I had the exact same experience last year!

Yay! Bras!

Congrats essexjan, welcome to the E-club (which I've left now since I'm loosing weight). The brand Freja and Bravissimo are now your best fiends - cute sets at decent prices home delivered! YEay! I dig Freya as they give good profile (all sets I got so far). Hawt Freja set here. Oooh, I better get that actually....

fiends, friends. Whichever. ;P

Oooh, there's some lovely bras here.

Yeah, dabitch, my spelling-fu has failed me today too, re-reading my original post.

Yes, please!

30% off Freya at the link essexjan posted. I'm so there!

Also, I had this in E - was dressy and comfy!

Oh hEllO - it's like gift wrapping myself.

This is the bra I bought in Rigby & Peller. It's a Prima Donna Casilia.

The briefs are much better in the set Specklet yes pleased to though. Now, must tear myself away, don't tempt me anymore I'm broke until next paycheck!

Okay...where do I go to get properly fitted? I'm stuck out here in Mallville with no proper lingerie shops and the closest we come to an upscale department store is Macy's. I, too, want the good-lookin' tatas! But how?h

Macy's offer bra fittings with trained staff, jrossi4r (bottom right of page).

The woman who fitted me today said that most women wear a band size that's 2-4 inches too big, and a cup size that's one or two sizes too small.

So if you think you're a 36B, you might well be a 34C or 32D..

Oh, goodie! I'm going to go this week. Right now, I'm wearing a 38C, but I know it's wrong. It's too big after losing weight and feeding babies.

OK, all the links are blocked from my work, but...

In a 32E I don't have the booby side-spread thing that my old bras gave me.

Now I'm wondering if I wear the right size.
I thought I was a 36F but shoot, maybe not given that I get the total booby side spread.

I may have to go to Macy's (are their fittings any good?).

Also... helpful tips!

So, um, my straps fall down, and the band rides up, and the underwires sometimes poke the pits. So maybe that means I'm a... 34G? Holy christ, no. :(

Probably. Go on, get yourself a comfortable cup!

Macy's might have a fitter.

Here's what I've learned: measure yourself just under your breasts, not over the top of them. Try on bras with that measurement until you get a comfortable cup size.

(Like Jan, I thought I was about a 34/36 B/C and it turns out I'm a 32 D/DD.)

The thing the fitter did that was most useful was to ensure that the underwire encircled the breast, without digging into the armpit. If the backstrap is too big, then the underwire will poke the armpit and the boob will spread sideways.

Sigh ... if only my tits retained their bra-perfect shape on their own. But they don't. Sob!

Wow, that little essay on "Swing Sizing" changed my entire understanding of the bra. From this day forward, I will be a wiser woman.

maybe that means I'm a... 34G?

You and me both...I have shoulder strap slippage, and I think I'm a 36D. Now I have to try the mondo cups with a smaller band size to see what's what.

Also, I don't put on my bra the right way. Never knew that either. I put it on backwards, hook it, then swing it around to the front and put my arms through. I feel embarrassed now...yet another thing nobody ever taught me *snif*

I'm no bra-ologist, so forgive me if this is a dumb question, but: it seems like almost everyone who mentions being mis-sized has been mis-sized in a similar way--the lady thinks that she's (x band/y cup), but she's actually (smaller-than-x band/bigger-than-y cup). Is this the most common kind of inaccurate sizing, and, if so, how come?

box, because when a woman measures herself for the three-part number (eg: 36-24-36 = brick house), she measures her bust around the fullest curve of her breasts. Many women (including myself) think that the number indicates the band size of the bra you should be wearing. The reality is that you need to measure for the band size where the band actually goes: around the ribcage just beneath the breasts.

So most women have a band size too big, and a cup size too small.

The reality is that you need to measure for the band size where the band actually goes: around the ribcage just beneath the breasts.

Also, I've read quite recently that you should always buy bras that fit well on the biggest settings, to account for the gradual stretching-out of the elastic.
I was always getting ones that fit on the tightest. big difference when you think a 34 on the biggest setting may be almost the same as a 36 on the tightest.

I should get fitted but it seems so ...embarrassing. And Miko, I also put my bra on that way. I have to because of lack of flexibility in my left arm. I'm seriously considering going to front-clasp bras for that reason.

Remember that thread about hating to pay for certain things? I hate paying for bras. They are sooo freakin' expensive and I'm sure I end up with cheap, not very well made bras because of that.

I had the exact same experience a few years ago with my first fitting. I went in wearing a 38C, and came out with a handfull of 34F bras! I felt and looked great when wearing them, and they don't hurt my back as much.

Mike: I put my bra on the same way that you do. I just can't seem to get my band high enough and then clasped if I don't. But I always make sure to lean forward and reposition my boobs so that they are centered in the cups. If I had someone to dress me every day, that would be great.

Box: I think it's the most common inacurate sizing because most women don't measure straight around their ribcage - hard to do by yourself - and they don't get fitted as frequently as they should (or ever). My mother doesn't want to get fitted because she's "been wearing the same size since your sister was born!" Which was in 1984. I'm 300% sure her body and breasts have changed in the last 24 years, and her bra size should change with it.

It may seem embarassing, Deborah, but it's really a lot like a doctor's visit. You have to get somewhat disrobed, there may be some touching, but it's done by a professional who does this all day long and it's to keep a part of your body healthy and happy. If you're still uncomfortable with the tought of a stranger fitting you, take a friend!

I need to get refitted soon because I've been losing more weight and am probably up to a 32G by now. Which: Holy Jeebus!

I just wish there was a way to shrink the damn things (boobs) with minimally invasive choppage. I'd love to be a B cup, or even an A. To me, C's are generally a pain in the ass.

To me, C's are generally a pain in the ass.

It's been a long time since I took Basic Anatomy, but I think I may have found your problem.

figuratively speaking. :)

I would like to do a proper fitting some day. But experimenting with different sizes a couple years ago got me a more comfortable bra. It was about time too. I had been wearing the same size since high school and now when I put on bras they feel so much more comfortable and supportive. I do wonder, though, if the vanity sizing thing going on in clothing plays out in brassiere sizing. I suppose it doesn't matter in the end if you're wearing a garment that feels good.

I really wonder about the vanity size issue. I don't see how a bra from brand x can fit differently from one made by brand y when the band is supposed to be actual inches.

I really should get a few of mine out and measure them some day to see if they actually match the size tag!

I think it does happen, though. I have two bras from Torrid, both are tagged with the house brand but different enough in construction for me to think they were made by someone else. I tried one on, the other I just grabbed because I found out as I was cashing out (and they were closing) that they were buy-one-get-one-free. The one I tried on fits fine (obviously). The one I didn't fits like a hula hoop with two good sized hats attached to it. Both tagged the same size, but one's clearly a few inches larger in the band and substantially larger in the cup.

Dressy cups always seem bigger to me than plunge bras, balconettes and the likes. Some brands of full cups seem to think that all women who have full cups are also full all around (which is logical, I'll admit) so the straps are long and they tend to be baggy in the cup. Just get the size that fits, even if that means a cup or a band-size smaller.

What I do hate is those who insist that I fit in a 36C. I'm looking at you, salesperson of Victoria Secret. Boobs are not supposed to bulk out of the top part of the cup as if trying to escape. Not sexy!

I think it's funny that all girls here react with an "omg!" when they discover they are a bigger cup. Shocked me too at first, but girls, your back and shoulders will thank you for it. Also, all 32's or 28's should be chuffed you slim little minxes!

≡ Click to see image ≡

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! I love that.

Boobies.

SFW

Blonde chick with nice pussy

SFW