GenderLife Forum: The Information Exchange

Some bras are for full figured women, therefore the cup is quite large. My big problem are the shoulder straps, I have to sew in extensions.

Judging just with my eyes( not with a measure tape ), I would say that where I live there are few men and very, very, very, very few women who have 37 inches around the rib cage.

I think I should move to US in order to feel less big.

Stop whining!
I am fortunate that I am short (5'0"). I have worked quite hard at being thin. You are starting out at 5'11" and 209 lbs. with what sounds like 20% bodyfat. I started at 5' and 165 lbs. with 6% bodyfat. I'm now 125 lbs. and about 8%, which is still too lean, but I can't lose the muscle mass if I keep a little more fat on me.

For the first time in my life, I am beginning to like the way my body looks looks, although I need to lose quite a bit more mass in my arms, and some other parts needs to go as well.

Despite being a delicate flower, I still wear a 38 in a bra. If I can pull of a 38 at 5', you can ceratinly look feminine with a 42 at 5'11", and when you lose the weight, you'll probably be a 40, or even a 38.

OK I just took off blouse and bra and measured again. Just below the breasts I measure a bit less than 31 (30 and 3/4) so call that 31. Measuring around the body at nipple height I get 35.5 so thats a 4.5+ inch difference. I do have some size 36 B bras and they are barely comfortable on the tightest notch because they are a smidgen loose and the cups are slightly loose. My 34B bras fit very comfortably on the loosest notch and the cups are perfect. Now the distance from loosest notch to tightest measures only about 1 and 1/8th inch on the Gilligan & OMalley 34 B while it is 1 and 3/4 on the Playtex. Those are the extremes between about 8 different manufacturers represented in my dresser. I have laways followed the rule of buying a bra that is comfortable on the loosest notch because with washing there is some eventual loosing of the elasticity and you can then move to the next tighter notch.

My mother taught me to always do a bra "fitting" or at least if you shop where that is not offered try a bra on before buying it because there are differences between manufacturers. In addition, if you are buying unpadded bras (which I prefer) the cup material may or may not have some elasticity and you want to have that fit correctly with no wrinkles. If you just pop in a store and grab your normal size in a style from a different manufacturer you will in all likelihood find it was a bad choice and you need to return it. So if you do buy without "trying" do not cut off any tags until you are happy with your choice.

I hope this clarifies things a bit.

The correct way to measure is with a bra on, right around where the band sits.

Now as observed before, women are more like this \ / while men are more like this | | . There are two ways to get the band size, but depending on the shape of the body one can work better than the other.

1) Measure around the band, add 4. So, let's say you're 34" around the band, adding 4 it means you're a size 38. BUT in expensive brands you'll be a size 36, because of vanity sizing.

If you're 33", add 4 and that gives 37 so you can be either 36 or 38. In the more expensive brands, go for the 36 (again, vanity).

2) Measure around the underarms and that gives you the band size straight away. That only works if your rib cage tapers quite a bit, so it doesn't even work with some GGs.

Vanity sizing is more and more common among bras so often one has to try them on before taking them home. That also works for the cups, that are in the better brands a bit smaller than they should be (so that you can be a 36C just for "vanity," when in real sizes you'd be a 38B).

One site among many says this: Click the link for the full discussion.
Finding the band size

There is NO consensus in these measurement methods (unfortunately). Different opinions exist. So no matter what measuring system you use, you still need to try the garment on to be sure it actually fits.

Have someone measure around your chest with a tape measure, just under your breasts, and around the back. Make sure the tape measure rests flat on the skin and goes straight across your back. The most common advice is to add 5 inches to this measurement - and then that is your band size (also called chest size).

BUT adding only 2-3 inches (instead of 5) can work better for many women - if you need the support to come more from below, rather than hanging off the shoulders. The above breast chest measure can also be a guide.

I read and re-read that gobbletygook way back when about finding bra size. What a crock. I could more easily get my head around quantum physics.

The thing that seemed illogical was that if one measures their underbust and it equals 34 then that would be the size of the band because
A: You just measured it at 34, dummy and
B: That is where the band sits when the bra is worn.

Gobbletygook!

It's like measuring your waist for pants then adding a foot for no particular reason except to be weird.

That gals who were those 40 and 42 inch bras are pretty dang hefty usually. Anyway I could slide out of a 42 just by wriggling.

Ha. But actually the band size refers to the girth around the rib cage exactly where the boobs sit. Since you cannot take the boobs out to measure, you measure under and add the 4" because that is the usual difference between the girth around the sixth rib and the girth around the third-fourth ribs.

Now, if your rib cage is shaped as a V (as is in the "standard woman," although some men also have the V shape), the 4" difference should work fine. But if your rib cage is more like a U (as is in the "standard man," although many women also have the U shape), then there shouldn't be much difference, just one or two inches.

So, in short, there is no fixed rule. The best is to try it on. One thing, though: if you're 35" at the sixth rib, there is no way you'll be 34" around the third-fourth ribs. You'll be anything from 36 to 39.

BTW, the ideal V shape is lost by women with age, reason why many older women have problem fitting bras well: when the cups sit nicely, the band is too tight. With age, fat deposits around the lower rib cage.

No way dude

The diff between the bust and under bust defines the cup size (as you know). The band goes under boobs and that is what is being measured. Hence 36 = 36. I dunno lol but my bra fits fine except I think I need bigger cups.

I'm still bummed about Marcella's post about vanity sizing, the band reading smaller and the cup reading biggger than the real deals.