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

Faith

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

meeeeh

That 80% (or 85%) is mentioned everywhere but how well proven is the number? Or is it another silk pillow covers are antiaging and it's proven with research commissioned by silk pillow case manufacturers. Not disagreeing with the rest of the post but does anyone actually know is a serious study behind those numbers or is it someone trying to sell more bras?

Faith

meeeeh wrote: »

That 80% (or 85%) is mentioned everywhere but how well proven is the number? Or is it another silk pillow covers are antiaging and it's proven with research commissioned by silk pillow case manufacturers. Not disagreeing with the rest of the post but does anyone actually know is a serious study behind those numbers or is it someone trying to sell more bras?

Here's a link to one study for you.

Results
Most (80%) women wore incorrectly sized bras: 70% wore bras that were too small, 10% wore bras that were too large. Breast size was negatively correlated with both bra size (r = -0.78) and bra fit (r = -0.50). These results together indicate that large breasted women were particularly likely to be wearing incorrectly sized and fitted bras. Negligible relationships were found between pain and bra fit, and breast size and pain. Menstrual cycle stage was moderately positively correlated with bra fit (r = 0.32).

And another:

Eighty-five percent of the participants were found to be wearing ill-fitting bras and the bra sizes determined by self-selection or using bra-sizing measurement systems were significantly different to the correct bra size (p < 0.001).

One about fit here:

Participants were measured in their own bra using the traditional bra-fitting method to establish their ‘traditional size’. A ‘best-fit’ bra size was recorded for participants based on professional bra fitting criteria. Significant differences were found between traditional and best-fit cup and band sizes (p < 0.001); the traditional method of bra fitting overestimated band size and underestimated cup size. As band size increased the traditional method also became more inaccurate (p < 0.001).

And an interesting article here about common fit problems:

A bra fit questionnaire was then administered to survey the participants' perceptions on the bras they typically wore to school or work. Results show that lack of sufficient support is the most prevailing bra fit problem among this group of young women, and participants with prominent breasts, in particular, are likely to perceive the fit problems of tight bra cups and loose bra bands.

meeeeh

That is exactly why I ask, the first study has a sample of 30( even if we ignore the fact it's published by some osteophaty journal) and the second one has a sample of 100. The third one is interesting but I'm not disputing a lot of or most women wear wrong bras, I just wonder if there is actually any proper research behind 80%.

Anyway it's a bit off topic so mods can delete it but those type of claims are a pet peeve of mine (especially on cosmetic products).

Faith

I haven't exactly made a scientific claim here, and the fact that there's any research at all is surprising to me. Who would bother funding such research? It's in the interests of the bra-making companies to continue convincing women to squash into a narrow range of sizes, so the claim, at best, is in no-one's financial interests.

Penny Tration

Been wearing the correct size since I found r/abrathatfits and the difference is amazing. My boobs look perfect in clothes and compared to how my bras felt before, it doesn't feel like I'm wearing one anymore :pac:


I wouldn't be surprised if most women are wearing the wrong size. Bra measuring services in debenhams, marks and the like are based on an old measurement system that just isn't accurate.

go into debenhams, m&s and Ann Summers. Get measured in all three - you'll be given a different size in each shop.

The guide on Reddit is fantastic, and there are great links for buying bras at good prices for anyone with a large cup or unusual band/cup ratio.

Malari

Penny Tration wrote: »

Been wearing the correct size since I found r/abrathatfits and the difference is amazing. My boobs look perfect in clothes and compared to how my bras felt before, it doesn't feel like I'm wearing one anymore :pac:


I wouldn't be surprised if most women are wearing the wrong size. Bra measuring services in debenhams, marks and the like are based on an old measurement system that just isn't accurate.

go into debenhams, m&s and Ann Summers. Get measured in all three - you'll be given a different size in each shop.

The guide on Reddit is fantastic, and there are great links for buying bras at good prices for anyone with a large cup or unusual band/cup ratio.

But not only that, try on three bras in the same size in three shops (or even three different brands in the same shop) and they'll all fit differently, so knowing your size isn't always the answer.

Sapphire

I've been wearing the correct size since I measured myself this way since before Christmas.

I'm small breasted so you'd think that I'd be exempt from back ache or straps cutting into me, but the difference between the new bras I got in the last 6 months and before is huge. My boobs and shoulders used to ache.

I was very skeptical initially. It took 2" off my band size and moved me up a cup letter. \o/ and it too a while to get used to a tighter band - I initially thought it was too tight, but when I got used to it, I realised it was spot on.

lazygal

I get measured in Brown Thomas and I could come out with three different size bras (cups and inches) because they'll take into account different bra brand, fabrics and body shapes. I find the service there great.
Had dreadful fittings in other department stores and independent shops though.

Kantava

And I had a terrible time the last time I was in BTs. Not due to fitting but terrible customer service and bad treatment.

This is the really good shop in kilkenny.

http://bellefemmelingerie.ie/

Faith

On the topic of different bras having different fits, www.bratabase.com is your friend! If you're buying online, or have a specific bra in mind, you can look it up there and see how others have reported it fitting . It's very helpful for figuring out if the bra is better for shallow boobs or if the cups/band run small/big etc.

LynnGrace

Based on my experience, I would say, run a mile from M&S bra measuring service. I've been measured in Arnotts more than once, and found the service good.

dee_mc

LynnGrace wrote: »

Based on my experience, I would say, run a mile from M&S bra measuring service. I've been measured in Arnotts more than once, and found the service good.

This x 1000
I've been measured in two different M&S stores within a week of each other, with completely different 'results' and neither size was flattering or comfortable.
Debenhams not as bad, for Wonderbra strapless anyway, but the site Faith linked has been my best success. I've lost a lot of weight and found that site invaluable for buying bras during the various stages of my weight loss. Measured again last night in anticipation of the next bra buying expedition!

meeeeh

I tried the method posted again and it gave me the same size as before: 34E. The bra that fits me best (no double boob, spilage at the side or pain) is 34C. For whatever reason the method above doesn't work for me.

Malari

meeeeh wrote: »

I tried the method posted again and it gave me the same size as before: 34E. The bra that fits me best (no double boob, spilage at the side or pain) is 34C. For whatever reason the method above doesn't work for me.

Me neither. I usually just take a few bras in to the changing room, see what is comfortable and looks right, and get that, whatever size it is.

Greenmachine

The cynic in me thinks these messages are just promoted by lingerie shop, who happen to have a free bra-fitting service for the ladies. Surely it would be rude to get fitted for a bra, and not buy something in the shop = profit for the shop. I suspect that there will be a degree of inconsistency with sizing between designers and styles but have never had to test the theory.

Faith

meeeeh wrote: »

I tried the method posted again and it gave me the same size as before: 34E. The bra that fits me best (no double boob, spilage at the side or pain) is 34C. For whatever reason the method above doesn't work for me.

Absolutely. The size should be treated as a guideline. When I first used it, I came out as 32FF or 32G. It quickly became apparent that a 32G was too big. Depending on the style of bra, I wear either a 32FF or 32F.

The shape of your boobs has a huge impact on how different bras fit. I'm full on bottom, with very little on top. Balconette bras are best for my shape, and I'd wear a 32FF in those. But if I want to wear a plunge bra, I drop to 32F to compensate for the lack of breast tissue at the top of the cup. Seamed bras give me better lift, while molded cups can provide good shape but I run the risk of doubleboob .

Tea-a-Maria

Just checked my measurements there after every I'd dropped €80 in Debenhams! Thankfully, it seems pretty accurate. The Reddit calculator is giving me 28E and Debenhams gave me a 30D. The assistant in the shop actually said they didn't stock 28 bands so I'd need to move up one.

I always thought I was a 34B so a jump of two cups is a bit of a surprise.

rainbow kirby

^ Debenhams Gorgeous 30 bands are very tight so probably close to a 28 anyway.

I love debenhams gorgeous range

solerina

Apparently 34C and 36C sizes most commonly found to be worn as the wrong size. I was certainly guilty, wore 34C...got too tight, moved up to a 36C, that seems grand. Got measured in Victorias Secret last Christmas....36DD was what I was recommended !!

failinis

Don't know if I should post here or another thread, but I know for a fact my bra's do not fit, the ones I can get in shops ins 34A but the cups are too big (but the back straps seem fine) so I basically have very tiny boobs

Is it even worth me getting correctly measured?
There is "nothing" to support really. :rolleyes:

dee_mc

failinis wrote: »

Don't know if I should post here or another thread, but I know for a fact my bra's do not fit, the ones I can get in shops ins 34A but the cups are too big (but the back straps seem fine) so I basically have very tiny boobs

Is it even worth me getting correctly measured?
There is "nothing" to support really. :rolleyes:

Measure yourself using the link in Faith's OP on this thread.
It's always worth being measured - some brands make totally different sized bras than others, you just have to keep trying to find the right fit.

Faith

failinis wrote: »

Don't know if I should post here or another thread, but I know for a fact my bra's do not fit, the ones I can get in shops ins 34A but the cups are too big (but the back straps seem fine) so I basically have very tiny boobs

Is it even worth me getting correctly measured?
There is "nothing" to support really. :rolleyes:

Just measure yourself as outlined in the first post and see what the numbers say there.