My…how you have grown.

Granted dievca is much larger than when she trained as an elite athlete, but her increase in bust size is a little more than she expected. she thinks it is age….

34B, 35B (true measurement? REALLY? who can find a 35?), 34C, 34C/D?????

More than a handful? ARGH~

Time, once again, to get measured properly for a bra.

dievca feels that the best way to measure your new size is to go to someone you trust and ask them to measure you.  NYC has some wonderful places, but across the country  the availability for correct measurements are slim because of  poorly trained / old-fashioned bra fitters.
You might get something like this:

Back to reality….

A Bra that fits correctly is a godsend — buy three.  They make you look better, feel better, help your back, etc.  If you have to fit yourself for a bra – here is some advice, directions and tools for measuring correctly and finding your correct size.

Bra Myths

1. MYTH: A = small, B = on the small side of average, C = on the large side of average, D = large, DD = HUGE
   

   TRUTH: Cup size is not static – that is, it is not an absolute measurement of volume. The only way cup size has any significance in relation to volume is when it is combined with a band size. DD cups on a smaller band size (28/30 for example) are actually quite small. On a larger band size (38 for example), they can be quite large. The following graphic can hopefully help you to understand these concepts a bit more clearly. DD is by no means the largest cup size. Some people need a G cups, as well as women who need cups in the K-L range.

   

***Plus your breast size changes throughout the month and your life, as dievca is realizing~

1. MYTH: Professional fitters know what they’re doing.
   

   TRUTH: Many fitters use outdated fitting methods. They often add inches to your real underbust size. This is left over from an outdated fitting method where your bust measurement correlated to your band size; today, the band size is based solely on your real underbust measurement. In addition, adding inches to the underbust allows the fitter to put you in a smaller cup size. This way, stores can carry a very limited range of sizes (usually around 32-38A-DD, particularly in the US) and put as many women as possible into those sizes.

    

2. MYTH: You have measured yourself and found your “true” bra size. You should be able to go out and buy any bra in that size and it will fit well. WRONG!
   

   TRUTH: Unfortunately, bra shopping is not that easy. Manufacturers can vary in their construction and a woman who needs a 36F in one bra may very well need a 36FF in another (or an even more drastic difference). In addition, shape plays a very important role in the fit of a bra. Even though a bra may have the right volume for you, if the shape of the bra does not match the shape of your breasts, it will seem to be the wrong size.

Signs of a Good/Poor Fit

To decide if a bra fits well or not, you must look at each part of the bra. This includes the band, the straps, the cups, the wires, and the gore (which is the piece in between the cups, over your sternum).

	Good Fit	Poor Fit
Band	Cannot be pulled out more than 2” from the body and is not uncomfortably tight. Please note that red marks from a band are normal when it is tight enough, as long as the band is not painful.	Rides up in the back, can be pulled out more than 2” from the body, or is uncomfortably tight
Straps	Are not painful and do not fall off the shoulders	Dig into or fall off of the shoulders
Cups	Are filled completely but not overflowing	Have wrinkles, or spill out on the top, sides or middle to create “quadboob”
Wires	Follow the root of the breast (where your breast tissue attaches to your chest wall)	Have empty space on the outsides (are too wide) or sit on breast tissue (are too narrow)
Gore	Tacks (touches your sternum)	Floats (does not touch your sternum)

If you have a medical condition where you have a dip in your chest wall -Pectus Excavatum -you may not get a tacking gore even with a proper fitting bra; you will have to rely on the other fit points to decide if your bra fits properly or not.

THE NEWEST WAY TO MEASURE BRA SIZE!

CLICK  for the Bra Size Calculator: Plug in Your Numbers!

 

 

Ill-fitting bras are not a unique problem to bigger busted Ladies. If you think your breasts are small, you don’t have to settle for the bras you find in department store. Once you find the perfect bra, you’ll wonder how you ever dealt with a poor fit bra Your breasts, back, posture, and the rest of your body will thank you.

BAND SIZE CONVERSION

Underbust* (in)	UK	US	EU	AU	BEF
25-26 27-28 29-30 31-32 33-34 35-36 37-38 39-40 41-42 43-44 45-46 47-48 49-50 51-52 53-54 55-56 57-58 59-60	26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60	26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60	55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140	4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38	70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155
*The calculator uses inches to find your bra size, these underbust measurements roughly correlate to each band size. Centimeters are more exact, but we didn’t want to confuse anybody by adding them in.

 

CUP SIZE CONVERSION

In. Difference	UK	US	EU	AU	BEF
0.5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18	AA A B C D DD E F FF G GG H HH J JJ K KK L LL	AA A B C D DD/E DDD/F G H I J K L M N — — — —	AA A B C D E F G H * * * * * * * * * *	AA A B C D DD E F FF G GG H HH J JJ K KK L LL	AA A B C D E F G H * * * * * * * * * *
*After cup size H, EU and BEF sizes don’t translate from UK/US sizes as well, due to the use centimeters instead of inches. The same is true for AU sizes after an F cup, although this is mainly due to a lack of standardization in the sizing models.

Brands that offer larger sizes with their measuring system after the name:
Chantelle FR
Cleo UK
Curvy Kate UK
Elomi UK
Fantasie UK
Fauve UK
Freya UK
Goddess US
Gossard UK
Lepel UK
Masquerade UK
Natori US
Panache UK
Parfait by Affinitas UK
Prima Donna EU
Simone Perele EU
Shock Absorber UK

When shopping for the correct fitting bra, make sure to measure yourself correctly and be patient enough to try on many different brands and styles. Be open-minded and pay attention to fit.

 

For More Information:
***An excellent and passionate resource : http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/

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