working at the specialty store was great. She understood that the tape measure only gives you a starting point, and somehow she managed to make me feel good about my figure. Whereas the woman at Nordstrom's had me in tears, feeling like a freak.

Also, when I was trying on 36As in VS, it was interesting that some styles came closer to fitting than others. I learned from the saleswoman that the front of the band (between the cups) is supposed to rest against your skin, but one style left a gap which indicated it didn't fit right.

[goldfinch]

One other thing to mention is something I learned from herroom---that when a band feels tight it might not be the band, but the cup size. Too many women are in too small a cup size, maybe in part because the standard department store sizes just don't go up very high, often a D or a DD.

[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.

[Kathi]

Here's a good explanation of how to find your band size. http://www.tomima.com/2011/01/07/fin...bra-band-size/
This is from the HerRoom website, there is lots of information there on bra fitting. The suggestion here is once you find your band size to go up or down a cup size but if your wearing the wrong sized cup going up or down 1 size won't work.

When you look at a bra on the HerRoom site there is a chart that interprets the measurements for you. This is for women D cup and above. For example, I measure 26" around my back and with a good fitting bra 35" across my bust. According to the old standards of bra measurement I add 4" which makes my band size 30". There is a 5" difference between my band size and my cup size putting me in a 30D bra. If I don't add the 4" to the band I'm now a 26" band with a 9" difference. According to the chart I'm now an FF-H cup depending on the brand. This assumes I could find a 26" band which also makes determining my cup size tricky. I used a 28 band when I ordered and the G cup worked.

Thinking I was the 30D or DD my bras stretched out too fast, they rode up the back, my boobs spilled out the sides, the underwires were uncomfortable. Because the band and cups were too small I was getting no support from the band and there was no place for my boobs to go. Besides being uncomfortable the bras gave me a teardrop shape making me look like my grandmother.

Also, my 30D's fit very nicely in between my boobs but they were squishing me together. I thought I was shallow on top and heavy on the bottom but I'm finding this isn't true. If I ran or walked fast I bounced on the top.

The sad thing is I'm in my 60's and have never had a properly fitting bra. There is a web site that shows good and bad fitting bras. If I can find it again I'll post it.

[skhill]

Bras are one thing I really don't like buying on-line, with how many I have to try on to find one that fits. But it's tough to find stores that stock much in my size-- 32A or B (Bs are often too big, As too small). And what's worse is that most everything that small is a padded, uplifting, underwired monstrosity. I see no reason to try to make my bust look bigger, I like being small...

It was so much easier when I was a 38DD....

Crankin, I'll have to try out those Calvin Kleins, thanks for mentioning them.

[Kathi]

I totally understand reluctance to order online. There's no one to help you figure out correct fit, it's frustrating when the bra doesn't fit and return shipment adds to the cost although not paying state taxes balances that out.

However, there is a better selection of bras to try than what you find in the local stores. At least, there is for me.

Since I had no correctly fitting bra to compare to I have bought lots of bras over the years that I should have returned but didn't because I had no idea I could get a better fit. I was using an online calculator as my guide. Even if I had gone to stores I would have looked for the wrong size or the clerk would try to put me in a 32c bra that "runs small".

There's lots of good online information (some good videos) on how a bra should fit. Most of it is coming out of the UK. HerRoom is also a good source.

I understand your frustration with the styles of bras. I'm limited to balcony and plunge bras. They are beautiful colors and prints, very few white or beige, which I need sometimes. I have little use for plunge bras as I rarely wear a low cut top. Maybe I'm missing the point about plunge bras.

The other thing I don't get is why "petite" bras start at a 32 band and are only A,B,C cups. I'm as petite as they come and I also need the features of petite bras but I happen to be full busted or "curvy" as the UK girls put it. It seems there is an entire market the bra industry is missing out on.

[goldfinch]

I totally understand reluctance to order online. There's no one to help you figure out correct fit, it's frustrating when the bra doesn't fit and return shipment adds to the cost although not paying state taxes balances that out.

However, there is a better selection of bras to try than what you find in the local stores. At least, there is for me.

Since I had no correctly fitting bra to compare to I have bought lots of bras over the years that I should have returned but didn't because I had no idea I could get a better fit. I was using an online calculator as my guide. Even if I had gone to stores I would have looked for the wrong size or the clerk would try to put me in a 32c bra that "runs small".

There's lots of good online information (some good videos) on how a bra should fit. Most of it is coming out of the UK. HerRoom is also a good source.

I understand your frustration with the styles of bras. I'm limited to balcony and plunge bras. They are beautiful colors and prints, very few white or beige, which I need sometimes. I have little use for plunge bras as I rarely wear a low cut top. Maybe I'm missing the point about plunge bras.

The other thing I don't get is why "petite" bras start at a 32 band and are only A,B,C cups. I'm as petite as they come and I also need the features of petite bras but I happen to be full busted or "curvy" as the UK girls put it. It seems there is an entire market the bra industry is missing out on.

I too found that ordering a whole pile of bras from Herroom to be much easier than dealing with stores. I sent what did not work back and the postage really wasn't that bad.

As another petite person Herroom had me me search for "petite plus" bras which gave me bras that worked on a short torso. The underwires were all balcony and plunge bras. I am finding them surprisingly comfortable even though like you I don't wear low cut tops.

Oddly, my size in a soft cup bra is different than my size in an underwire.

[Irulan]

http://www.barenecessities.com/

This place has a ton of bras also. I shop for bralets, and A bras that don't' have padding.... also very hard to find. I suspect but don't know that they'd be very similar to the other link posted.

[Crankin]

Well, I like my bras with the "microfiber" filler stuff; not the heavy duty padding of yesteryear, but something to hide the headlights and also make me look like I have some breasts! It just helps my clothing look better.
Some of the Calvin Klein bras have underwire, but it's not the underwire of earlier times. I bought one that has it, wore it yesterday and I was comfortable all day. But, the bra I wear most days is very plain. I would recommend anyone with A-B cups to look at the Calvin Klein line. They have a lot of styles. I also bought a V back one for regular wear, not sports.
I wear the "Handful" sports bra for all sports. It is the most comfortable sports bra I have ever worn. I find most to be way too compressive. I decided to size up and bought the small instead of extra small and it's just great. TE carries them and they come in sizes XS-XL.