"80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size" - Public Service Thread!

Most women wear the wrong bra size. We’ve all heard it, and I’m pretty sure we have all confidently thought “That’s not me, though”. I thought that. I even went to a shop to get measured, and they confirmed I was wearing the right size.

But I wasn’t.

The vast majority of shops use an incorrect system for measuring bra size. If your bra size is based on the “+4” method, then I guarantee you’re probably* wearing the wrong size bra.

Let me explain further. Historically, bras were made with rigid materials that had no stretch or give (including whalebone in the 30s and 40s!). Thus, it became standard practice to add 4 inches (or 5, to get to an even number) to the underband measurement. From here, the cup size was calculated. However, these days, modern bras contain materials like lycra and other stretchy materials. It is no longer necessary to add 4 inches to your band size in order to have a correctly fitting bra. When you add inches, you decrease the difference between your band and bust measurement. Ergo, you end up with a band size that’s too big and a cup size that’s too small.

The following are telltale signs that you may be wearing an incorrect bra size:

- Doubleboob, or breast tissue spilling over the cup;
- A wrinkling or puckering in the cup;
- A band that rides up your back, rather than staying perfectly level across your back;
- Armpit fat. Yes ladies, in many cases, armpit fat is actually displaced breast tissue. If it appears along the front of your body, it may be your Tail of Spence. If it is along your band, then it’s likely to be breast tissue that has been pushed outwards;
- If it feels like the shoulder straps are holding up the weight, or if you find yourself tightening the straps of bras on a frequent basis;
- If you can comfortably pull the band of your bra more than 2 inches out from your body
- If the centre of the bra, where the two cups meet (called the gore), does not touch and lie flat against your body;
- If your bra band moves when you lift your arms up into the air
- Underwire digging into you

So, if you’re starting to suspect that you’re wearing an incorrectly-sized bra, then what’s the next step? Fortunately, there are wonderful resources and whole communities out there to help you! I highly recommend heading to http://www.reddit.com/r/abrathatfits and reading everything you can there. Another helpful resource is http://blog.butterflycollection.ca/.

If that all sounds like hard work, and you just want to know what size you should be wearing, grab a measuring tape and head to http://www.brasizecalculator.tk/, where you can just enter your measurements into a handy calculator (look at the slideshow on the left for details of exactly where and how to measure).

Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Why bother? My bras fit well enough’. That’s fine, if you’re happy with it. I can speak from experience, and say that switching from a 34DD to a 32F/FF has made my boobs look bigger, firmer and much nicer under clothes. As a bonus, I look significantly slimmer and I no longer worry about armpit fat!

*At this point, it’s worth mentioning that some women will find it too uncomfortable to wear a band size that directly corresponds to their underbust measurement. To quote The Butterfly Collection:

There are two groups of women who need to add inches: Those with little flesh around their ribcage or who have a muscular ribcage and women who have small, close-set breasts.

You can read more about that here: http://blog.butterflycollection.ca/2012/09/the-women-who-need-to-add-inches-to.html

If you have a pudgy ribcage (like I do!), you may be horrified to try in a bra with the correct band size and see that it causes the fat underneath the band to bulge a bit. While this may not be the most aesthetically pleasing of things, it is totally normal. This is because fat is spongey, and you need to ensure a close fit to get the best support. Trust me, that bit of fat is way less of an issue than a badly-fitting bra!

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If all you’re interested in is a correct size, then you don’t need to read any further! But if you’re started down the rabbit hole, you might want to continue finding out more about what shapes of breasts and busts there are (Spoiler: there’s lots!), types of bras and why some styles might just never fit you correctly, how to fit your breasts into a cup properly and other exciting bra- and breast-related information, read through the links below:

Breast Shape Guide

Back Fat and Bra Fit

Why Some Bras Will Never Fit You

Sister Sizes, or Understanding a 34DD = 36D = 32E = 30F = 38C (hint: they're all the same volume).

How Wire Width and Cup Shape Affect Your Bra Fit

How to get better cleavage

How to put your bra on properly - the Swoop and Scoop method