I think so, too. I’m going back tomorrow to exchange the one I bought for another style. It felt fine in the store, it was only once I wore it for a few hours that the straps started to rub. When I was trying different styles on, the lady brought me some full coverage cups and they looked like armor. I think I’m more of a demi-cup girl
Other than department stores, the only chain I can even think of is VS. I specifically went to this store because it’s not a chain and I knew the service would be lightyears beyond what I’d get from the snotty women at Victoria’s Secret.
I’m going to find some time to try different styles on at the department store some time soon now that I have the size nailed down.
My perfect bra is a size 33 A and a half, and has been for all my adult life except when I was nursing. And you got it in one, that size doesn’t exist. Which is why I knew enough about it to be able to make my spending money in college (amoung other things) by designing and making lingerie for other people. Sometimes I did specialty stuff for the drama department which was also entertaining. It was fun, sometimes I wonder why I stopped.
When I moved to europe I had renewed hope but here in the Netherlands the sizes are much the same as in the US, only the band is measured in centimeters.
My only advice is, when you find one that fits properly and you like, stock up.
Here’s my beef. They say how women are wearing the wrong bra size and we should really get measured by a specialist to know our “real” size. Fine. But then if I go by one size and buy two different bras, they fit completely differently from one another. So you can’t trust the size you’re told, and still have to experiment.
Is the advantage to the fitter that they will put you in something that fits correctly (regardless of size) and you will know what that feels like when trying on other ones (regardless of size)?
Ach, I vowed not to enter another bra sizing thread ever, but here I am.
Okay, I am generally small, but with some condition that causes a large bust. The only cure is either breast reduction surgery, or a bra that fits perfectly. So I have the bras, they cost $110 (but in the month of my birthday I get a buy-one-get-one-half-off coupon, so that’s when I buy them).
Right now I have two that are black. Both by the same maker. One of them fits perfectly, the other one fits entirely different. Well, they are handmade, after all. I’ve learned to try them all on. Officially my size is 32G but these are 32 something else, like XPSS. (???)
But “the tightest band you can stand” doesn’t mean “the tightest band you can stand without fainting”–it means the tightest one that’s comfortable. It should fit snugly, not cut you in half. Nobody wants a line of back fat. Er, muscle. (Well, on me it’s probably…not muscle…let’s call it something else…let’s not even mention it…)
FWIW my underbust measurement is 26½. Coincidentally, that’s also my waist size. (I’m working on it.) Or maybe not coincidentally–in addition to being large-busted I’m extremely short-waisted. Which makes it even more important to have a bra that fits perfectly.
My bra lady says that 80 percent of American women are wearing the wrong size bra. I don’t know where she got that statistic.
ETA: I would certainly not pay $110/bra for one that only lasted three months, or six months. But then I treat them like antique silk. Wash after every wearing in cold water and Forever New. The ones I wear for sports don’t last as long but it’s still more than six months.
For what it’s worth, we had a thread a while back by a girl who wouldn’t say where she worked, but it was obvious she worked at Victoria Secret. Here is what she said about measuring for your bra.
But even if you find that you’re a 34B via measuring, that doesn’t mean that every 34B you grab off the rack is going to fit. I find certain shapes/styles never ever fit right, even when they’re the right size. Even with proper measuring I also find that in one brand I may need a B cup, but in another brand I need the A cup.
This is why I take 12 bras in the fitting room with me when shopping, usually two sizes of every one I like. If I’m lucky I will find one I like. Then it will promptly be discontinued by the manufacturer. (it’s all part of the conspiracy)
Bra fitting is even worse than blue jeans.
Apparently the stupid “add 3/4/5 inches to your ribcage measurement” is because the band is supposed to be measured for the area right above the boobs/below the armpit (as was previously mentioned). It doesn’t work for me, because that measurement is the same (maybe 1/2" larger) as my under-bust measurement. That means that with my ribcage measuring 33", the best band size for me is a 34", not a 38" like standard calculators say I should wear.
Oh, my kingdom for cheap bras. 34F are only in specialty shops or Nordstroms (and no, I’m not wearing 4-5 hook monstrosities. Properly designed bras can be fully supportive at 34F with only 2 or 3 hooks).
Count me among those for whom a professional fitting changed their life. If you possibly can, even if you have to go out of town and save up for months, at least once in your life go to a department store or high-quality lingerie shop (it doesn’t need to be expensive, just good quality) and get a real bra fitting with someone who really knows what they are doing. If you live in the boonies and there’s nothing like this around, this is another good reason for that trip to New York you always wanted to plan!
They shouldn’t just measure you and give you a number, they should help you choose bras, look at you in them, adjust the straps for you, and make sure you find one that really fits and looks great. Buy at least one bra like this, regardless of price, so you know you have one bra in your closet that fits perfectly (for six months, at least :rolleyes: )
Then when shopping at your usual haunts, start with styles you like in the same size. If they don’t seem to fit right try other sizes around it (if your size is 34-D try a 36-C), but realize that it might be the cut or style or of the bra that doesn’t work, not the size. Although not all bras fit the same, as others have mentioned, more times than not I find that bras labeled with my size fit better than those that don’t.
My main beef is with Victoria’s Secret. I want their bras to fit but they just don’t. I’ve tried every possible size in my range. While this doesn’t happen in the store - thus convincing me to buy it - after wearing it a few hours, the underwire starts stabbing me in the armpit until I want to die. Only VS bras seem to do this. I was so happy to find two that fit and looked great a few months ago and I was sure this problem wouldn’t happen again…until it did. Argh.
But then again I’m lucky to have a pretty standard size. A good friend is a completely natural 32DDD and bra shopping is an eternal nightmare. My heart goes out to y’all.
If all women took heed of the advice, some 40 years old now, and simply burned them all, there would be a week or two of ogling men, and then everything would return to normal, sans all of these mathematics.
Finding jeans that fit is a neverending search. I’m ready to give up and wear skirts year round.