Can some1 please help me to understand? SIZES!!!!

Hello girls

I am still obsessing over what size I am and how I work it out, I know I should go get measured but don't they just do the same as we can do at home with a tape measure? I just don't understand how different all the bra size calculators and other methods work! I'm starting to go a bit insane over it! I mean why the hell on some do I have to add 4 or 5 inches so I'm a 32or 34" and some (I measure 28" under) say I should be 28" 30" and 34"???

It's really doing my head in and the more I try to research and understand the more it feels like one of those bad dreams where you can't make sence of things, like running but not being able to move your legs quick enough, or trying to call the police but can't type the number in properly!! By this post I'm sure you can see how mentally unstable it's making me! lol.

Oh and now another thing I've just Googled across, some people say 1" extra = 1 cup size bigger, so 1"=B 2"=C and so on but then I got to D and some say DD means E and FF means G and some even mention DDD!!??? AAAAAAAA!!!!!

So how does the whole size thing go? A B C D DD E F FF G?? Or A B C D E F G??
Why the hell are they doing this to me? Honestly!!

Sorry girls for the rant but it's doing my head in, I can't let it go cos I NEED to understand but can't find a way!



xxxxx

You will always get a different answer with these bra calculation things, seriously stop waisting your time. What you need to do is get fitted, they will not measure you they will look at the bra you are wearing and see how that fits in the band and cup and then they will bring you bras to try on, they will show you why things fit well and when they dont so you will know what to look for when buying in future.
The cups are AA, A, B, C, D. DD, E, F, FF, G, GG, H, HH, J, JJ, K

........ unless you're on a US web site as their sizes are different again than ours :console:
xx

So frustrating though don't you think they should HAVE to stick to standard sizes so we can just order online and know they're gunna fit?
Whenever I order a paior of size 8 jeand they fit, sometimes slightly too big/small but only slightly. With bras it can be so wrong! It's not right I don't think. I just can't understand why they don't get together and 'simplify' sizes. Anyone on here work for Gossard? lol.

*pair* of size 8 sorry x

Id stop stressing yourself so much over sizes its just a number and the support mainly comes from the band under neath your boobs so as long as you get support there i think thats important.
Just wait till you have been measured properly, but even then size can differ from shop to shop. Ordering clothes online i think can be hit and miss as can bra sizes this is why i tend to buy from shops :) Xxxx

Ah hun, I completely understand you're insanity...we may both end up locked in the same hospital soon!

Just out of interest what are your measurements? I'm 29" under bust and 34" across the nipples. I had a try on bra session and found I fitted 30D, 30DD, 30E, 32C & 32D!! Very confusing! And although I thought they fitted, I didnt buy any of them cos I didnt get a great shape...so I have concluded like all the girls say, that I need a PROPER bra fitting!

Im going to London at the weekend to visit one of my bestest friends, who is almost as excited as me about my new boobs! And Im going to have a proper fitting for the first time in my life!

Aww hun, I totally get why you're so eager to find out your new size, it's what you paid all that money for after all!!!

Different shops just make different sized bras.... it's like if I go into Jane Norman, I have to buy size 10 tops just to be able to breathe in them, but in next or primark a size 8 top will sometimes seem too big and I'd be better with a 6!!! It's a massive frustration.

I would go with the "standard" technique... which so far as I can tell works in two stages:

1: work out your band size. i.e. round up your ribcage measurement to the nearest even number (so 29inches makes you a 30 band etc)... I have to say that personally I go for the band size up from this for comfort, so I measure 29.5 but find a 32 the most comfortable.

2: work out your cup size. Take your ribcage measurement and add 3 if it's an odd number, or 4 if it's even (so, if your ribs are 29 you'd get 32).... now, measure your breasts at their fullest point, and compare the two numbers... the same number is A, and then it's one cup size for every inch bigger...

(obviously this is why AA cups exist, because using this technique it's actually possible to get a breast-measurement which is smaller than the starting cup size you work out from your ribcage measurement... i.e. girls who are totally flat and their boobs measure the same as their ribs.)

So, in my example, if you got a measurement of 37, that would make you an E cup... (32E)...

This is the technique I've always used to get my "standard" measurement, which has been roughly accurate. As with any clothes though, when you go into a particular shop, the bras in there will "feel" different to other shops!

There's nothing wrong with you taking the measurements for yourself and working yourself out a size though!! For your peace of mind if nothing else lol!!

Congrats on your new boobs hun, I hope I have made a hint of sense in there somewhere!!

LL
x

With regards to proper fittings, where would you recommend to go? I really dont have much choice of shops where I live so am not too aware of brands. I have a La Senza, Ann Summers, M&S, Next and an independent bra shop. All of these are really small too, so not great ranges. I think I want to get properly measured before my op and then obviously again afterwards.

And I too have thought the bra size system is unneccesarily complicated. Must of been thought up by a man...

Yes, I agree hunnie, if your measurement under the breast is say 30ins, surely that should be your band size (some online measurement charts actually do this). Why should we have to add 3 or 4 ins to it - surely then it just rides up the back and doesn't give you the correct support. It's mad, absolutely mad and is completely confusing. No wonder most surveys say the 90% of British women do have have the correct fitting bra.
xx

It is very strange!! Maybe it's to do with the fact that most bands are elasticated?? so they can feel very snug if you get an elasticated band that measures 30in at it's loosest?? Perhaps the extra 3-4 inches they ask you to add are for determining the "range" of the band... like when you buy socks they're in a size range of 3-6, or 7-9 etc...

It makes sense in my head because, if you measured a 32A bra at the fullest part of the cup, it would probably measure 32 inches... so if you subtract the three or four inches that make up the rib part, you'd get your rib measurement of roughly 29... I think they must make the bras and work backwards!!!

I don't know... Let's all get a petition going and send it to David Cameron to sort out our bras!!!

LL
x

**Jem** wrote:Ah hun, I completely understand you're insanity...we may both end up locked in the same hospital soon!

Just out of interest what are your measurements? I'm 29" under bust and 34" across the nipples. I had a try on bra session and found I fitted 30D, 30DD, 30E, 32C & 32D!! Very confusing! And although I thought they fitted, I didnt buy any of them cos I didnt get a great shape...so I have concluded like all the girls say, that I need a PROPER bra fitting!

Im going to London at the weekend to visit one of my bestest friends, who is almost as excited as me about my new boobs! And Im going to have a proper fitting for the first time in my life!

I am measuring 29under and 38 over the nips x

lindylou22 wrote:Aww hun, I totally get why you're so eager to find out your new size, it's what you paid all that money for after all!!!

Different shops just make different sized bras.... it's like if I go into Jane Norman, I have to buy size 10 tops just to be able to breathe in them, but in next or primark a size 8 top will sometimes seem too big and I'd be better with a 6!!! It's a massive frustration.

I would go with the "standard" technique... which so far as I can tell works in two stages:

1: work out your band size. i.e. round up your ribcage measurement to the nearest even number (so 29inches makes you a 30 band etc)... I have to say that personally I go for the band size up from this for comfort, so I measure 29.5 but find a 32 the most comfortable.

2: work out your cup size. Take your ribcage measurement and add 3 if it's an odd number, or 4 if it's even (so, if your ribs are 29 you'd get 32).... now, measure your breasts at their fullest point, and compare the two numbers... the same number is A, and then it's one cup size for every inch bigger...

(obviously this is why AA cups exist, because using this technique it's actually possible to get a breast-measurement which is smaller than the starting cup size you work out from your ribcage measurement... i.e. girls who are totally flat and their boobs measure the same as their ribs.)

So, in my example, if you got a measurement of 37, that would make you an E cup... (32E)...

This is the technique I've always used to get my "standard" measurement, which has been roughly accurate. As with any clothes though, when you go into a particular shop, the bras in there will "feel" different to other shops!

There's nothing wrong with you taking the measurements for yourself and working yourself out a size though!! For your peace of mind if nothing else lol!!

Congrats on your new boobs hun, I hope I have made a hint of sense in there somewhere!!

LL
x

Yes you did make sense, thanks x

carol_s wrote:Yes, I agree hunnie, if your measurement under the breast is say 30ins, surely that should be your band size (some online measurement charts actually do this). Why should we have to add 3 or 4 ins to it - surely then it just rides up the back and doesn't give you the correct support. It's mad, absolutely mad and is completely confusing. No wonder most surveys say the 90% of British women do have have the correct fitting bra.
xx

EXACTLY!! If your measuring 30" ribs why aren't you 30" band size? Why add 4??

lindylou22 wrote:It is very strange!! Maybe it's to do with the fact that most bands are elasticated?? so they can feel very snug if you get an elasticated band that measures 30in at it's loosest?? Perhaps the extra 3-4 inches they ask you to add are for determining the "range" of the band... like when you buy socks they're in a size range of 3-6, or 7-9 etc...

It makes sense in my head because, if you measured a 32A bra at the fullest part of the cup, it would probably measure 32 inches... so if you subtract the three or four inches that make up the rib part, you'd get your rib measurement of roughly 29... I think they must make the bras and work backwards!!!

I don't know... Let's all get a petition going and send it to David Cameron to sort out our bras!!!

YES DEFFO! lol. I'm going shopping Wednesday where can I go to get measured? They don't have a La Senza or Ann Summers where I am going :(
xxxxx

LL
x

........Perhaps the extra 3-4 inches they ask you to add are for determining the "range" of the band...

Surely the band should be the same as a tight measurement under the boobs - the extra hooks are there so you can use the second or third set of hooks when the elastic band starts to lose a bit of its elasticity.
xx

hey alot of people dont use the measuring system of adding numbers to make your band size eg add 3 or 4 to make it your band size.

you should measure your ribcage and then round it up eg 27 equals 28 back or 31 equals 32 back.

it all does vary by shop though. i always used to wear 32 but when actually got fitted am 30 back. they say you should fit the back on the loses hook and then the idea is that as the bra elastic strechs from wear you can wear the smaller hooks and then may need to buy a new bra once the elastic is worn.

Thanks for that Jane, you talk sense. I didn't know about the hooks actully, I just thought you had to use the middle then the others as you get fater/thinner lol.
So why the add 4 thing and who made that load of old tosh up???
I am measuring 29" rib, nice and snug so I'm going to safely say I'm a 30 back.
Now how do I work out cup? lol.
xxxxx

youre a 30FF then. You have the same measurements as me

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Adding 4/5 to the band measurement is an old fashioned thing from when bra material was a lot less elastic than it is now. There's no need to add 4/5 now. I measure 29 underneath which would make me a 30 band but I find that very very uncomfortable so I wear a 32.

EHHH?

That makes me a 30D....... pre-ba!!

It's definitely not the size I wear.

i was a 30C pre-op and i was tiny.
sizes in a 30band arent as big as most peoples pre-conceptions of size. Most people imagine sizes to be what they are in a 36ish band it seems

I dont even own a tape measure!!! Think I need to buy one!!!

So does the down a band size, up a cup size still apply then?

Actually, that may make sense because I'm wearing a 32c, but do fiddle with either the strap or back throughout the day.
Also, I have most tissue at the sides, so the bigger cup size may well suit me.

I feel a bra trip coming on

Thanks girls!

Thanks Abbie that's good to know a rough idea of what size I am, I'll try some 30FFs on when I go shopping see how they feel (if I can find any that is lol)
xxxxx

Whatever the size says on the label your boobies are HUGE!!! Take a big range in, then you can delight when some of the Es and Fs are too small!

thanks ok tori, just try what is comfortable, i measure 27.5 so should waer a 28 but i wear a 30 as more comfy, although i find 30 backs in say marks and spenser fit well but if i get a freya or more like designer make or however you want to put it i think i would go for a 28 as they seem to feel a bit loser. i went to a small boutique shop to get fitted and i found the bra much more comfortable than everyday shop ones x

Thanks girls for you're advice! It's soooo un called for though don't you agree, shall we all get together and design our OWN brand of bras in correct and simple sizes for real women, hey we could be onto something there! I thought of it first!! lol.
Jem you dunt half make me chuckle haha xxxxx