Briona87 - I doubt you are the only woman with wide boobs =) I think sometimes the "cut" or design of the cup is important as well... I always spill out of demi cups and some push ups just look silly on me. Have you tried some different cup types to see if that helps?
Yep, Vanessa, some cup types are a bit better, some are just plain awful. Nothing fits me quite right, though... I would say the best bra I have ever had is this one: http://www.lovehoney.co.uk/product.cfm?p=33443. It is 38DD and it more or less fits me. Pretty much every chart tells me I should wear a 38 (EU 85) band and the ladies who fo the fitting seem to agree with this (I have tried a 40 once and it is way too loose) but cup sizes are ever so tricky... To make the matters worse, not all the bras that are supposed to be the same size (and the same cup style) are actually quite the same. When bra-hunting, I often find that sometimes the most comfy (never perfect, though) one is a 38D, while sometimes it can easily be a 38F.
And I was ever so disappointed when I found out that this would not work for me. At. All. http://www.lovehoney.co.uk/product.cfm?p=31042
(By the way, I currently have one tester product - http://www.lovehoney.co.uk/product.cfm?p=33914 - and for the first time ever I am struggling with the review. While I usually submit them within a couple of days, this time around I just cannot make up my mind, even though I have had it for a week already. I have it semi-written but the cups are ever-so-baffling... they make your boobs look sort of "conical" or "pointy" and when you have wide and awkwardly shaped breasts, you also end up with slight sideboobs (not too bad ones, though) and a pretty big overspills on the top. When the lower portion of your boob looks "pointy" and the upper one is a sort of rounded overspill, it looks pretty bizzare. The rest of the basque is really great, it slims the waist and everything, so I just cannot decide whether I should say this little number is un/flattering... Ah, decisions, decisions...)
I too suffer with a broad rib cage and not particularly large boobs.
In general I wear a 40D or 42C purely based on the style of bra or experience of place I've bought it from etc as everywhere is different.
According to measurement charts and guides I should be a 42-44D but they're always WAAAY too big on the cups as I don't have a lot of volume at the top of my breast.
I tend to find balconette bras best for my shape, and I try to opt for ones with a thicker band (3-4 hooks) as it helps smooth out the skin around my flabby underarms/back (naturally occurring due to size not by any cause of my bras) - the best bras I have are literally £4 from China lol
Briona87 - You just gotta include that exact description in the review so others who may have simialr shape / size as you can be informed of the fit!
Briona87 - You just gotta include that exact description in the review so others who may have simialr shape / size as you can be informed of the fit!
I know - but I just cannot decide on the rating... I mean I liked everything (great material, lovely shaping effect) BUT the cups...
Well my old bras didn't ride up at the back at all but did give me a 3rd boob! These new ones don't feel supportive around the band because it's too loose, but for once I actually have full coverage in the cups and don't have to keep poking my nipples back in! So I think they were right about the cup size but wrong about the band... Shame I spent £45 on new bras that I can't return now :( I didn't realise they were riding up until I'd worn them all day!
Boo - can you get a seamstress to tighten up / shorten the band a bit?
I think many shops now have gone down the vanity sizing route of making the sizes much smaller so everyone thinks they're bigger. I remember years ago when a DD bra looked huge, but now everyone seems to need a big size. I'm only a 30B but in numerous stores I've been given a 30D after being measured and it fits really well. There's no way I'm a true D cup, but I just get measured in whatever shop I'm buying from to make sure I'm getting the right fit and ignore the labels.
My weight has changed so much over the past few yrs I really need to get measured but I love lingerie and it would cost an absolute bomb to change everything I own 😢
Ruby I think you're right about that, a friend of mine has quite small breasts that I would have guessed to be a B/C at most, and she was professionally measured as a DD! I thought DDs were supposed to be massive, I guess it depends on the back size too though as a smaller back size generally = larger cup size. If they really have turned to vanity sizing then that would explain why actual large bras are so hard to come by, as most shops still only sell B-DD which aren't even that big now, unless you want to wear a flimsy plain white bra. I swear when I was a teenager DD bras were still huge?!
Vanessa I think I may leave it as its a maternity bra and my ribcage is bound to expand to fit it sooner or later - I hope!
I don't know when they changed the measuring system but they didn't exactly put out a bulletin! People may have been wearing the right size according to their measurements but for the old system (the one where band size=underbust plus 4 and cup size is the difference between band size and overbust, not underbust and overbust). Some shops do still use that so it's worth bearing that in mind. This is the old system http://www.avon.uk.com/PRSuite/static/pdf/braguide.pdf and this is the new one http://www.brasizecalculator.tk
I'm another one with a wide ribcage. I tend to find going up a band size or two and wearing a sister size works (I measure 30E on most calculators but usually wear 34D or occasionally 32DD).
I think often people place too much emphasis on measurement and not enough on fit, especially when you consider how different sizes can be in different brands. I hate bra shopping but when I really need new bras I take the same bra in three sizes into the changing room. I never go for the one that fits best. It's a great fit or I leave it.
Great links, thanks Friday13! The old system gets me to my bra size (as per the perfectly fitting, comfortable underwire bras I own, the first of which I bought in a lingerie shop after being measured): 38 B to C. It's C in lingerie shops, B in Lidl's Jolinesse line - I think Ruby is right about the vanity sizing, if you pay € 50 for a bra you get to feel you have decent boobs ;), for € 5 you're on your own...
According to the new system I should be a 36E (38DD or 34 F) which I would consider perfectly ridiculous if I didn't have a bit of trouble getting perfect fit with Lovehoney bras! According to my measuring I should have been between L and 1X but there's no way I could get the Plus size (Spoil Me Triangle bra) to fit me. Whereas I do think the triangles are a bit small in the L...
So maybe, if Lovehoney (and their other suppliers) are using the new system, I was looking at completely wrong sizes?
Frankly, I much prefer the German system: There you measure under the bust, which gives you the band size (in cm) which equals your bra size. Full stop. Then you "only" need to find your cup size, which I suppose is most easily done by trying on different bras. And of course the cut of the bra plays a big role, and the style, and... Which is why bra's need to be tried on before buying, which is why Lovehoney have a returns policy (though I'd still prefer to walk into a Lovehoney shop and get my bra shopping done in an hour or so).
Almost everyone wears a the wrong back size (too big) and therefore cup size too small to compensate. I wish they wouldn't because then it might be easier for me to find shops that stock my size.
And I really wish Lovehoney stocked lingerie with proper back and cup sizes.
Caliente wrote:
Almost everyone wears a the wrong back size (too big) and therefore cup size too small to compensate. I wish they wouldn't because then it might be easier for me to find shops that stock my size.
And I really wish Lovehoney stocked lingerie with proper back and cup sizes
100000%% agree with you, im a 30 back which are impossible to get hold of ... I wonder how many people should be in a 30 or 28 even but are wearing 32 as thats whats the shops stock x
Briona87 wrote:
I would not mind learning what cup size I actually am... I tried getting fitted three times, and I ended up with three different results. My problem is that my boobs are slightly unusual shapewise; I have a broad ribcage and my boobs are kind of "wide" rather than "classically big". That often means that with smaller cups I get these unsightly sideboobs, and bigger cups are a way too "deep" for me... How magnificent.
Hi Briona I understand where you are coming from. I'm a 38 F/FF but my boobs are teardrop shape. Very little flesh at the top of my bust, but plenty towards the nipples. I find that a lace bra with a small mount of stretch, but with thicker side panels (plunge style) no padding, works best for me. I can't wear a balcony bra to save my life. Have a look for a lace plunge style, it should keep them nestled together rather than trying to escape under your arms, if you know what I mean. Lol.
Caliente wrote:
...
And I really wish Lovehoney stocked lingerie with proper back and cup sizes.
So do I. But then Lovehoney would have to manufacture and stock many more sizes and we'd still have not guarantee that a Lovehoney 38 C is the same thing as a Chantelle 100 C.
Some day I'll find the courage to order underwire bras and then I'll know whether the LH size L fit me or not. Or whether some styles fit me but not others... (which is rather likely, as it's the same with 100 C bras...)
sassykitten;) wrote:
Caliente wrote:
Almost everyone wears a the wrong back size (too big) and therefore cup size too small to compensate. I wish they wouldn't because then it might be easier for me to find shops that stock my size.
And I really wish Lovehoney stocked lingerie with proper back and cup sizes
100000%% agree with you, im a 30 back which are impossible to get hold of ... I wonder how many people should be in a 30 or 28 even but are wearing 32 as thats whats the shops stock x
Even a lot of shops don't stock a 32 certainly if you are a D or bigger
reckon i need to get myself properly measured again i quickly did it myself put the measurements in to a reputable online calculator and came out as a 32G can't be right that's several cup sizes bigger than i was last measured at
I know i'm not wearing the right size, simply because i can't find them in shops nor afford specially made. I generally squeeze into a 38C (but it digs in and leaves a big red indented ring right round my body, sometimes cutting in til i bleed) or one shop i can get 40B unwired, which fits much better round the body but they lack support and make me look flat chested. My other issue is my right breast is a comfortable C cup size in a 38 back, but my left breast won't fill the cup out and has gaping, it is a small B at largest. Finding a 40B took years, as for 40A, they seem simply to not exist, any back size over a 36 you can't get A cups, there's this silly assumption all bigger women have bigger breasts, well i certainly don't have much breast tissue and i don't gain fat there either.
VirginAngel wrote:
I know i'm not wearing the right size, simply because i can't find them in shops nor afford specially made. I generally squeeze into a 38C (but it digs in and leaves a big red indented ring right round my body, sometimes cutting in til i bleed) or one shop i can get 40B unwired, which fits much better round the body but they lack support and make me look flat chested. My other issue is my right breast is a comfortable C cup size in a 38 back, but my left breast won't fill the cup out and has gaping, it is a small B at largest. Finding a 40B took years, as for 40A, they seem simply to not exist, any back size over a 36 you can't get A cups, there's this silly assumption all bigger women have bigger breasts, well i certainly don't have much breast tissue and i don't gain fat there either.
Off the cuff I can think of the following, roughly in order of cost:
1. No bra at all (I'm a 38 B/C and I mostly wear none - even though I have well-fitting ones).
2. A bra extender (a piece of elastic with hooks and eyelets that adds a certain length to the breast bands of the bras you have).
3. Online shopping - a quick search for 40 A shows results. (For 40 B the choice is much bigger...)
4. A good lingerie shop. As 40 A bras clearly are made, somebody has to sell them...
5. Hopping across the channel (there's really cheap ferry day trips, special Eurostar offers and who knows about flights...) - a quick online search for "soutien-gorge 105 A" shows even more results. And as lingerie is a big thing in France, you don't need to look far for a lingerie shop, and you can even find it in supermarkets. And of course there's French online retailers as well...
As for the unequally sized breasts, I'd try to fill the gap with a bit of padding.
As a last resort, there's at least one book that teaches how to actually make bras (but personally, I'd much rather do without, see no. 1).