how to work out my bra size......help...

full-time-mum

Bargain_Rzl wrote:

I ag
If you get fitted professionally - in a specialist shop such as Bravissimo, Rigby & Peller or an independent fitter, NOT NOT NOT in M&S or a department store - it is rare that you will see them use a tape measure at all. They will assess your size based just on looking at your breasts, and looking at the bra you are currently wearing, and will then go and find you a selection of bras in the size they think you are. These are almost always much bigger in the cup & much smaller in the back than you will come out as on a standard measurement chart.

I've always been measured at M & S and have found them to be very good. They always measure properly and have helped me choose an appropriate style. Maybe it is just down to each individual store.

Also remember that sizing is just a guide and if you change the cup-shape/style then sometimes you need to go down/up a size/cupsize.

A good tip is to choose a size that fits when you do it up on the middle hook, that way, there is room to tighten if the staps give out or you loose a small amount of weight and room to loosen if you put on a bit of weight at that time of the month!!!

full-time-mum

kittiwoz wrote:

I couldn't agree more strongly with Bargain Rzl. I was fitted at M&S when I was about 14 and spent many years wearing the wrong sized bra as a result. .

With the greatest of respect, if you were measured at 14 then stuck with that for years and years, it is hardly surprising that you had problems.

We all change size shape etc as we put on/loose weight, have babies or just develop from teenager to young adult to older.

At 14, I was 34AA, thank god it didn't stay that way. Not overly endowed now but with the correct bra, I now have a cleavage!

Bargain_Rzl

Anyway I'm dying of curiosity - am I the only person who's spent half the afternoon thinking about COOLTRIKERCHICK's boobs? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

C'mon spill the beans, how did it go, CTC? Are you all uplifted and repointed? It looked like a lovely shop on their website - really Old Style in terms of personal attention!

Bargain_Rzl

full-time-mum wrote:

With the greatest of respect, if you were measured at 14 then stuck with that for years and years, it is hardly surprising that you had problems.

That thought did occur to me too, full-time-mum. The boobs are still developing at 14, they don't "settle" till 17 or 18 and even then they change from time to time due to weight gain/loss, pregnancy, other hormonal changes...

Bra specialists recommend a fitting at least once a year.

dianeclaire

Hi CTC,

Hope it went well today, I was always told by a friend who used to be a corsetier (SP?) that you measure under the bust directly, use a mirror to check that tape measure is straight and if it is an even number add 4, if it is odd then add 5, you then measure around the fullest part of your bust and if the difference is 0 then you are AA, 1 you are A and so on, for example,

I measure 33 under bust and 42 across and have been 38D for years, always fitted and that's how I was measured for my wedding dress, recently I went to get fitted as I had lost some weight and found myself between sizes, the shop basically said that it was down to differnet styles of bra as well as makes, I ended up buying 2 more, was was balcony style and was 36C and other was normal type and was 38c

kittiwoz

I didn't change shape much at all between 14 and 17. I lost about 2 or 3lbs and grew maybe 1/2 an inch taller but that's it. My boobs started developing when I was 11 and stopped growing when I was about 14, maybe 15. That's why I went to get a proper fitting then. I certainly didn't change from a 36D to a 32FF. The fit of the bra the woman at M&S put me in didn't change and it always caused me all the problems I listed, they didn't get worse or develop but they did disappear completely when I got a well fitting bra. I know it might sound stupid that I was wearing such a badly fitting bra for years but I didn't know what it was supposed to fit like and being young and not very confident to start with I trusted the fitter. I'm much more confident nowadays and I know my own body so whatever you might think was the cause of the problem, I know you are wrong.

full-time-mum wrote:

They always measure properly

With the greatest respect you cannot measure a bra size properly because it only gives an approximate measurement that way so you need to have a fitting somewhere where they can fit you buy eye and identify fitting problems and good fit. It sounds like in your case the approximation you get by measuring is near enough to give you a good fit but I don't see the point in being fitted by someone who can't identify whether that approximation is good enough or not.

Justie

kittiwoz wrote:

With the greatest respect you cannot measure a bra size properly because it only gives an approximate measurement that way so you need to have a fitting somewhere where they can fit you buy eye and identify fitting problems and good fit. It sounds like in your case the approximation you get by measuring is near enough to give you a good fit but I don't see the point in being fitted by someone who can't identify whether that approximation is good enough or not.

M&S have had a very poor reputation for bra fitting but according to my friend who works in their lingerie department they have had a new training and fitting policy which teaches them to rely much more on their eye and on the fit than on the tape measure - if you go in for a fitting now you're much more likely to be asked what size you're currently wearing and for them to see how that fits you and then make suggestions based on that than to get their tape out and tell you your size - obviously it will depend on the individual as to how good a fitter they are and I know I'd trust the ones with the bigger lingerie departments more than our local one where you might get the lovely if effeminate Kevin serving you (although to my knowledge he's not a trained fitter )

the fit will also depend a lot on the design and brand of bra for instance in La Senza I am a completely different size to anywhere else on the high street and even in M&S I can be 3 different sizes depending on the style.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Bargain_Rzl wrote:

Anyway I'm dying of curiosity - am I the only person who's spent half the afternoon thinking about COOLTRIKERCHICK's boobs? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

i didnt know my boobies would get this attention ...lol.

well what a lovely place..... 3 sales assistants.....

i asked if i could be measured..... and they said they only measure when they do a fitting......

so when she took me to the changing room... she could see i was nervous.. and then i explained how i hadnt worn a bra in ages... so took top off... and anyway cut a long story short she knew how i was feeling as she hadnt long come back to work after a breakdown ...she showed me how to put a bra on properly.......but not being to personal she put my boobs in the right place in the bra...lol.... i tried 4 diff bras on....... and she said try them on again to see which ones felt best..... but as she said.. they will all feel strange.....so she sugested.. that i put it on for a few hours the take it off just to get used to wearing a bra during the day.......the cheapest bra was the one i liked..... so only bought one.....there that was £29. a nice white underwired lacey one........which was size 40C.....

then went shopping for new clothes..... sooooo stressed.... as the tops i liked were way tooooo small.....so ended up buying a black vest top...... a grey t-shirt with rock angel on the front.... and a casual karki green blouse.... and a new pair of jeans....... 2 pairs of sloggi knickers... firm control.......;) ..and a black bra..... which was a size 38c which fitted nicely.. that bra was £6.

i bought the black bra..... as i think i will need a white and black bra for the weekend.... but could not afford 2 bras in madamw forner's.... as the black one i tried on there was £59.:eek:

but i will def go back there for my nice underwear in the future..when i was paying.... the 3 sa's were really nice... and was saying its suprising how many women call into the shop.. that havent worn bras for years.. having kids... and spending all their money on them.. and forgetting about themselves.....

so i am offically a size 40C

Bargain_Rzl

Glad you had such a good experience CTC

LJM

i usually go to m&s to be fitted there really good