# Bra sizes. Please explain to this feeble male. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 16, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286 "2017-01-16T01:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/1 "2017-01-16T01:31:19Z")
I should have paid more attention at some point in my life, but I didn’t. I have no idea what a “D” versus an “A” versus a “Q” even is. I’m sure Google will take me to very interesting places, which frankly I wouldn’t mind. But what does it all mean? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/2 "2017-01-16T01:33:50Z")
The number is the measurement around the torso. The letter is cup size, with B being larger than A, and C being larger than B, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/3 "2017-01-16T01:37:40Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I should have paid more attention at some point in my life, but I didn’t. > > I have no idea what a “D” versus an “A” versus a “Q” even is. > > I’m sure Google will take me to very interesting places, which frankly I wouldn’t mind. > > But what does it all mean? Put your bra on. Then take a tape measure and measure around the band (underneath the cups). Then measure around the fullest part of the cups. Subtract the two numbers. If the difference is 1 inch, it is an “A,” if the difference is two inches it is a “B,” and so on. If you see a double letter, like “DD” that is the same as the next letter up. For example, “DD” is the same as “E.” [How To Measure Your Bra Size](http://www.barenecessities.com/feature.aspx?pagename=fit_sizing) ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/4 "2017-01-16T01:50:42Z")
Cup size (the letter) is a measure of the difference around between the band (right under the breasts) and the fullest part of the bust. Bigger letter = bigger boobs. For example, 36C would be the size for a woman who measures 36 inches around right under the breasts (or right above them, under the armpit), and who is about three inches bigger around measured over her breasts at the fullest part. If she’s five inches bigger around there, she’ll wear a DD (American/UK) or E (European); if she’s only two inches bigger, she’ll take a B cup. Generally, one letter = one inch bigger around; above 4", most American manufacturers use extra Ds, so 5" is DD, 6" is DDD, 7" is DDDD, etc. European cup sizes follow straight letters: 5" is E, 8" is H, etc. The UK has a weirder scheme, with doubled-up letters inserted, so 5" is DD, 6" is E, 7" is F, 8" is FF, and so. Q, under any scheme, would be a woman with a truly massive chest, well outside ‘normal’ sizing. At the other extreme, cup size A fits a woman who is only about an inch bigger around on her bust than right below it, and AA fits women who are less than an inch bigger around. (A flat-chested woman might even wear AAA.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/5 "2017-01-16T02:02:30Z")
Wow. What a complicated way of doing things. No wonder I hadn’t a clue. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/6 "2017-01-16T02:04:45Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Put your bra on. Then … I think your response fails at the first sentence! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/7 "2017-01-16T02:17:32Z")
What’s the largest then? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/8 "2017-01-16T02:22:28Z")
> [@leaffan](#): > > what’s the largest then? 48 OMG p ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/9 "2017-01-16T03:22:59Z")
If I recall correctly, there’s a bra company that has an alternative method of measuring bra and cup sizes. Not being a bra wearer myself (being male), I found it interesting because of my fascination with systems of measurement (including those that don’t involve breasts). The only thing I remember about it is the company using it has a purpose-designed measuring tape. It seems to me that the currently prevalent system is lacking for a few reasons, the main one being that not all breasts are the same, so good on that company for developing an alternative. (I’d do a search now for it but given the subject matter and the fact that I’m “desk warming” at work before our school vacation begins, it wouldn’t be a good idea to do such an Internet search now.) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/10 "2017-01-16T03:37:39Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Wow. What a complicated way of doing things. Well, bras are intrinsically complicated garments. Think about it: you’re basically wearing a skintight chest harness that’s expected to support fairly sizable and sensitive body parts in a way that’s not only secure but comfortable, easy to put on and remove, and visually appealing. The standard band size/cup size system, where the band size is an absolute measurement and the cup size is a relative one, is actually about the **simplest** possible way you could describe bra sizing. In fact, it radically over-simplifies the fitting issues, which is why different bras with the same number/letter sizing can fit very differently. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/11 "2017-01-16T03:47:52Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > If I recall correctly, there’s a bra company that has an alternative method of measuring bra and cup sizes. You may be thinking of Jockey’s much-publicized [“Volumetric Fit” bra sizing](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/jockey-new-bra-size-system/314735/): > [@](#): > > The New Bra Sizing System Is Invasive, Uncomfortable, and Unnecessary > > […] the underwear giant has introduced 55 new fits with two numbers per tag — 1-30, 7-36, 9-42, for example — and at first the Volumetric Fit System sounds simpler than the already confusing and inconsistent 34-D situation, except it isn’t. Just like OG boob-fitting measurements, one of Jockey’s numbers stands for the inches around the rib cage — that’s the second, thirty-something figure — but it’s that first, other number that makes all the difference. While standard cup letters represent the bust-to-ribcage difference, Jockey has thrown those out for numbers that represent the different “shapes” breast most often come in. And that’s where things get confusing and uncomfortable. [Sounds like it:](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/business/a-new-step-in-wrestling-with-the-bra.html?hp&_r=0) > [@](#): > > To fit the bras, Jockey uses a kit with 10 plastic cups in varying shapes, along with a measuring tape. Customers are meant to try on the cups and see what works best, then measure their rib cage. > > Charla Welch, who reviewed the fitting process on her blog, The Bra Crusader, said the plastic-cup approach “wasn’t very comfortable.” “Maybe it’s just larger breasts, but I had to work it into the plastic cup,” she said. In standard sizes, Ms. Welch is a 32H, a 9-32 in Jockey’s size. > > The Jockey Bra confronts several business challenges. First, the sizing kit costs online customers $19.95, although Jockey says it includes a $20 coupon, plus a money-back guarantee on a bra if it does not fit. Personally, if I’m going to be stuffing the girls into cups to check the fit, I’d rather try on an actual fabric bra, where I can acquire the thing immediately if I like it, than fiddle with a plastic cup from a sizing kit that may or may not accurately represent how the actual garment as a whole will fit me. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/12 "2017-01-16T03:57:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What’s the largest then? [Annie Hawkins-Turner](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-natural-breasts), size 102ZZZ. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/13 "2017-01-16T06:28:40Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > [Annie Hawkins-Turner](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-natural-breasts), size 102ZZZ. Fuck that noise. Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![CatandMouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@CatandMouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatandMouse)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/14 "2017-01-16T06:35:47Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I should have paid more attention at some point in my life, but I didn’t. > > I have no idea what a “D” versus an “A” versus a “Q” even is. > > I’m sure Google will take me to very interesting places, which frankly I wouldn’t mind. > > But what does it all mean? I’ve never heard of “Q” size. I would say she probably has back problems if she’s wearing a “Q”. So the letter is the cup size. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/15 "2017-01-16T06:45:46Z")
The REAL debate: The Bro vs. Manziere? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/16 "2017-01-16T09:09:36Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What’s the largest then? Generally normal stores don’t stock bra’s above a DD cup. Some stores will stock E cups (but then again in some stores E cup is DD). Only very specialty bra stores will stock things F cup and above (Victoria Secret stops at E cup bras oddly enough at well) Related, average breast size tends to be all over the place depending on which study you look at but the one I trust the most came from an organization that polled American bra manufacturers directly and asked them what percentage of cup sizes they sold each, and the combined results were AA cup - 2% A Cup - 15% B Cup - 44% C Cup - 28% D Cup - 10% DD Cup - 0.9% Above DD cup - 0.1% Of course this doesn’t take into account band size as well, since a 36C could also wear a 38B or 34D bra but it’s the most accurate one I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/17 "2017-01-16T09:38:37Z")
So now we can move on to the next complication which is that the cup size does not actually tell you how much boob you’ve got ( volumetrically) because it’s based on a linear measurement, not a volume measurement. So a 10D bra holds breasts the same size as a 16A bra … only on a slimmer-framed woman. The rule of thumb is, up a band size, down a cup size. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/18 "2017-01-16T09:52:08Z")
Also, having spent a small amount of time selling bras, I’m completely sure that that survey is only an accurate way of gauging the sizes of the actual customers up to about a C. Above that, the D-stats are inflated by all the large chested women buying whatever the biggest thing on the shelf is, and large sizes downgraded appropriately. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/19 "2017-01-16T10:45:06Z")
The statistics above will be wrong because, apparently, most women wear the wrong size bra anyway. [This](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3276185/Are-wearing-wrong-bra-Woman-36C-chest-learns-s-wearing-unflattering-cups-three-sizes-small.html)is a newspaper report so should be OK for most people. This begs the question of where does the 80% figure come from. Such studies are there are have been on small samples and often selective rather than random. > [@](#): > > A study by Wood, Cameron and Fitzgerald (2008), entitled “Breast size, bra fit and thoracic pain in young women: a correlational study” [Home - PMC - NCBI](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc)… provided a write-up on their findings and conclusions, with the below results. > > Most (80%) women wore incorrectly sized bras: 70% wore bras that were too small, 10% wore bras that were too large. > > However, this study only used a sample population and the participants all admitted experiencing “upper back pain.” > > Thirty young women (18–26 years) participated in this study, and 26 women provided complete data sets. The above came from a quora question [https://www.quora.com/Where-did-the-phrase-80-of-women-wear-the-wrong-bra-size-come-from](https://www.quora.com/Where-did-the-phrase-80-of-women-wear-the-wrong-bra-size-come-from) ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286/20 "2017-01-16T14:43:57Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Well, bras are intrinsically complicated garments. Think about it: you’re basically wearing a skintight chest harness that’s expected to support fairly sizable and sensitive body parts in a way that’s not only secure but comfortable, easy to put on and remove, and visually appealing. > > The standard band size/cup size system, where the band size is an absolute measurement and the cup size is a relative one, is actually about the **simplest** possible way you could describe bra sizing. In fact, it radically over-simplifies the fitting issues, which is why different bras with the same number/letter sizing can fit very differently. Still confusing … obviously this matter needs some hands-on exploration … [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bra-sizes-please-explain-to-this-feeble-male/777286.md?page=2)