Breast inflation

[lnr]

When I first started buying bras there used to be a formula. Measure under your bust in inches, add 4 if it's even and 5 if it's odd to get an even number, this is your "band size". Measure over the fullest part of the bust in inches, and subtract your band size. If they're the same you're an AA cup, 1 inch bigger = A cup, 2 inches = B cup, 3=C, 4=D, 5=DD for some reason then E and so on. Some of the other letters get doubled too but I forget which.

These days the formula seems to still be in use officially, but in practice you just wear whatever actually fits, and with modern elastic this seems to involve getting a much smaller back size and then adjusting the cup size bigger to compensate.

By the formula I should be wearing a 40A bra (36" underbust, 41" bust - although I measured myself so this may not be perfectly accurate). I'm actually wearing a 36DD. That's quite some difference! But the question then nags me, am I or am I not one of the 80% of women reputed to be wearing the wrong bra size?

Comments

[naath.livejournal.com]

AIUI elastic has become, well, more elastic than it used to be. So for the same tension around the band where you would once have needed to add some ease you now do not. The best advice I've had (by which I mean the advice that got me bras that fit) is to begin with bras with the same band size as your actual measurement (or as close as possible), and to find the correct band before trying to find the correct cup.

A too-tight band will be obviously uncomfortable, so if you find the 36 comfortable it's unlikely to be wrong.

[lnr]

Oh indeed, and my 38s had clearly become too big even on the tightest hooks, so I think on balance it's probably correct. But the charts still say 40A.

[naath.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the charts definately need updating.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Quite probably so.

I suspect that there's been size creep, being the usual conspiracy between wearers and manufacturers.

Given the choice between two bras, all other things being equal, would you prefer to be able to fit the 36B or the 38A? You'd probably go for the 36B. Now, given the choice between the slightly-too-tight-for-you 36B from BraCo and the looser fit 36B from SoftCo, you'll go for the SoftCo. Neither is exactly 36B, one is a 35.5" band with a slightly larger cup, the other a 37" band with a slightly smaller cup, both having the same over-bust measurement.

So BraCo tweaks its sizings too, and has the same as SoftCo, but both are now really a 37AB under the old formula (if such a thing had existed).

Lather, rinse and repeat, and sooner or later you have supposed measurements that are consistent within a brand, but inconsistent with the original formula.

[notinventedhere.livejournal.com]

The new size sounds more right than the formula size!

Have you been to Bravissimo for a fitting? I cannot recommend them highly enough. They work by giving you a load of different sizes until you find one that actually, honestly fits.

Well worth a visit!

[lnr]

I hate them :) Well, their fittings anyway.

Last time I went I ended up in an even *smaller* back size than that (comparatively) and it left red welts. Their method of checking if the back size is correct did not seem to be correctly calibrated for the squishyness of fat women. Perhaps I was unlucky.

[stripey-cat.livejournal.com]

I had someone at M&S do a similar trick: did you know, a violently-wielded bra can actually draw blood? That was when I was a rather skinnier 38AA, and she tried to force me into a 32D. (By the way, I thought for cup size that an A was when your underbust+5 and your full bust matched; if that's an AA then I was on the small side of a AAA back then. That's scary!) I take approximately the old formula size, and find that I still end up with a mark from the band by the end of the day (but if I go up a size then my breasts fall through under the band). Apart from the not being able to bend at the waist thing, corsets are much better engineered!

[lizardc.livejournal.com]

What about Rigby and Pellar (in the Grand Arcade, next to John Lewis on the first floor)? They are _very_ good at fitting by eye, rather than measuring and again look for what actually fits. I went there for my nursing bras and also for my wedding dress bra and they got it spot on both times and took the time to get it right (with no pressure to buy a bra from them, either.

[lnr]

Cool, I might have to go spoil myself with one from them too when I stop losing weight :)

[sphyg.livejournal.com]

These days I usually wear something like a 38D, but I tend to stick to a couple of comfortable old favourites. I should probably go bra shopping and have a fitting while I'm at it.

[ms-cataclysm.livejournal.com]

The "formula" is a fairly rough rule of thumb for converting three dimensional chests into a 1 dimensional measurement. It works best for a traditional style bra worn on a standard pre war bosom (say 30A to 36C) and becomes less accurate as you get further away from that range.

It's meant to give you a starting point for trying on rather than predict the final results.

There is some size creep in some modern bras - the Fantasie Fauve range which was originally made on their old Rigby and Peller moulds is traditionally sized and often comes in almost a full size smaller than the main Fantasie range.

[lnr]

Wouldn't you consider 4 inches difference to be a *bit* far from a starting point for the starting point to be much use?

[monkeyhands.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, the formula has been used by consumers for decades but not by the manufacturers. I think the whole business of adding 4 or 5 is what's caused so many people to be wearing too small a cup size and too large a band size.

We don't add an extra 4 or 5 inches to waist measurements or men's chest measurements or inside leg measurements. Why on earth would we do it for underbust measurements?

My guess is that you're probably wearing the right bra size already. If the front bit sits flat against your chest (not being pushed outwards by teh b00bs) and the band doesn't dig in, then 36DD is probably right, although it might be worth trying a 36E or 36F next time you're shopping.

And as for that statistic about 80% of women wearing the wrong size (http://kategriffin.info/post/bra_lies)...

[lnr]

If it's not used by the manufacturers it's certainly used by the *retailers* - every site I've found with a measure-yourself section in the sizing instructions uses either that formula or one which results in the same band size and one cup size larger (so a 40B rather than a 40A).

Both the 36DD's I've bought do fit in terms of all the indicators of whether a bra fits or not though, or I wouldn't have bought them :)

[monkeyhands.livejournal.com]

If it's not used by the manufacturers it's certainly used by the *retailers* - every site I've found with a measure-yourself section in the sizing instructions uses either that formula or one which results in the same band size and one cup size larger (so a 40B rather than a 40A).

Agreed. Infuriatingly, retailers who ignore the "add 4 or 5" rule tend not to give measure-yourself advice on their sites. They tend to promote their fitting service instead. For example, Bravissimo make a big deal of not using measuring tapes.

bra sizing

[(Anonymous)]

i'm in turmoil trying to fugure out what size i actually am if anyone can help me would be great. i measured under 36" and around is 41" but the charts make me an A but i just bought a 36D and it was too small. i just don't understand it? by the time i add the 4" to the underbust measurement dit just puts it all wrong

Re: bra sizing

[lnr]

I'd go try some on in the shops if I were you, in several different styles, and see what actually fits. If 36" is right then try a DD, if 36 is too small then try a 38D or 38C and adjust from there. Personally I almost never buy bras unless I've tried them on first these days, unless I buy online and know I can easily return in store.