Ladies, I know I talk about a lot about proper bra fitting here but I also know many, many tend to think of Victoria's Secrets as the holy grail for all this bra. So...
I made a post going exactly by their bra fitting advice, and, well, you can see for yourself how well that worked:
If you have questions on how to find bras that DO fit correctly let me know. I think it's SO important to have well-fitting bras after weight loss. Especially, because we're so susceptible of body image issues, body dysmorphic disorder and sometimes have troubles accepting our new bodies. Also, often times women have changes to their breast tissue following weight loss so they need very supportive bras.
I want to say, I have NOTHING against women who shop at VS. It's entirely their fit advice that I have a major problem with.
Yup, me too. I bought bras there for years, always a huge band with a "D" cup because that's the highest their bras go.
Finally a personal stylist who was helping me with a photo shoot for a professional headshot told me to go a boutique for a professional fitting and the right size bra.
I wish I could like this post. Instead I'll pass along the word on Facebook and twitter! thanks so much for helping all of us see the the importance of a properly fitting bra!
I love VS bras. They don't have my current "true" size but I can still fit into their 32s OK. Not responding directly to OP but when I mention that I like VS bras, people will go "I'm guessing you don't like underwire since those bras will practically fall apart?" but actually I've never had problems with their lasting power and the type of lift they give me is great-even bras that give me a similar amount of life just don't give me the TYPE of shape I really like. GAH I do worry a little when I get to goal weight if I can fit into any of their bras!
seagirl I'm so glad to hear you got into the correct size, it really does make a world of difference, doesn't it?
sontaikle thanks for spreading the word!!!
pixelllate there are a TON of gorgeous, supportive bras in smaller band sizes! I wear a 28 band and I have enough options to write a blog about all of them. And, no, they aren't nearly as expensive as many think either.
I don't have anything against the bras there, just the fit advice. There are certainly companies that cater to the small-busted women that I DO support as long as they promote proper fit in women (and don't try to force women into ill-fitting bras just to make a sale). Basically, if I think you hear the word "sister size" at VS you should run away immediately!
I measured their way. According to them I should be in a 32D. You know, I actually have a 32D and a 32DD in my drawer, and there's no way that they would contain the girls.
I remeasured my underbust as well, since I haven't done it in a while. I'm now down to 28.5, which is odd because I didn't think I had that much weight to lose there, and I was 29.5-30 a couple of months ago.
Do you mean VS advice puts you in a smaller size than what you should be wearing?
So how do you measure to find a correct fit? Does fit apply no matter how big your boobs are (or in my case, how small)?
If you check out runningfromfat's blog, there's a guide on how to measure. When I measured myself I think I was a 28D or a less snug fit of 30C. VS put me in a 32B, but I've lost 1/2 inch in my bust since then. I don't measure myself that much - but as I get closer to goal weight I will be to see what my "goal bra" size is.
Victoria's Secret wants to put me in a too large band with too small cups. You can get away with this more if you have small/medium breasts or younger/firmer breasts. If I wore the size they want me to, I'd have quadraboob and the band would be riding high on my back.
Their size suggestions put me in a bra band that was too big and cups that were way too small.
The best starting point for proper bra fit is band=underbust measurement and your cup size is then the difference between bust and underbust (a great calculator is here: http://www.butterflycollection.ca/bra-size-calculator/ ).
However, all the cup sizes are relative. A 28A is one cup size smaller than a 30A, for instance. Because the volume is actually different (I explain that here: http://www.bralessinbrasil.com/2011/...d-equally.html). There is something called sister sizes and that is basically that in order to get the same volume in cups you need to go down one band size, up one cup size. Basically, that means that a 28B has the same volume as a 30A.
What happens at a lot of stores who carry limited size selection and want to make a quick sale without thinking of the customer's comfort is that they sell the sister size if the customer is sized out of their range. So if they don't carry any 28D's they would sell a customer 32B's instead. However, the fit will be really bad for the customer and they won't get the support that they need because 80% of the support for bras come from the band.
Sorry for the long post but this is something that I'm quite passionate about.
Runningfromfat, thank you for the very informative post. I had NO idea! Why didn't my mum explain this to me?? (jk)
*Off to take measurements*
No problem!
Unfortunately, most people don't know a thing about bra sizing etc. I honestly wish it was included in health classes because there are been studies that about 50% of women avoid/don't like exercise due to embarrassment/pain associated with ill-fitting bras. Leaving it up to the major lingerie stores is clear a badly idea as can be seen in my post!
I love VS bras. They don't have my current "true" size but I can still fit into their 32s OK. Not responding directly to OP but when I mention that I like VS bras, people will go "I'm guessing you don't like underwire since those bras will practically fall apart?" but actually I've never had problems with their lasting power and the type of lift they give me is great-even bras that give me a similar amount of life just don't give me the TYPE of shape I really like. GAH I do worry a little when I get to goal weight if I can fit into any of their bras!
I love them too! I don't generally GO to a store, as all the women in black are generally idiots, lol... I got measured at a little place and just buy online, or at the semi-annual sale, or on eBay, lol. I was in a 40DD and I'm on my way out of a 38DD...
It's wonderful when you find your correct size. I used to shop VS all the time. But no matter what size cups or bands I tried, I always looked like I could nurse a litter of kittens (quadroboob), and I always worried I'd bruise my chin if I took off running from the lack of support. Shock and awe when I went to a specialty shop's sale, got measured, and found out I needed a much smaller band and a much larger cup. And I looked taller and lighter with the new bras, too! Hooray for Fantasie and Freya!
It's wonderful when you find your correct size. I used to shop VS all the time. But no matter what size cups or bands I tried, I always looked like I could nurse a litter of kittens (quadroboob), and I always worried I'd bruise my chin if I took off running from the lack of support. Shock and awe when I went to a specialty shop's sale, got measured, and found out I needed a much smaller band and a much larger cup. And I looked taller and lighter with the new bras, too! Hooray for Fantasie and Freya!
I'm glad I found this thread. My breasts have shrunk so much since I've lost weight and now at goal. I used to be a size 36DD but now my breasts have shrunk and deflated to practically nothing. I measured myself this morning and my bust was 33 and underbust 28. I'm going to try and find the link that runningfromfat posted to calculate my size. I really need new bras, when my 36DD got to big, I went down a bit to a 36C I believe, but now these bras are too big and I'm pretty much dying to find a properly fitted bra.
So I found the calculator looks like I'm supposed to be a 28DD or a 26DDD, I won't go for the wide bands as I've never liked them before, I'm glad I now have an idea of the size that I will be next time I go bra shopping
Last edited by SoCalCowgirl; 06-21-2012 at 11:28 AM.
Victoria's Secret's Fit Advice
thanks so much for helping all of us see the the importance of a properly fitting bra!
Leaving it up to the major lingerie stores is clear a badly idea as can be seen in my post! 
