To be fair to Simply Yours they have stressed here that their calculator is just a starting out guide – but why add inches at all? I have proven that with my 35inch underbust measurement I fit well into 34/36 bands so why not just take that measurement as what you should wear? Sure to start with a correctly fitted bra may feel less comfortable if you are used to a looser band, but it will loosen up within a few wears and given you better support.
A very good friend of mine write this fabulous response to their post:
‘Despite your explanation, this is still very incorrect I’m afraid. I have fitted hundreds of women by eye not using a measuring method, as I believe the best and most accurate way to find out your size is to try the bra on and go from there. However, after finding the best fit of bra for them (making sure the back band isn’t riding up, that I can’t pull it away from their bodies more than 2 inches, etc) I have actually then measured them just to see for research purposes whether this 4+ inches business is accurate. I can tell you that the band number (28, 30, 32, 34 etc) corresponded with the band size they were correctly fitted into EVERY time. The majority of them came in wearing bras that fit awfully – their bands rode up, their boobs dropped, and their shoulders and back were sore from taking the whole weight of their breasts… And surprise, surprise – the band sizes they were wearing were 4 or 5 inches bigger than their underbust measurement!
It’s the same with myself too – my old bras are the band sizes that your measurement guide and your blog suggests I should wear. They ride up and thus cause back pain and they give my breasts an awful shape due to lack of support. The only way myself, and 99% of all the women I have fitted and spoken to, can get the lift, shape, support and best fit is to wear bras that correspond to their direct underbust measurement. I wear a 28 or sometimes 30 if the bra is tight enough (I measure around 28.7). My bras in those sizes never hurt, the cups and wires are never distorted, and they last a long time. ANY bigger and I lose support, my bras ride up and I can pull the back of the bra away several, several inches. I have bought European bras before and I found the same thing — when I bought them according to what my centimetre measurement is, the bands rode up and were a bad fit. Thus, it’s easy to conclude that the UK system does correspond directly to your underbust measurement in inches. I have also tried to fit several women who measure 24, 25 and 26 inches under their best. Size 28 bands rode up considerably and caused them shoulder indents, back pain and a poor shape under clothes. They have now got specially designed 24 and 26 bands respectively which are finally good fits. If the 4/5 inches system truly worked as a guide, then I would have seen it work at LEAST once in my time, but I have not – ever. All it has done for the women I have fitted and myself is give them poorly fitting bands.
Additionally, I just measured all my 28 and 30 band bras (this has taken a while – I have over 30 bras!). After measuring 30 bras over a variety of brands, fabrics, styles etc I think I have a good idea of what the average is, and I can see that what you’ve written about the true measurements of 30 and 34 bands is completely incorrect. Now:
You say –
“On an average 34 back size bra the underband will measure 25-26.5in (that’s 64-68cm) flat depending on the fabrics used (and how much they stretch when worn). That’s around 4in smaller than the body measurement of a size 34 lady, whose ribcage measures 29.5” (75cm).”
and
“A 30 back band would measure around 54/56cm or 21/22in and would have to stretch at least 8in to make the body measurement. As you can see from the two examples, this bra has to stretch much more to meet the actual body measurement of 29.5in. This extra stretch puts a lot of extra pressure on your bra”
On average a 34 band bra will measure 25-26 inches flat? I’m not sure what kind of ridiculously small 34 band you’re using as an example here, but all my 28 and 30 band bras measure around 24-26 flat – NOT 21/22 like you suggest) and stretched out (as if you were wearing them) they measure between 28 – 30. Here are some real examples from a few of the bras I’ve just measured:
Rhea Masquerade bra, size 30 (a very snug 30, I might add): 25 inches flat, 28.5 stretched (slightly stretched, as if you were wearing it)
Bravissimo Dotty spot, size 28: 25 inches flat, 28.5 inches stretched
Cleo George, size 30: 26 inches flat, 30.5 inches stretched
Cleo George, size 28: 24.5 inches flat, 28.5 inches stretched
Fantasie t-shirt bra, size 30: 25.5 inches flat, 29.4 inches stretched
Freya Arabella, size 34: 30 inches flat, 34 inches stretched
Masquerade Tiffany, size 30: 26 inches flat, 30 inches stretched
Freya Retro, size 32: 28 inches flat, 32 inches stretched
It’s very clear that the band sizes do in fact correlate directly to your underbust measurement – when they are stretched, they stretch out comfortably about 4 inches, thus measuring exactly the same as their band size number (and thus your underbust measurement). If you add another 4 inches on top of your underbust measurement, you’d be wearing a bra that is WAY too big’
This is probably the best online calculator I have found. It is not 100% accurate and struggles with very big cup sizes but it is a very good rough guide. It does not add inches unless you are an odd number like myself and therefore adds one to make me 36. If you are really clueless about where to begin with your bra size I would use this calculator.
A few of my blogging friends have written their own posts in relation to this debate. Sophia explains:
‘They use the outdated method of adding 4 inches on to your underbust measurement to get your correct band size. This actually comes from back in the 50s where the ideal hourglass measurements were 36-24-36, so inches would be added to the band size as ‘vanity sizing’. Not only that, but the materials used in the 50s were much firmer, stiffer and less pliable than they are today – meaning there would be no wiggle room if you did have a size that was too tight. This is no longer the case nowadays; stretchy material is used for everyday bra bands in order to give maximum comfort and support.’
Cheryl stresses:
‘As a self-trained fitter and a 28FF myself, I know full well the advantages of a great bra. I’ve seen women smiling and liberated from something so simple as a bra and it really is wonderful to see.
Nonetheless, an issue which has been niggling for a while now is their use of the ‘plus four’ method’
And Beckie says:
‘I can think of no exceptions I know (and I’ve coerced, cajoled, and cheerleaded coachloads of women in to better fitting bras) of D+ women who have received a better fit from the plus-four method than they have working to the raw underbust measurement. I personally went from being a totally sedentary plus-foured 34E girl, constantly cursing my own body for being uncomfortable, unruly and cumbersome; to being a 28GG/30G girl who runs, swims and cycles as often as possible without ever thinking twice about whether her ample chest will get in the way.’
What are your opinions on this fitting debate? What have your experiences been like? Did you find that you wore the wrong size bra with a too big band once upon a time? Or are you still unconvinced by the shunning of the inch adding method? Let me know 🙂
Fuller Figure Fuller Bust 
Great video G! That bra is absolutely useless for you, you always look so great in your 34s and 36s. Thanks for the mention, and I agree Bec’s comment on the blog was a really great response. 🙂 xxx
Cheers love, you inspired me with your gorgeous ill fitting bras xxx
Great post Georgina! When you know that your band is the mothership of support and comfort you know that you just can’t afford to get it wrong. What baffles me about some of the +4-5 guides is that they suggest breathing out, pulling tight then taking your reading – why bother with these extra moves when you can just measure round your underbust and find your band size (plus one at most – like you and me, I’m a 33).
Because this outdated advice has been around for 80 years we have generations of women in the wrong bras believing that bras are painful. When you ask these women to wear a smaller band size they immediately think it’s going to be more painful and pinching – this is the mindset we have to change and the liberation we have to bring.
Here’s my own calculator: Smaller Band + Bigger Cup = FABULOUS BOOBS!!!
Ha, I love passion and love what you wrote xx
Fantastic video and post, as always! I agree wholeheartedly with the arguments that the other ladies and yourself have put forth! I also like to use this analogy: when purchasing jeans, you wouldn’t add 4-5 inches to your waist measurement to obtain a sizing, so why on earth woulld you do this when trying to ascertain a bra size? Just as a waistband that is 4-5 inches too big would most certainly fall down, a bra band that is similarly (and unecessarily) large will cause your boobs to literally “fall down”.
Further to any of ladies reading George’s fabulous blog and our supportive comments, I am yet another example of how using the antiquated “simply proven wrong” measuring method is, well, wrong. Adding 4-5 inches to my underbust measurement of 32.5″ takes me out of my well-fitting and supportive 32GG-HH ranged sizes of bras, and puts me into an ill-fitting 36F-38E. I don’t need to describe what this looks or feels like, as I believe the lovely Georgina’s illustrative video does this far beetter than a convoluted explanation from me ever could!
Please be assured dear readers, despite many of the accusations that you will find floating around on the internet, and maybe even hear in real life from fitters in changing rooms across the nation, we are not women who are interested in vanity sizing, we are simply concerned that all ladies, particularly those who, like ourselves are full-busted, wear the most supportive and therefore truly correct bra size.
Thank you dearest, love the jeans comparison xxx
Great video!! A few years ago, I was wearing a 34DD from target. It felt horrible to wear. I dragged my mom downtown to go to Intimacy (which I had seen on What Not to Wear) and they fit me into a 32 E, altered down to a 31. I thought it was the perfect size (for my then 26 ribcage) because I had come from a 34. Got a new job, gained a couple pounds, and I found myself in a 31 FF. Enter the quest for a supportive swimsuit. I found a website (www.llswim.com, for those of you who are still looking for your perfect suit)- you email your measurements and current bra size & they will email you back with a size and some style options. They emailed me back that I should have been wearing a 26HH bra & the only swimsuit size they had that would work for me is 30G. So I ended up with 2 freya 30Gs & started wearing that bra size as well. The problem with the 30G bras is that within a few wears, I would have to move it in to the next hook & within a month, I would be on the tightest hook. This year, after starting my BRAvolution (in outrage over stores not carrying 28 or 30 bands) I took time to remeasure myself. I now have a 28 underbust and a 37 bust. So I now wear 28GG when I can. And let me tell you, it is so nice to not have a band that moves around! All of these stores that add inches & wonder why we don’t need to realize that we have tried it the ‘traditional’ way & it doesn’t work! I have fit a few 34B cups into 30DD/E’s and they have told me that the 30 felt really tight to start out, but after 3 or 4 wears, it is so much more comfortable than the 34s they used to wear! Plus they are THRILLED to have gone up into the DD range- they never thought they could possibly fit in a size like that! Stores need to start drinking the Kool-Aid we are making!
Very well said lovely! And yes, 30, 28 and 26 bands need to be carried and made in more places xxx
Wow, what a great post! Since learning how to properly fit a bra last year, I’ve been on a bit of a tear against this ridiculous “add four or five inches” bit. There’s this wonderful invention, elastic…Do all manufacturers simply not know how it works? No wonder women have sagging girls by the time they’re in their 30s. For 80 years, we’ve (literally) been getting no support! When I’m out and about, at family gatherings, you name it…I try to spread the word.
I do wish more shops here in the States carried small band sizes—26, 28, 30—that had larger (DD+) cup sizes, though. They’re so hard to find and try on, and the stores that do have these don’t have nearly enough of them. Shipping gets pricey, especially when I order from the UK as I often must! It’s another reason I try to get information like this out: the more women there are demanding these sizes, the more stores we’ll see carrying them in volume.
Excellent post, I’ve already sent it out and will have it bookmarked to send to my doubting Thomasinas.
Whoop, another lady with my beliefs, thanks lovely!
Check out Ewa Michalek bras, Brittany from Thin and Curvy does an excellent review:
http://www.thinandcurvy.com/2011/05/where-to-find-26-and-24-band-bras-and.html
xxx
I remember being professionally measured when I was in my late teens. The lady insisted I was a 38 D/DD. However the band was way too loose. When I was around 21 my sister measured to me to be a G cup. In my search for bras as the highest cup size they tend to sell locally is F. I stumbled across a bra fitting page which I can no longer find online and it said if your under bust measures 33 in. or less an approximate size works best. That a 36 band could ride up and a 34 would fit better. Mine does measure 33 in. so I’ve found that to be the case. I figure it would be true for any woman no matter what measurement their under bust is.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing huh, I wish more women knew the proper ways xx
Georgina you are absolutely amazing.
I agree with you totally. The +4 method has never worked for me. It angers me that most women are wrongly advised by the supposedly professional fitters.
Keep up the excellent work. For the short time that I have been following your blog you have helped me immensely.
Thank you lovely xxx
I just tried the Bra size calculator in this post and it is accurate.
I also tried the one on Ewa-Michalek which unfortunately currently adds 4 inches when calculating your bra size.
@Nakita – the Ewa Michalak calculator only applies to Ewa Michalak bras, and many people do find that they run tighter than average (I haven’t tried them so I can’t comment).
The calculator does differ from standard “add 4” advice in that it calculates cup size based on your actual underbust measurement, not your band size. One of the biggest problems with the +4 method is that it skews the cup size calculation. I mostly wear 28DDs, but adding inches to my underbust gives me 30A, whereas the Ewa Michalak calculator puts me at 28DD or 30D.
Great video, definitely promotes this method, bravo! I am usually a 30HH/28J, depending on the brand, measured myself with a tape measure as I was curious, and ta dahh…..I am 29 inches!! Not only is this method wayyy more accurate, it is easier to do than the +4 method. When I was 15/16, I was wearing a 34C (using the +4 method), went to get measured (not using the +4 method) and was VERY surprised at the time to find that I was in fact a 30E. Ever since I have sworn by trial and error and getting fitted by people who know how a bra should fit 😀 Keep up the good work!! xxxx
Haha, those tape measures are useful after all. So glad you found your real size and thanks for the support x
My eyes are wide open now. I thought I knew all about bra fitting, being a Bravissimo customer for years. I have been wondering how on earth my 34J bras have shoulder straps that dig really badly. They should fit perfectly, the bands not riding up and the cup feels right (at least part of the day, I’m breastfeeding a 9-mth-old and cup size can change dramatically between feeds).
I’ve measured my band size in cm and since I used to be closer to 85 cm than 80, then 75 = 34 should be tight enough. Can’t go tighter! But now that I actually checked, 34 inches is actually 86.5 cm. And I guess I could be closer to 81 cm or 32 inches now anyway, since I have lost a bit of the “baby weight”.
Guess what! You may actually have to *substract* 10 cm to get a correct fit with European band size. 10 cm is roughly 4 inches. Should I be surprised or not?
@ En Bouton – I have read blogs by persons who wear Ewa-Michalek and they advise that currently the bands are not as tight as they used to be years ago. I recently ordered one of their bras and I can’t wait to see how it fits.
H-mm… The calculator mentioned in your post puts me in 24HH. Where on Earth such size could be used as good starting point, I wonder? :))))
http://www.thinandcurvy.com/2011/05/where-to-find-26-and-24-band-bras-and.html
xxx
Love this post – can’t believe anyone would try this in a shop, but they really do! I am a 32G and went into M+S and they tried to fit me into a 38B! The results were hilarious! The fitter was looking at the tape measure like it had lied to her and she had to call a colleague in for a second opinion – they were there trying to figure out why it didn’t fit sooooo badly. Just to picture it was like on you G, but my boobs were spilling out in all directions with a tiny nipple cover on each boob – kinda like a saucer with boob visable at all angles! LOL!
Hi,
> This is probably the best online calculator I have found.
I would love to know what you think about this calculator:
http://bit.ly/iH15E2 (link to google-translated version of http://www.buestenhalter.com/germany/bh_groessen/BraFitter/ )
Hey love,
I tried it and got 40F. I have asked a few friends to also try it as I could have been doing it wrong. Love how thorough it is though, thank you for the link xxx
I thought it had given me the wrong size too, but when I scrolled down the results page it actually gave a second, more accurate size further down (just one cup size larger than I usually wear). The commentary mentions that the model is a 34D according to standard sizing instructions, but fits much better in a 30F.
I just thought I’d add something I noticed about bra band measurements. I’m in the US and when I measured my own bras I was quite surprised to discover that at least some of the popular brands here appear to be sized differently enough that this +4″ method seems to apply. I have several bras each from Calvin Klein, Betsey Johnson, and even the european Marie Jo in a 32 band which measure 23-24″ when laid flat and about 32-33″ when stretched to the max.
This is, I’d guess, a method best suited for brands that only make up to DD cups, so the fitting advice given to customers ought to depend on what brands and sizes the website in question carries. If they mainly sell large cups from UK brands, then it’s certainly irresponsible of them to use this method. But if they think, for whatever reason, that their typical customer is the A-C cup, I suppose I can see where they got the idea that bra underbands measure 9″ less than their tag size.
True, also bras are more stretchy these days and maybe some are still more rigid. I guess the best advice is to go with the bra you are wearing, see how old it is, how stretchy and work from there x
I definitely agree that some brands run smaller/tighter than others. Not sure if it has much to do with the country of origin because I’ve never worn any American brands myself (they’re not widely sold in the UK), but for some British/European bras I can add 4/5 inches and still get a comfortable fit. (I was one of the commenters asking “where are these 30 bands that measure 21-22 inches?”, but I’ve since found my answer – they’re at Debenhams. My newest bras are Debenhams 30 bands and they measure about 21″.)
However, I still have problems with plus-four fitting advice because of the way it affects cup size, and I haven’t found much difference between A-DD and DD+ brands in this respect. La Senza mostly makes A-DD sizes and their size chart puts me at 30A/B, yet I need a 30D for the cups to fit. The same goes for several British high-street brands where I am consistently a 28DD/30D (sometimes 28E or 30DD), although my measurements correspond to 30A/B on the size charts. A smaller-busted woman might be able to wear a looser band without compromising support, but if that band comes with cups that are three sizes too small, it’s not going to be a comfortable bra.
what a great post and fabulous video! I just found you from Thin and Curvy, who I just found through a “boob” forum in Ravelry (about knitting). I will definitely spread the word, and put your blog in my feed reader.
Wow, thank you and thank you again lovely!xxx
Hullo! an old lady chiming in here, i found you from a link at the You Look Fab forum. Kudos to you for making an excellent argument and a couple of brilliant videos! Not many of us would want to appear online in our ‘knickers’, but your point is so obvious when you see how the two different bra sizes fit (or, in the case of the 40, practically fall off of your bod. ridiculous!).
I will be sending these links to a couple of people i know so they can see what a properly fitting bra looks like! Thank you so much for a brilliant idea, bravely executed. Happy Sunday! steph
Thank you very much, glad to see my efforts appreciated and passed on!
Earlier this year I came third in Curvy Kate’s Star In A Bra model search so I thought I may as well utilise the fact that I am out there in my pants!
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=georgina+horne&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1024&bih=629
xxxx
Hi there ,
What a lovely site !!Thanks for the advise..I also spead the word/video’s because i think there are many womans out there who are getting gray haired so to speak for getting a propperly fitted bra.
Thanks Suzy
Thank you! Spread the word, it needs to be done!x
I absolutely love your blog. I adore your taste in clothes, it’s exactly what mine would be if I could afford it….maybe once my kids are grown and on their own LOL. I love dresses and you find the most amazing dresses!
I used the calculator you recommend on here and I’ve measured according to the directions you tweeted to “Thin and Curvy’s” blog. I’m probably among the many that are saying, there’s no fricken way! LOL. I have worn a 36D for about the past dozen years since having kids. The last time I was measured was in a La Senza store here in Canada and the girl measured me at a 36DD, which I tried but found the cup way too big, I couldn’t fill in the top part of the cup but the rest was fine. So I have just stuck with a 36D. Now of course these are “cheaper” bras(not Walmart cheap mind you). But according to measuring properly I would be a 36FF(according to TandC’s blog) or 36G(according to above link). There is next to nothing here for those sizes, I even looked on the website for our local plus sized clothing chain here in Canada(Addition-Elle) and they don’t even have FF, even when I punch in my measurements to their calculator it tells me they don’t carry a style to accommodate those measurements. It would have been the only store I can think of where I could have gone and tried on one of those sizes, it also seems they don’t carry below a 38 band size. I’m definitely curious to try this “right” size and see the difference, but seeing that is going to be a problem. I thought it was bad just trying to find a D cup bra! My eyes are really opening to the difficulty in any larger than that here in Canada….which does not surprise me at all since we have an extremely small choice for plus size clothing of any kind here.
Thank you for all you do to try and help women look and feel beautiful!
All bra calculators are just guides and starting points, the only way you will ever find the right bra and wear it is if you feel comfy in it and it fits. You may be different sizes in different brands but it’s all about trial and error, just keep going! Try Butterfly Collection:
http://www.butterflycollection.ca/pages/Shop.html x
Until I found your blog I didn’t realize there was such a huge difference in how sizing was done. I use the calculators that you suggest and then I use a calculator on other sites and my cup size is FF on one and then D or DD on others LOL.
I’ll just have to stick with my D bras until I can afford to spend $50 on a bra LOL and find places where I can actually try on what it seems should be my correct size. Fortunately while the D’s I wear definitely just seem not quite right, they’re not horrible….and I can at least find them in prices I can afford until my financial vampires are supporting themselves LOL.
Amen Amen Amen. You don’t add inches. It’s plain to see. The rest of the world needs to catch up and realize the truth. That is all 🙂 A few years ago I was told during a “fitting” that the central gore is not supposed to lie flat at the breastbone on a larger chest, and also that spillage was normal for large breasts too. That led me to go on a quest for the truth because I was damn tired of being uncomfortable and just dealing with it and hating my breasts like I had been doing my whole life.
a former “34 DD” turned 30 G!!!!!
Wow, that was a HORRIFYING bra!! I wish that simply yours understood that some of us have to do ALL of our shopping online (32H bras just DO NOT exist in rural Oregon, USA!), so giving us these RIDICULOUS inches-adding “guidelines” is ONLY going to serve to A) make us think that is how bras are supposed to fit or B) make those of us who know what a good bra feels like have to return bra after bra to get the right size (which adds up when you ship to the US). It goes like this, my underbust is exactly 32 inches. My bras are (gasp!) 32 INCHES IN THE BAND! If I were to buy a 38 banded bra I could probably pull it on over my hips without undoing the hooks. This is NOT a matter of inches vs cm confusion. It’s just a BAD measuring system! AHHHH!!!!!
Haha I love you!!!!x
I am not a professional bra fitter. I would call myself a researched bra snob. I have converted several friends from the wrong band to the right one. One lady started a 36DD and is now in a 30H after pulling migrated breast tissue from the underarm and back area.
I am a bra snob, but I do not wear the correct size myself. I have a 26 inch ribcage and I end up in a 28G or a 30 band because I just cannot find anything in a 26 in the states or online. I have never been professionally fitted anywhere close to the correct size because they will try and fit me into what they have in store. I think that the adding inches is a ploy to get as many women as possible into a narrow range of sizes. I think it is unfortunate for those of use in a smaller band with a larger cup but great for mass market companies that make the money off of it.
I went to debenhams a couple of years ago after having my daughter to get a new non maternity bra (couldn’t get to bravissimo). I’d been wearing a 36J Maternity bra. When the woman measured me, tape measure +4/5 she said I was a 38C! I laughed in her face. Following week went to bravissimo and got put into a 34FF
Just to speak to this from another perspective, I have a 30″ underbust and a very broad, athletic frame and a 30 band bra is much too small for me. A 34 band (B cup if American, C cup if European) is the perfect fit. I imagine it has a lot to do with your body type and build. In the future, thin, curvy, and athletic women may all need a different metric for finding their bra size.
It is true, I just wish companies would indicate that those charts are a starting point and also use photos and descriptions of what bras should do rather than just ‘measure yourself and add five’ x
Hello from Puerto Rico!
In my nation we still see this and as a person who has struggle in finding my right size after a recent huge weight loss I found myself numb at times when I tell the fitter that she is using the wrong technique. The last time confronted a situation like this I asked the fitter to see with me on how her method is incorrect, about adding more inches to the band. That same person measure my cup size from half way of my bra instead of going over it. She told me I was a 4 cups smaller and 4 band sizes larger than I am actually, resulting in lots of spillage, back-rolls, and lots of underbelly arm rolls not to forget that the band over my back was quite interesting aside from the discomfort. So I did a demonstration to her. I was actually very bother with her telling me that is impossible for me being such a big cup and have a small size back according to her standards. Not everyone has their breast with all the tissue upfront some people like me have some on the sides. I recall telling the woman this is not fat, this is actually breast tissue and this is the reason why you should never add inches to the under-bust; because if accommodate everything as it should the size in cup that she told me will overflow and all the pressure will be on the straps instead of the band size. As a consequence I will not get the support that I need and look with boobs on the back, pain on the back, among other things. I just hope she learned something but I doubt it because she was dead set that she was correct.
Sorry for the long comment. Jaja. Between thanks for writing a blog like this!
I hope she learnt as well! Good on you for telling her!x
I totally agree. I wore size 34C bras for years, without any major complaints either. But none of my bras seemed to fit quite right either. I remembered that I was a 32 way back when I was in training bras, and only switched to 34s when I couldn’t find the 32s in ‘real bras’ anymore. So I finally went to a local boutique to get properly fitted. Turns out, I was a 30E! When they measured, they didn’t add any inches to my under-bust measurement and I came away the best fitting bra of my life! What a difference!
You missed out a step in how awful the +4 method really is, not only does adding 4-5″ get you a band too bit, but then you’re supposed to subtract your full bust measurement from that to find cup size. While cup size is much less directly correlated to a measurement, that should lead to a cup size about 2 sizes too small. The +4 method gets me 30C when actually I need about 26FF, the nearest I can tolerate in a 30 band is 30E.
Thanks , I have recently been searching for information approximately this subject for ages and yours is the greatest I have found out till now. But, what in regards to the conclusion? Are you certain about the source?|What i do not realize is in fact how you are now not really a lot more neatly-favored than you may be right now. You are so intelligent.
As a girl whose underbust measures 28 and bust 35, adding 4inches would make me a 32C. I know that’s completely ridiculous, because I’m spilling out of my 34D bra right now. I can’t wait to purchase some bras in my real size! Some calculators have even attempted measuring me at a 34B. I wore a 34B since the end of elementary school, and nobody ever thought to get me re-fitted. When I was about a 28G, I lost 35pounds, I would literally cry to put my bra on. Thr right fit is so very important!
Great video! I always find that I have to consistently size down (as a 29″ underbust) to 28’s. All my 30’s fit quite poorly on me and I can fit more than just a whole hand underneath the back, even on the tightest band!!! I have some 34E’s/34F’s and the fit absolutely disastrous with a band the rides WAY up in the back!!!
I’m at the smaller end of the DD+ spectrum as a 26E. Because of the stupid +4/5 system I was measured as a 30A, but all the bras in that size that I’ve ever tried have not fitting correctly at all. I would try bras on in a shop and I would near burst into tears every time because nothing would fit right. I always assumed that there was something wrong with the shape of my boobs and that I would never be comfortable in a bra. I never once thought that I could be wearing the wrong size. After trawling on the internet to find something that actually fit I came across a blog that explained that this sizing system was completely wrong and from that I figured out my real size. I couldn’t believe it at first, and I knew my size didn’t exist so I tried on a 28DD. And to my surprise, it fit (almost) perfectly. Of course the band was too big and I’ve had to have it taken in but it was SO much better than my other bras. Now I just have to wait for someone to make 24/26 bands…I may even be a 24F in some cases. How irritating.
Try http://www.ewa-michalak.pl/. At the bottom of each bra it says If you do not see their bra size drop-down menu, please contact us and we will sew it for you. Check a review here http://www.thinandcurvy.com/2011/05/where-to-find-26-and-24-band-bras-and.html.
Try http://www.ewa-michalak.pl/. They say “If you do not see their bra size drop-down menu, please contact us and we will sew it for you. Please note, however, that such orders are not refundable / exchange,” You can see a review at http://www.thinandcurvy.com/2011/05/where-to-find-26-and-24-band-bras-and.html.
Ewa Michalak do custom make small backed bras – see my latest post x
Today at Macy’s Dept store in new York a fitter yelled at me. I told her I measured 34 under bust and 42 bust, that I was looking for 36DDD bras. She loosely measured me and said I was 39 under bust. What the??? No, I told her, and quickly measured myself. See, I’m 34. She yelled, You have to add 5 inches, you’re 39. I’m a bra fitter, see my picture on the wall? Then she stormed away.
I’m on Long Island and the stores her don’t carry 34 larger cups. I tried to find 36DDD but they were either band too tight or cup too loose. I decided to focus on 36DD & 38D, if you can imagine! I recently became thinner, so I still need a wide back band to smooth it out back there. And they are more comfortable for my mid-back. I was all set on a Vanity Fair 38D, when I tried on a Playtex 38D and was floored by how uplifting it was. It is a Balconette #4823. I look so small & lifted. I’m going to become even thinner soon so I’ll have to start all over again then. But by then my breast tissue will be smaller too. I’ll measure 32, wear 32-34. Cup??? We’ll see. Wish me luck!