This question is probably going to get a few chuckles so bare with me.

I have a bra question. I am currently nursing my 10 month old son so it's even better.

So, I have recently lost weight and my size 38 F bra is too loose! So I looked up online with the proper measurements (36" rib cage and 42" bust) Most of the sites that I measured myself on said a 40 D bra size.

Like I said my 38 falls off of me and I know even a bran new 40 would fall off me too. I just got a nice bra that is a 36 F and other than when I am engorged with milk it fits fine and makes the girls look great!

So, I just wanted to know if someone could explain this to me. Is this another one of those "Not every woman is the same" kind of deals?

Measure under bust. This is your band size. Round up to even number if needed. NO need to add extra inches -- modern fabrics are way more stretchy than old fashioned bra fabric -- though that bit of advice still floats around and confuses people.

In an old bra, measure around fullest part of bust. Subtract band size.

In the US...

1 = B cup
2 = C
3 = D
4 = DD
5 = DDD / E / F
6 = DDDD / F/ G

If you really are a 36 under bust, then your band is really a 36.

If your full bust is 42, then 42 - 36 = 6 inches. Which is an DDDD / F / G.

So I'd go to the store and try on some 36F ones.

GL!
A.

Well, I suppose it's close enough to ballpark then. She can fine tune more exact when trying styles on in person.

Or as you say -- get a pro fitting at a shop.

A.

If you're breastfeeding as well as losing weight, have you considered getting a stretchy maternity bra that will see you through more than one size?

I used to be a "Bra Fitting Specialist" lol if you can call it that, at JcPenney years ago. The best way I would measure was actually just under your arm pits (right before the tops of the breasts start). Pull it tight, but not where i hurts. For some reason, it's more accurate then under. Then at the fullest part for letter. You can do this with a bra on-best with one that fits well. And it's the old addage: 1 inch per letter. ie- 38 around and 41 over is generally 38C.

Now, it gets tough when you'e breast feeding. Take measurements engorged and non. Then avg them.

Useful thread! I've been wearing the wrong size bra for so long and didn't even know how to measure properly.

Where do you all shop for bras? Are there any brands you recommend?

Definately try them on. I was wearing the completely wrong size for years- and now all my tops look much better and I feel so much more comfortable! However sizes and fit will change slightly with the make and style of the bra.

eh... I wouldn't trust bra fittings too much. I got measured and they put me at 40D, which was the size I comfortably wore BEFORE I lost weight. Right now my 40Ds are much too big and uncomfortable. When I mentioned this to the bra fitter she just said I didn't know how to properly wear a bra...

How could I not know how to wear a bra? I knew my current ones were uncomfortable and loose. The cups had room in them, and the band would ride up in the back :/ Clearly 40D was not my bra size.

astrophe has it right, and that method worked for me. I think though that all the measurements of the cups sizes need to be moved down, A cup usually starts it at 1" and B cup is 2", etc.

My underbust wound up being 35" (rounded it up to 36") and my bust measurement was 40" resulting in a D cup bra. My 36D fits me perfectly and I'm comfortable in it.

I just want to add my thanks to all the people who have posted tips in the various bra fitting threads. I've had an awful time fitting bras since losing weight, and the "specialists" I've asked just have no idea how to work with weight loss breasts. I'm finally settling into a 32DD-32DDD depending on style. Underwires seem to work better with the smaller cup size for some reason. My dream of buying bras off the shelf is, apparently, not going to happen though. I can only find them online.

I recently went from a C cup to a B cup and the site I looked on said I was a 32 A. No way! So, what did I do? Went into the store and tried a few on. My bust measures 33" so therefore I would get a 34 not a 32 - tried the 34A on - way too tight and the 34B cup fit just right. My suggestion is if all else fails, try them on. Seeing is believing, lol.

Measuring will give you a good ball park place to start. But you really have to try them on.

All of mine were loose, in the band, in the cups. So I measured myself. A 36d/dd depending on the bra.

The pro at the bra store said I was a 34d. If I want to look like a $20 street walker. I would have major spillage.

I'd really like to find a good racer back, front close. Not easy in a 36DD.

I went shopping last weekend and after trying on about 15 bra's I bought 2.

I came to the conclusion, I don't like the molded cups. My ole floppy girls just sink to the bottom, leaving gaps in the upper part of the cup. It's tough to find a bra that doesn't have the molded cups.

Why, oh why? Do they put all that extra padding in a 36DD? God knows I don't need that.

I have to have an underwire.

Anywho, it's always best to try on!

I'm a 32DDD and it is HARD to find stores that carry it - I just know that a 34DD is almost right, but large in the band, and can give me just a teeny bit of cup spillage. I went to a fitter and they sized me right out of their store.

This is from another site where someone asked
"I'm just wondering if a 32D is equal to a 36C." (answer) " A 32D is actually smaller than a 36C. A 36C is equivalent to a 34D and 32DD but on a smaller band. A 32D is equivalent to a 34C and 36B only on a bigger band."

The general rule with bra sizes is that you go up a band size and down a cup sizes, up a cup sizes and down a band size.

I would say go try them on; Maybe try a 40DD(D) since you went down a band size but are going up cup sizes?