I do the same, but I won’t say I don’t have ANY problems.
First of all, it isn’t fun. And it takes at least an hour and after an hour I’ve put on 30 bras to find ONE style that fits, looks good under my clothes, looks good with my shirt off (I’m vain that way), and is comfortable. And sometimes I have to make compromises on one of the above. When I’m done, the bra I have in my hand will run between $70 and $130 - and it will be the ONE in that size Nordstrom has in stock. I’ll order three to have them shipped to me.
So problems:
Its time consuming.
I’m not modest, but still, its not my favorite activity to stand in a dressing room while someone hands me bras.
I seldom get EXACTLY what I want in terms of function, fashion and comfort.
I spent a metric ton of money.
I urge all of you who say you have the right size but struggle to find a single bra in that size that works for you; explore other sizes. Go down one band and up 1-3 cups, see if it works better. When I found my correct size, it was an amazing difference; suddenly instead of 10% of the bras I tried on being comfortable and well-fitting, it jumped to around 90%. I honestly did think my boobs were weird; but it had nothing to do with them, it was just that the vast majority of 32As don’t fit any part of my body.
The opposite, usually. Most women do not carry much weight around their ribs (the measurement of which should be close to the number on the band), so with weight gain and body changes, it’s not unusual to go up or down many letters while the number stays the same.
Of course. Otherwise there wouldn’t be 30 bras AVAILABLE in my size at Nordstrom. But still, far less then 10% will fit, look good under my clothes, be fairly attractive, and comfortable. (32F, try having a teeny tiny ribcage and middle aged stripper boobs).
Menopause caused me to have to change the style of bra I wear. Luckily, there is one, but only one, that works for me in my size. I am a dreaded H at the moment. Hopefully, weight loss will help in that regard.
I have a very broad back and am not particularly ‘well-endowed’; no-one makes bras with the right band and cup size combination for me.
I also have very square sholder and ‘over-erect’ posture. Add in breasts that are atypically high with respect to my scapula, and there is no bra on the planet that does not dig, squeeze, slip, or sag. The only bras that are comfortable are cotton sports bras, but that raises the nipple issue. My nipples, though not particularly large, are rather stubborn.
There are nipple covers made to help with the nipple issue. They are flower shaped and generally come in beige and black, and are called petals. I can’t remember where I saw them for sale, though.
I don’t have any trouble finding the a bra that fits in the band and the cup, but I have a weird body in that my shoulders slope much more than normal* and I am generally shorter from neck to waistline.
So I can find bras that fit me easily enough, but the shoulder straps on most of them slide off after a couple of hours of wearing. There are a couple of things I can look for in styling that help me pinpoint which bras are more or less likely to work, but not with 100% reliability. It’s not something that I can check in the fitting room either (I’ve even tried jumping up and down!).
Sometimes I modify the bra if I like it otherwise, and sometimes I just give up in disgust.
*really - my mom had a custom pattern making program and it would complain about my shoulders every time we printed out a pattern for me.
Again, Nordstrom, and they’re really not terribly priced. I’ve also seen them at Marshalls and TJMaxx, but it’s hit or miss. (Heh…does anyone else remember Hit or Miss, or am I getting old?)
Or, of course, Amazon. (Oh, good lord, why are some of these categorized in “Baby Products”?!)
Have you tried a convertible bra which allows you to cross the straps at the back? You may find that that helps. You can also buy bra strap holders like this (ignore the music!) which is normally used to hide straps when wearing racer back tanks, but might help hold them in place for you.
‘Petals’, ‘cutlets’, straps, and things associated with making a goddam bra bearable to wear can be found in fabric stores, on a rack near most lingerie departments (I’ve seen a wide selection at Walmart), or of course online. Interesting to see these things showing up after decades of putting up with ill fitting bras - it’s like some company realized all those billions of bras hanging on racks in every store really don’t fit most women and figured, hey, help is needed, let’s make some Bra Helpers.
I always assumed it was because AA - DD were ‘standard’ sizes, and it’s easier to differentiate ‘B’, ‘C’ etc for the commoner sizes, with a double letter size at either end of the range as an ‘extra’ small or large. Anything above would be from a specialist (or not available)- and after a certain size, it sounds smaller- and I think it feels not so far from the norm- to say you’re, say, ‘HH’ rather than an ‘N’. Plus they’d be in danger of running out of letters by now.
I’ve always wondered why there was no EE though. I suppose 'I’s look too much like '1’s, which explains them not being there, but what’s up with 'EE’s?
At least we have only one system though, the US variations sound like a nightmare…
Ps, wasn’t being nasty- I’ve met a lot of people here who have no idea what the sizes are above ‘high street’ sizes, simply because they don’t have to shop for them, and they’re not in most shops. Which is fair enough really.
Oh, and Dangerosa, swap for some 32Js?
My theory is that most women used to just rig up some sort of device themselves…and these days, they figure that they can manufacture and market these devices themselves, too. In the past, specialty devices like this would have required someone to put them in retail stores, or in a catalog. Today, though, we have those TV infomercials and internet sales, so it’s easier for a small startup to offer just one product nationwide.
My under bust is 43 now, but my 48 I bra is now in its tightest hook row and so I was looking to go down to 46, but the 46 I that I bought is comfortable around in its tightest hook row but hopelessly too small in the cups, so I am thinking a 44, but everything I am reading says band size plus 5, I just measured my over bust and that is 44, so your method yields the first result which is aligns with what I am seeing in how the bras fit. Now to determine the cup size. One place says that you need to add a cup size for each band size you go down, so if you are wearing a 48 I and it just adequately holds your breasts, if you go down a band size, you need to get a 46 J and a 44 K. I just bought a 44 L, because the current 46 I seemed about two cup sizes too small. I hope it fits.
I have lost weight over the last year, and when back to my pre-pregancy bras, but now I am even narrower.
I haven’t tried a convertible with the cross-straps. I may have to try one of those.
I have the bra strap holders, and have modified a couple of bras to have something like that permanently.
Mom found it advertised in the back of a sewing magazine. I don’t remember the brand, but there are several out there - this page has a number of links, or you can google custom pattern program clothing
In return I will share that cross strap bras solve a lot of problems, except the little loops the straps hook into tend to rip, leaving you with the halter or strapless options only.
