Frugal is one thing, but a good bra is worn almost daily. If it lasts a good two years, a good bra might be the cheapest garment (in cents per day) she owns. A good bra also makes all the clothes she wears over it look like a million bucks.
I’m sorry, but buying a bra is not the time to be frugal. Be sensible, yes, and buy a smooth, non lacy one in the color of her skin, as that goes with everything. But don’t skimp on money.
Some of us can be rational about certain things; some of us can’t. I have to work with what I’ve got.
In my somewhat limited experience, the bra lady does a whole lot more than that. I’ve been dieting recently and had found my bras weren’t fitting as well as they used to so I went to our local high-end store for a proper fitting.
I got measured several different ways, she explained to me what size I was and where the measurements came from, and then found me some stuff to try. She put the bra on for me, adjusted the straps, checked it fitted properly, there was room where there should be, and snugness where there should be…and even though I tried several bras in the same size, they weren’t all a good fit.
After about seven different styles, I finished up with three that fit fantastically but even those three are only from two manufacturers so even the same size doesn’t automatically fit you.
MAYBE. If the bra lady teaches her about the straps, band adjustment, where to wear the bra - she might be able to extrapolate that into finding a decent fitting bra at Target. But the bras at Nordstrom and the bras at Target are different brands - and different quality. I’m still wearing the bras that I bought after I got done nursing my daughter - she is about to turn nine (and we didn’t nurse for very long).
So I looked up some of the measuring techniques and decided to try it out. To my surprise, I came up with 34D. I don’t know whether I did it wrong or whether my mental idea of what a D-sized breast looks like is skewed.
I’m working on getting her into Nordstrom.
That’s exactly what happened to me. I went through all of my twenties as a B-cup before discovering I am a D-cup! You might think a D is enormous but it’s really not. A nice handful. 
And yes, MMV, but I almost exclusively buy my bras from Target now. I got professionally fitted once several years ago, bought one bra from that store (and it wasn’t crazy-expensive, like $30-$40 maybe), and now that I know what they are supposed to feel/look like, I try on a few different sizes every time (36C, 34D, 34C) but it’s always the 34Ds that fit best. I usually try on about five, find 3 that fit, and decide to buy 2.
The only thing about cheap (Target) bras is that they don’t last as long, so you have to buy them more often. So that’s why having at least one really high-quality bra is an economical choice.
She can either pay the money to get a good fit, or she can shop around trying on bras all day long and most likely still not get a proper fit. If she doesn’t have a good fitting bra now, she probably doesn’t know what a proper fit feels like, and in bras comfort is paramount. Consider it an investment that’ll pay off in time not spent fidgeting with a ill-fitted bra.
Another piece of advice that I found out the hard way–if the band is only tight enough on the last hook, you need to go down a size. Those things stretch, and you’ll need a bra that you can adjust for that.
You guys are making me question my bra size. I gained a bit of weight after college and went from a “nearly-A” to a C cup - but what if I’m bigger than I think I am?
We don’t have a Nordstrom’s here. A conundrum.
I just read this part and thought “you lucky ****!” :).
Maybe–especially if she’s really a D cup who has been wearing B-cup bras–and see qualifiers by Dangerosa, etc.
But as someone who doesn’t like shopping, it would seriously annoy me/drain my enthusiasm to spend half an hour trying on bras at Nordstrom’s, finally figure out what suited me, and then go to Target and start the trying-on process all over.
There’s a reason nearly all my bras are one size from one manufacturer–when I finally found a bra I liked, I’ve stuck to that brand as they’ve changed styles just enough to make me need to try on several to figure out which are the most comfortable.
I’ll admit it–the only time I’ve submitted to being professionally measured, I needed bras with “room to grow in”.
Me too - I went years thinking I was a 34B. Went to Nordstroms and lo and behold, I am a 32D (possibly DD now). Because cup sizes are measured in relation to band size, a 32D breast and a 42D breast will differ greatly.
If she doesn’t know already, assure your wife that the bra fit people (at least the ones I’ve used) measure over the existing bra - she won’t have to get completely naked up top.
Okay, guys, I finally got around to remeasuring myself, and there is NO WAY IN HELL that I’m a 32 DD. Even if such a bra were findable, which I’m sure it is not, there are 36 bands that are too tight on me!
Christ, I guess I’ll have to drive up to Charlotte to see somebody at Nordstrom’s. Anybody know if I should get an appointment?
Is 32 your measurement around the band, or your measurement +5?
If you measured 32 around the band, you fall between a 36 and a 38. Then use that number and your bust measurement to find the cup size.
Some of the online “no THIS is how you do it” guides don’t add the 5, which has got to be the reason for that crazy result. If I do add 5, though, I end up as a small B, which certainly isn’t true either.
Well, I have a friend who is a 32DDD (real!) and it is pretty impossible for her to find a bra that doesn’t cost over $50 (and even then, it’s tough).
Based on my own experience and others here, it seems pretty common to discover you’re one band size smaller and one or two cup sizes bigger than you thought (presuming your current bras don’t fit all that great). That’s why I don’t trust those “measure yourself” guides, I always get some wacky number. A professional will know exactly what and how to measure you.
Actually, I did the math wrong. 32DDD. Which I don’t think you can even buy outside of Vegas. So that’s gotta be screwed up.
I may take the time to drive up to Charlotte this weekend and see the Nordstrom’s Lady. I’m down to one bra I can stand these days, and I don’t like how it shows through my shirts. (I think it fits pretty well, it’s just the nature of the bra that the edges of the cup stick up a little.)
The band measurement is actually the number around the top of your chest (above the boobs but under the pits)*. Most people’s measurement there is wider (due to ribcages narrowing as you go down your torso) than under the boobs. That’s why most calculators say to add 5".
For people like me, whose measurement under-boob and under-pit are the exact same, the number I measure is my band size. My professional fitters have all agreed, too (with just eyeballing).
Get fitted by a pro. My wife used to wear bras that were literally three cup sizes too small with correspondingly oversized bands.
She’s incredibly more comfortable and looks better in her clothes instead of quadboobing now.
Hey, I am a 32G*, and $50 sounds good to me. Sounds like a bargain bra. The minimizers I wear cost $105. I treat the bras like antique silk, so they last (usually about 5 years).
(This is on account of some condition where, when your boobs finally start growing, they don’t stop when they’re supposed to. It is a real pain and if I weren’t such a wuss I’d have had surgery.)
After I had our first baby, and stopped nursing (I ballooned to a ginormous size) I subsequently went back to a size that was slightly smaller than what I was pre-pregnancy. I was tired of the ill-fitting bras, and behemoth sized bras I was wearing. There HAD to be something more comfortable.
So there happened to be this new hole in the wall bra store that fitted nursing moms, mastectomy patients, menopausal women (special nightgowns n stuff) and just any girl. I really like my chest, but I hate being wrong about something - especially another woman telling me I suck at something girly, and I’m easily persuaded. My hubby watched the baby and sent me off and told me ‘Take as long as you need, as wear a cute white tshirt!’
I was nervous, but the owner and I spent about 45 minutes trying on every bra she had in the store that was near my size, I’m full chested so the thin lacy ones didn’t work. I finally left with 1 bra that I was pretty happy with. I called it my everyday bra, because it didn’t really lift n push like the Frederick’s ones I was used to, but at least it held everything up!
I just had to go in there thinking, I want to come out feeling comfortable in a few bra and hotter than hell if I happen to find one of THOSE type of bras I also took some of the bra sizing advice and checked out Target n JCPenny for some comparable ones just to have on hand, and was decently happy.