Bra Size Explanation
 

I know this is a crazy question but does anyone know what the numbers and letters in our bra sizes mean? I went to get fitted for a new bra since my weight loss and my numbers went down but the letters are still the same. I just don't understand the Alphabet in the bra sizes. Can anyone explain?

Thanks for any help.

Okay, now I'm not quoting myself on this one lol. The numbers are related to your body, i.e. how that strap wraps around your frame so you can hook it. The alphabet if for the actual cup that holds your breasts. Lol, I'm writing this on a whim, but I recently had someone explain this to me because I'm in the similar situation. Went down number size, but my actual breast size is still in the same alphabet region.

Err…hope I wasn’t confusing and helped somewhat :).

Yes, that information was very helpful.

And I'm a DDD. I guess I have A LOT that needs to be held. LOL LOL LOL

I wonder how can I lose the DDD and get into a D? LOL LOL LOL

Any exercises? LOL

And, (read my cynical thoughts) my guess is that you might be larger than a DDD but they put you in a DDD as that's the largest they had in the store.

Measure yourself and see - what is your underbreast measurement (tight - horizontal all around). THen, what is your breast measurement all around (in a good fitting bra) and there are other methods.

The difference between the two measurements determine your cup size. A DDD (or F) 6" difference. (A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4, DD-5, DDD/F-6, G-7).

My guess? Being very cynical is that they added inches to your band size so that they could give you a smaller cup size. If I were to get fitted they would want to give me a 36DDD/F. When I am a 34G. By giving me a slightly too big band size, they are able to give me a slightly too small cup size.

There is an actual science/formula for measuring for bra size.:carrot:


:dizzy::?: The down side is, with a kajillion outfits making bras, your best bet is to go TRY THEM ON!

I really and truly, went to a professional, sells bras only store and got measured, by a supposed, professionally trained bra fitter, last fall, they told me I was 34D. ROFLMAO! The store did not have a single bra in a 34D that could hold a candle to my girls.

A 34 is to tight, and a D, well, if I take a deep breath, it would be a peep show!

I am somewhere in between a 36 and a 38 band size, and a D or DD cup, depends on the bra.

I am very PICKY about my bras. They HAVE to be underwire, comfy, hold the girls up and be at least a little bit cute/sexy. The last time I bought bras, I shopped and tried on bras for 3 months before I was happy.

And I spent the money, but it's an item you wear every day, and it needs to work for whatever works for you.:D

Measure your rib cage right under your bust. That's your band measure.

Bend over forward and measure around the fullest part of your bust. Subtract your band measure from that measure.

1"=A, 2"=B, 3"=C, 4"=D, 5"=DD, 6" =F, 7"=G and so on.

Use that as your starting point and try try try bras on until you find one that works for you!

Good luck!

I thought I was a 36D even though nothing about my bra worked... until I read Runningfromfat's blog and realized I'm really a 30G! My posture is better and everyone is up and happy where they belong now :).

lmao. everything about this post made me laugh, thank you! oh, and it is very useful! Thanks again. :):D

I love ALL of the input.

I had to laugh this weekend because I went to 3 different stores to get fitted for a bra and every person gave me a different number. LMAOOOOOOO

Store #1 - 36DDD
Store #2 - 36G
Store #3 - 38 F and 38H

I told the lady at Store #3 that if she brought one more ALPHABET (I, J, K L, etc) in the dressing room, that I was going to run out of the dressing room stark naked screaming through the store. LOL

I'm not surprised at your bra fitting experience. Best thing to do is to try a bunch of different things on. Of course, how they feel IMMEDIATELY and a few hours later can be different. I find that something might feel secure in the store, but then a couple hours later they are sliding up my bike.

That band size might not matter as much to someone who has smaller/lighter breasts, but when your breasts are saggy and heavy, you need a snug band to hold them up!

Haha. I was looking all over for this thread! Silly me for forgetting to subscribe because I was super curious how your venture was!

Yesh, woe is the woman with big breast hehe...kidding. I'm an F cup, but I do agree that you just have to try them on because sometimes I'm an E or a DD. All depends. :D. BerryBlondeBoys is soo right it's no fun not having a band that can hold you up properly. No to bras that can't withstand the heavy!

:).

And yet, so many stores and bra manufacturers still tell you to add 4-5 inches to your measurement to get your band size. That put me in a 34 band, which had become so loose I was tempted to tie them in knots rather than hooking them up.

Even the manufacturer of the bra I am currently wearing would have me wear a 34 band. I have the 32 on the middle hook, and could put it on the tightest hook if I wasn't spending the day hanging out at home and didn't need the extra support.

This misinformation out there and the lack of a good size range at most stores is just so frustrating. I live in Canada. The bra I'm wearing is made in Canada. I cannot go to the local mall and buy this bra in this size. :mad:

I have been wearing the Cabernet bra for years. I am currently in a 36DDD and the girls feel like they are tall as the empire state building. I LOVE my new support, minimizer bra. LOL

I wanted to share this link with you ladies:

http://www.herroom.com/full-figure-b...ng,905,30.html

:tantrum: And yet their fitting advice tells you to take your ribcage measurement and add 4" or 5"!!!! :censored: :bomb:

With recent changes my measurements show I need like a 29H. I don't know if that even exists but I feel like it would be suffocating. I'm wearing my old 34D at the moment and putting in on the middle clip because the 32DD I really needed only comes in underwire and I LOATH underwire. They also have bigger straps which are too wide for my shoulders. Even small straps are too wide, the bigger straps are ridiculous. I was hoping to get away with it for a little longer. I'm going to take a guess that the H's only come in underwire too.

Nevermind. Posting at 3am leads to silly comments. But anyway, that is weird.

Landon's Baby, I used to hate underwire bras too, and go out of my way to avoid them. Then, between dd2 and dd3, I lost a lot of weight and discovered that you can buy 32DD bras. I was amazed to discover that a properly fitted underwire bra can actually be quite comfortable. Before that, I'd thought of them as torture devices.

I have serious issues finding bras that fit properly and am scared to buy online without trying them on. I also hate paying 50+ dollars on one especially while losing weight.

So, after exhaustive searching, I've found that JC Penney has a pretty decent selection of plus size bras for a pretty good price. I ended up with one that has nice support, soft fabric and wasn't too high on the chest. So many of the DD+ cups came up way too high on the breast and would peek out under every shirt I own. Plenty come in cute colors/patterns too so I don't feel so frumpy. I ended up with a 42DD for $22: http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?...Id=70659|71387

It takes time but a good bra makes a huge difference.

I love under wire bras. My only problem is that I want to get a cute and sexy bra every now and then but the bras I get (Cabernet) only come in 3 boring colors. A girl needs colors like red, purple, yellow, orange, etc.

I know, I know, but the chart equating the different brands is my favorite thing ever.

I don't care about colors really. I never buy cute bras. I just like plain white or plain black. But my goodness I loath underwire. I only wear a bra when I leave the house. The second I walk in the door I take it off. I'd really like to not need one at all!

Same here as far as not needing one. Until I get my breast reduction surgery, I will always need a bra. I know that once I get the girls reduced and lifted, I won't wear a bra as much.

The absolute best starting point is taking your underbust=band size. It might not work for everyone BUT it's going to give you the best starting point (being that some women need to go up a band size and some need to go down). What you need to learn are the signs of a well-fitting bra:

- the band needs to be tight. 80% of the support from the bra comes from the band. It should be parallel to the ground and you shouldn't be able to comfortably put more than about 2 fingers underneath your band.
- The center gore should sit flat against against your sternum.
- the cups should enclose all the breast tissue i.e. no quadraboob.
- when you put on the bra make sure to bend over and scoup all your tissue into your cups. This CAN affect your bra size so don't forget to do this while trying it on!!! Additionally, if you're experiencing back/underarm fat then this can help prevent that.

As for figuring out your cup size it takes a lot of trial and error but I'd actually recommend a few different methods of measuring your bust because if you're in a really ill-fitting bra than your bust size might not be the appropriate one (due to your breasts sitting too low). I give a detailed description here on how to measure your bust size and have a link to a great bra size calculator.

If you want to see the difference a well-fitting bra can make check out this link. There are a lot of reasons to have a well-fitting bra (yes, health reasons) that I outline here.

If you have any further questions or need help with fitting/where to find bras, let me know! ;)

Please don't wear those 34D's!!! Yikes.

Check out the two links that I posted above on why it's important to wear well-fitting bras for both appearance and health reasons.
As for 28's being to small. What happens is when you're wearing way too small cup sizes then the band will feel tonight. 34D's have to be WAy too small. Just to give you an idea, due to sister sizes the volume in 34D's have the following equality 34D=32DD=30E=28F so the volume you're wearing is about 4 cup sizes too small and since your band is 4 sizes too big you're not getting the support you need (trust me as an H cup you really need that support to avoid back pain!).

Personally, I'm a 28J, sometimes 28HH so, yes, bras definitely exist! Actually, a lot of really gorgeous bras that are comfortable, sexy and supportive. Just to give you a few examples:

Ewa Michalak
http://www.ewa-michalak.pl/data/gfx/.../5/6/165_6.jpg

Panache Cleo
http://corporate.panache-lingerie.co...34_col_166.jpg


Curvy Kate
http://www.curvykate.com/products/co...curvy-kate.jpg

If you have any questions on where to buy them/fit etc let me know. I've helped to fit a lot of women on here and they've been really happy with the results. You can also see any of the pictures on my blog of me (in a size 28J in the recent pictures) for a comparison (blog is in my signature)

What does it mean if the gore is digging painfully into your rib cage? This only happens on 1/3 of the bras I got recently. It's a Panache 32G. I can wear the 30G Panache bra I got without any digging in, but it seems counter intuitive that a slightly too large band would cause the centre of the bra to dig in painfully. At any rate, the band doesn't feel too loose. Maybe the cups are slightly too large, so I'm not pushing the gore off my rib cage at all? Or the style of the bra isn't right for me?

I got another bra in 32F from another company, and that band feels a bit on the looser side compared to the other 32, but it is very comfortable, way more supportive than anything else I had before, pretty, and great for wearing when I'm spending most of the day chasing after my kids and doing housework. No digging in at all.

Yes, that can definitely happen on too big cups (and especially if the bra is too big, in general). Also, you might want to look into bras with lower center gores (if this happens in cups that fit correctly too). Panache is notorious for having higher center gores. (and I've actually experienced the same issue as you when I start shrinking out of cups, it's normally the first sign for me that I need to go down a cup size soon!). High center gores are great for women like me (with very soft breast tissue) but if you have firmer breasts you might be a lot happier with a lower center gore. Ewa Michalak bras are like that, Freya/Fantasie also offer a lot of plunges too.

:p Me, firmer breasts? Hahahaha. After 5 pregnancies and the accompanying ups and downs in size, my breasts are more like a 30 or 32 long than anything else. I think maybe it's the combination of the gore coming up too high and having lost 5lbs since I originally measured and was recommended a 32G or 30GG bra. The cups don't look huge, but they're maybe not as full as they should be at the top. The 30G fits the best and is lower than the other Panache.

Yeah, so I definitely think it's the too big issue then. ;) Like I said I have soft breasts too and experience that also. ;)

IF you still want to get some use out of the bra you can just bend the top of the center gore outwards so it doesn't poke you.

I'm learning a lot about bras. Good information being posted.

Thanks Valrock. You made it really simple. I was always wondering.