Does your bra really fit?

[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.