bra size measurement... help.

Savvy_Sue

I'd just like to know why, if an underwired bra is only essential if you're pretty large, there's such a small choice of NON-underwired bras in smaller cup sizes? Especially small boobs, wide back? :rotfl:

foreversomeday

keelykat wrote: »

Ive also got to get some nursing bras soon, seeing as im due in three weeks time. But i think im going to wait untill ive had baby and am out of hospital-if the breastfeeding doesnt go well i dont want to have wasted money on bras that will be useless. Dont know yet where ill get them from-probably m+s or mothercare as there isnt a lot of choice where i live. I find it a right pain, as since becoming pregnant my boobs have only gone up about one cup size yet my ribs have expanded a lot! meaning ive got a big band size but small cup size if that makes sense? only had smallish boobs to begin with

I think I too will wait until after the birth to be measured - if they measure you before your milk comes in they are only estimating anyway.

You say there is not a lot of choice - does your NCT branch offer a bra fitting service at all? I have heard this is the best way to go as their fitters are specifically trained in fitting maternity and nursing bras whereas M & S are not. Mothercare I found useless at fitting me, the fitter seemed more shy of me than I was of her!

keelykat

foreversomeday wrote: »

I think I too will wait until after the birth to be measured - if they measure you before your milk comes in they are only estimating anyway.

You say there is not a lot of choice - does your NCT branch offer a bra fitting service at all? I have heard this is the best way to go as their fitters are specifically trained in fitting maternity and nursing bras whereas M & S are not. Mothercare I found useless at fitting me, the fitter seemed more shy of me than I was of her!

I dont know of any NCT branches in my area?

continualdiamond

Can someone please advise of my following info. Ok bought a new bra last year and got measured in the shop as a 44GG, went back home to Australia for a holiday and i thought since they're a lot cheaper id buy some more bras. Store assistant saw me and was horrified, she didn't wanna be rude but said straight away she could tell i was wearing the wrong size. I got measured as a 40G and bought 3 bras, all extremely comfortable.

Fast forward a year and those 3 bras are now causing me backache, im not sure if they've shrunk or something in the wash. Bought those bra back extenders but they don't do the trick.

Saw advert this morning for truly yours and have followed the video guide to measuring.

* Back measures as 39.5, i have full length wardrobe mirrors so twirled around to make sure tape was level etc. Video guide tells me thats a 44 back

* It then said because i have gone up 2 back sizes, i go down 2 cup sizes. So i get a 44F

But heres the confusing part, if i follow the written sizing guide i still get the 44 back size, but then im told to measure around my bust which i get 48,my fiancee popped in from work to pick something up so i asked him to check if i had the tape measure level he said yes, so as thats 4 inches difference, the chart then tells me my cup size is DD.

44F v's 44DD

I have 1 bra shop in my town but they charge you £5 to get measured.

HELP.....

IlonaRN

I tend to have problems finding bras that fit, although for the opposite reason to most of you on here!

I'm small-busted, and always have been. I often find that bras are far too big in the cups for me, or if I get a smaller cup size, the cups are too much "in front", and what little I have spills out of the side! I.e. my boobs start under my arms, they don't pop out of my front like grapes! I also find that a lot of bras have straps that don't go short enough. If the strap can be pulled up by 20cm above my shoulders, I can't see how it can be supporting my breasts at all!

Any suggestions as to where to find well-fitting bras that aren't a weird shape would be gratefully received!

At the moment, M&S seem to be the only place that do any that are comfortable (and I can see what most people here think of their bras!). I have been lucky in Debenhams very occasionally, but it's more miss than hit.

(I think I'm around a 32C or 34B, but can't wear a full cup bra, it has to be balcony or half cup, or the cups will be too big!)

foreversomeday

keelykat wrote: »

I dont know of any NCT branches in my area?

http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/home

Type in your postcode and click on "Your Local Branch" then search

HTH

Charlie1986

I'd recommend Bravissimo to anyone! i got measured in La Senza a few months back and was told im a 34 C (there is noway im a 'C'). Went over to Bravissimo, came out with 2 new bra's 30 FF :eek:,i never knew a bra could be so comfy.

mjburton

Bravissimo for me every time! I have always hated getting measured as many have said quite hurtful things when they have measured me then found the size doesn't fit when I try it on.

I thought I was a 32DD for many years but never realised how uncomfortable they were until I got fitted into a 30F at Bravissimo. It was the first time I have ever enjoyed Bra shopping and the first time I've done it without seriously considering a breast reduction.

For the smaller busted I'd suggest an independant bra shop. Bravissimo pointed me in the direction of a good one in Nottingham when we were shopping for my friend whom I've been on at for ages to get measured properly - she was in a 34A instead of the 30A/B which she has now given her a lovely shape and, in the right bra, a cleavage!

I can't emphasise enough how great it is to have a correctly fitting bra or how good Bravissimo are. The service is free and you don't have to buy anything. Find out what size you are in what brand (it will vary) and hunt for it on the internet!

Oh - and Bravissimo don't use tapemeasures - they go by looking at you and judging by what looks like it fits and what you find comfortable. They will also take bras back if they fit you, you wear it for a while then find the fitting doesn't suit you.

Doom_and_Gloom

Charlie1986 wrote: »

I'd recommend Bravissimo to anyone! i got measured in La Senza a few months back and was told im a 34 C (there is noway im a 'C'). Went over to Bravissimo, came out with 2 new bra's 30 FF :eek:,i never knew a bra could be so comfy.

I'm so glad I was not the only one La Senza did this to. There is NO way I was a 34D. I mean NO way :rotfl: . 32E/F is VERY different to a 34D as I'm sure all you are aware. I wonder if they even train them correctly. A wrongly sized bra can wreck havok on a womans life. The back pain alone is stupid (I have back pain still but NOTHING like it was when I was in a bra that was way too small for me ect).

blue_monkey_2

First off I am stunned a shop is charging £5 for fittings. Sorry but this is out of order and for this reason I would not bother with that shop. Is there nothing else around you a bit further out?

To the lady who is 4DD-F - there is only really one way to find out I am afraid and that is to go to a store and try on and find out. It is rare that people fit 'to the tape' and it takes some trying on and wriggling around to find out if it fits. Are you living in Australia now, I was confused? Let me know if so I have someone you can email.

Savvy_sue. Well, your guess is as good as us retailers. A lot of the bras are very plain and either for (sorry) old ladies or teenagers getting their first bra. There are 3 companies making non-wired bras across the ranges and this is Berlei, Lepel and Royce. As a retailer I had terrible trouble getting something for my customers without a wire 3 years ago but there is more of a range now. The other thing to remember is that most smaller busted women seem happy with M&S, or they want enhancing bras to make everything look bigger and these are underwired to give the support. Bravissimo sells bras from a D cup upwards and so they are underwired bras in that store. The problem tends to be that there are so many places such as Primark and New Look selling non-wired bras for a few pounds that a major brand has no need to put something on the market that will not sell and will make a loss whereas making D+ sized bras is a huge business right now that is worldwide. Most of the places in the US that sell D+ sized bras actually import them from the UK because the ranges are so limited or poor in the US.

That being said, when a new lacy non-wired bra came onto the market 3 years ago I bought whole load of them - and in that time I've probably sold 5 or 6 of them. Who knows?? It all comes down to money. I was selling the kind of thing Brastop does and I had some Gossard I was selling for £5. These were bras that had originally retailed at £25+ - but the customers who's daughters were interested the mother would turn and say 'don't bother with that, you can get them in Primark for £4' so my 'cheap' stock would go unsold. Primark coming to the local town kind of killed my face to face business. People see ££, they do not care about quality and are happy to chuck it in the bin after a few wears and go and buy more. The point is that quality lasts and my sister still has the Gossard A cup undies she got from me 2 years later on as she looks after them. And this is the same thing that manufacturers face, if a market is flooded why put goods into a market that are going to be priced higher and go unsold.

Hope that makes sense. I would say go for quality every time, even if you have to buy one a month, wash them by hand and drip dry - they will serve you well and you'll spend less in the long run by doing this.

Oh, and ANYONE can measure but FITTING is a different matter altogether and so this is why you should find someone to FIT you if you are unsure of your size or have put on/lost weight and are unsure of your size now. When you put the bra on raise your hands and the bra should 'stay put' if it doesn't then the bra is too big in the band and you'll need a size smaller. It is very hard when you have not been fitted properly and it is why so many people wear the wrong size. Also, bend over and touch your toes, your boobs should stay in the bra, if they pop out get a size bigger. Also, pull the straps down off the shoulder, the bra, if giving the right support, should stay put, if it does not then choose a different style.

I could go on but get one good fitted bra and then you will know how a bra is supposed to feel on.