Wow, after 3years of constant frustration and really ill fitting bras I went back to the tape measure after reading this thread. I even tried a store fitting once and the woman working there had no clue about issues associated with weight loss. Even though it made me cringe I actually ordered a couple of 32aaa bras (who knew they even came in that size!). To my absolute amazement they fit. I finally have bras that cover and support with no spilling over the top! Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread for encouraging me to go back one more time. 3FC is the best.

BTW - I've discovered Lunaire bras and absolutely love them. They fit perfectly and they are very pretty.

I have had to purchase from a specialty store for about 3 years now. The most recent time I went in they had to do an alteration because they don't carry my size
I am now a 32I and they don't carry band sizes that small with cupsizes that large. I tried order online a couple times at a couple different places (the specialty shop has NOTHING pretty its all "granny" style you can practicly see it out the top of a tshirt)
I have noticed every places sizes are different just like trying to find pants one brand fits one way and another brand fits another way. I will try nordstroms thanks so much for that. As for bathing suits I have not been able to find one since I was about 20 (I am 26) with the exception of my pregnancy. When I find something that fits in the bust it is huge in the tummy or the breast peices are way to far apart because they expect me to be wider then I am.
Bra and bathing suit shopping has been my heart breaking dread for years now I am hopeing that as I lose weight I will lose boob too lol, but i am a murphy by blood so not likely lol
I will check out the site for bathing suits you found and thanks for the info though I was not much help to you, your thread was lots of help to me thanks so much!!

I'm so glad this post could help others too! :D

I actually have some good news! My chest size has gone down some since I posted this. I'm currently hanging out between 42" to 41" (depending on the time of day) so that would be either a 34H-34G. Unfortunately, my one remaining bra that I was trying to tweak out as much time as possible with, broke. :( I still have 2 bras that sort of fit but don't give much support. I'm seeing if I can hold out a bit longer with them, though, because then maybe I'll actually be able to shop locally instead of ordering online. My fear is that I'll order online and then 1.) I'll have to pay huge taxes here and 2.) I'll shrink out of it soon.

So many sites are so bogus in fitting bras. I find this guide the best: http://www.brasthatfit.net/howtofityourba.html

I went for years wearing bands way too big - even when going to specialty shops, they would talk me into 2" wider and guess what, a day later, the band is up around my shoulder blades!

I've been wearing a 40 G for years and years. I just did a measurement (as the bands are sliding up the back and the cups aren't filling out as much (can't tell if it's because the band is too wide or the cup is too big) and with using measurements, it just seems I need to go down a band size, but not a cup size. Rib cage is 37 (tight) and over bra/breasts it's 46. That puts me at a FF or G. G if I use the TIGHT 37, but FF if it's a more loose 37.25.

I think I might just wait until my rib cage is 36. Buying at a 37 and buying a 38 strap seems silly as expensive as bras are!

I'm bumping this old thread because I'm finally getting around to ordering bras now. Ugh!

Anyways, I just remeasured myself and I'm now 33 inches underbust and 40 bust. So in theory that would make me a 34F. However, I'm thinking of ordering a 32F (or possibly G?) and buying an extender to go with because I'm afraid that I'm going to shrink out of the band size quickly with more weight loss. Does this sound like a crazy idea? Would you buy an F or G? Basically, the biggest problem is that we need to get bras shipped here and looking at shipping times it could take 2-4 weeks, which can definitely mean some inches would be lost in that time! Oh, and thanks to wonderful shipping costs sending them back isn't going to be an option...

Can I just say that I HATE that this country doesn't have bras by both cup and band size? :mad: Basically, they assume that everyone is a B cup and just increase the band. I went to some stores last week and the bras were literally falling off of me because the band sizes were too big (or the cups sizes were ridiculously small! I can't even express to you how annoying this is (and expensive since I'm going to have to get everything shipped from abroad). :tantrum:

ETA: I'm going to order from figleaves.com. They seem to have the best international shipping rates and the bra prices are great too!

A couple of weeks ago, I was measuring about 33 under bust and I went shopping and left with a 32. It just fit better than the 34s I tried. So, you might not even need an extender - and now I'm measuring 32, so I'm glad I went with a smaller band size. If you're getting the smaller band size, you probably need to go up a cup size. I was wearing a 36G that was getting too big (and had room in the cups) and the new bra is a 32 H, without room. So, it's hard to say. Also, make sure whatever bra you're buying doesn't have any double sizes thrown in to mess with your calculations. If they have DD, DDD, etc and then go to Es and F's and G's, you might need a smaller cup size.

Thanks. I'm glad to hear that I'm not crazy for thinking this. ;) Since I have a 6" difference for the 34, then if I get the 32 it would be a 7-8" difference so I'll just check their website to make sure what that is (I'm pretty sure they do double up sometimes so that might leave me with an E or F, I'll check to make sure). My breasts are pretty full too so that was another reason why I was thinking of going down a band size and up a cup size...

First off, definitely check out figleaves.com! The bras are affordable and they even have a 28K so I'm pretty sure they have your size. ;) Also, I was about your size starting off and have recently lost a lot of inches so it does happen! :D

That's a good point...so I'm trying to figure this out. If I go down to a 32" and since my bust is actually 40" then I need an 8" difference, right? That would translate to an FF or H? OR is it just a 7" difference (if you go down a band size do you just go up one cup size? :?:) so that would mean I'm either a F or G (depending if they double the sizes or not).

You can't count on where the weight will come off, RFF.

I'm in a 34DD now. Last time I was this size/weight overall, I wore a 32F.

If you have a credit card with room to play, you might consider ordering a whole bunch of sizes--32s and 34s, any cup that you think might possibly be correct--in the same bra, and returning what doesn't work. Then moving forward, you'll have a baseline "this is my size" to judge from.

Unfortunately, that's not possible. I live abroad so the shipping is already going to be $20 and I might have to pay custom fees on top of that (especially if I were to buy more). It makes this whole thing that much more annoying because locally they just don't sell bras remotely in my size (they actually just have the band size vary and assume everyone wears a B!). :mad:

Where are you living? Someone might know of a stockist in your country.

I live in Brazil. I've looked around at websites locally and it seems nearly impossible to find bras in larger cup sizes. I even tried a maternity store in hopes that they would have larger cup sizes. Well, they went up to a DD (and it was a rare store that actually distinguished between band/cup sizes) but the band size was massive and my breasts literally fell right out of it! :o Plus, the quality was horrible (this was a NICE store too...). I can pay about half the price and find a bra in my size (whatever that may be :dizzy: ) by ordering online...

Sigh, for things like this I really miss the US at times....

A friend of mine in Australia gets all her bras internationally too. Do remember that the big-name online bra shops are usually far more expensive, and places like this sell the same stock but far cheaper. I've given up on standard underwired bras since they became too uncomfortable now that I have to spend a lot of time lying in bed, but when I did wear them, I loved Panache bras. The shape is excellent, they do gorgeous bras in larger cup sizes (often up to a K), and the sizing is very consistent (though with occasional blips, which a good retailer should be able to tell you about if you ask). The Panache Tango, which comes in both balconette and plunge styles, is an absolute classic. I've lost track of how many colours I have it in by now. Anyway, these days I wear maternity sleep bras such as the Bravado Body Silk or the Fertile Mind Superbra, which are amazingly stretchy and will thus see you through quite a variety of sizes. Not quite the same sort of bra, but for me it's a fantastic option. Assuming that's not what you want, I'd try a brand like Panache, something with a good reputation for consistent sizing, so that once you figure out your size in it, you can just stock up from online shopping. Actually, I've seen those bras even cheaper on eBay, there are lots of good quality lingerie shops there.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with bra issues. The other forum I'm on has girls that are almost underweight wearing 36 bands. And here I am about to buy 32 bands because these last 5lbs have come off of my ribcage. I go in for implants on the 20th, and I know after that I'll probably need a 32DDD. No clue where to find that :/