Bra Sizing - Getting it Right

1. The main reason is that bra retailers generally do not understand the need to have their staff properly trained in bra fitting and fail to understand the importance of experience in this 'art'. Good training is a start but a good bra fitter will also work for several months (at least) under the guidance of others who have experience as well as training. Some department stores are in the habit of moving staff around different departments, this might work with shoes and hats, it DOES NOT work with bras, you need to consult experts who have not been selling hats the week before you called.

2. Some women believe that their size is the same for all brands of bra. WRONG! Even different ranges within the same brand can differ significantly. You want a bra that fits - FORGET WHAT THE LABEL SAYS, IT'S ONLY A ROUGH GUIDE.

3. Some women are wearing a bra size that may have been approximately correct several years ago (for maybe only one range of one manufacturer anyway) and is now incorrect.

4. Some women have never been correctly fitted for a bra and are guessing or are the victims of saleswomen who were guessing their size.

5. Some women (not you of course!) are in denial about the size they really need. A friend of mine actually burst into tears in a store when she was told that the bra size she had been wearing for years (uncomfortably) was actually too small for her.

Wearing an ill-fitting bra is unhealthy in that it may cause discomfort, embarrassment and, in the worst cases, long term back pain. Wearing a perfectly fitting bra can improve appearance, posture and thus self-esteem.

Bra sizing is an art and the only way to be properly fitted is to go to an experienced, well trained fitter who will know how to put you in the correct bra size . A well trained fitter will never use a tape measure, she doesn't need to, she knows how to measure bra size by eye. She will look at you carefully for a minute or two, disappear, and return with five or six bras of slightly different sizes. She will then start trying them on you. She will quickly establish which one fits. She then knows what size you are and knows which bras from the different ranges she stocks that will fit you (those sizes will probably be slightly different depending on manufacturer and their product ranges).

If you can't find an expert, the next best thing is to become one yourself, or at least know enough about bra sizes to avoid the common pitfalls and get yourself somewhere near to being correctly fitted.

The most basic facts about bra sizing is that there are two elements - the cup size (getting the right one results in the breasts being comfortably held and supported) and the back size (this can be established by measuring the distance around the body just under the breasts, this is a rough guide only and you will probably need to reduce the back measurement by an inch or two to get this to equate this to the correct bra back size. Many women think that a 30" bra means a very small bust, this measure has nothing whatever to do with shapliness, that is comes from the fullness of the cups which is a different measure.

Your bra is the wrong size (or requires adjustment) if:
1. It feels loose, tight, uncomfortable, does not support the breasts.
2. The upper part of the breast is not contained in the cup and your silhouette shows a 'spillover'.
3. When you stretch your arms upwards, the bra moves up and the lower part of the breast is no longer contained in the cup.
4. The wires in the bra are pressing between, or at the sides of, the breasts.
5. The straps cut in to your shoulders.

1. The bra is loose around the edges of the cup - the cup size is too large

2. There is 'spillover' at the front of the bra - the cup size is too small and/or the back is too large.

3. The back of the bra 'rides up' - the back is too large.

4. The straps are digging into your shoulders - the back is too large.

5. The wire digs into the armpit - cup is too small

6. The breast is falling below the underwire - back is too large and/or cup is too small

ENLARGEMENT
Cosmetic surgeons are not bra fitters (nor do they usually employ their services) and they have very little idea about bra sizing. Consequently if a woman consults a surgeon and tells him, for instance, that she is a 34B, he will take this information as correct (no matter how wrong it is) and ask what size cup she want to be. If, in this case, the woman says a D cup, he will merely aim to make her breasts bigger by what he considers to be 2 cup sizes.

You should also remember that, if you are being treated privately, the surgeon has no incentive to tell you that you possess fine full breasts and do not need surgery, he/she is in business and wants your money.

I recall seeing one young woman who was in fact a 30 DD who was wearing a 34B bra. She had a beautiful figure which was being disguised by an ill-fitting bra and she was considering having breast enlargement! Once we got her into the correct size, she was astonished at the change in the appearance of her figure - no more talk of enlargement and several thousands saved.

Several times I have seen ladies who have already had surgery and had instructed the surgeon to increase their breasts from say an A to a D, only to find that they are an E cup and cannot buy the style of bra that they prefer because the manufacturer does not produce bras in the higher cup sizes.

It is a very good idea (indeed it is essential in my view) to consult a bra fitting expert before surgery to establish your actual size. Be very sure that the surgeon knows exactly what size you are and what you want to be by showing him a bra in the cup size that you actually want to reach. Try the bigger bra at home padded out under clothing and you will be able to see what the effect will be after enhancement, you may then want to adjust your plans. Once you have decided, present the bra to the surgeon so that he can place the implants he intends to use, inside the bra and try it on, if the implants are too large or small, this should be obvious to you and him/her.

If you have a small back measurement (under breast measurement) then the bigger cup sizes will have a disproportionate effect and you may appear to be 'overshaped' (think Jessica Rabbit or Barbie Doll!!). Some ladies like the 'overshape' look but some do not seek quite the level of attention that this brings. However most ladies seek balance and proportion.

BREAST REDUCTION
Again you need to know exactly what your back and cup sizes are before surgery (it is even more important in a case of a reduction than it is for an enhancement). The keywords again are balance and proportion. If you have a large back (say 36" and up), then you have to be very careful. A significant reduction in cup size can result in a very flat appearance after surgery in these cases.

For example I dealt with one lady who thought that she had been a 36F and had undergone breast reduction and had requested reduction to a D cup. When she came to me, I told her that she was, in fact, 34F and that she could not possibly have been a 36 back size since breast reduction has no effect on back size and I estimated that she had been, in fact a 34GG before her surgery. She was extremely disappointed that most bras that she liked were still not stocked in a size she could wear.

Had this lady consulted me before surgery, I could have assisted her by providing an accurate size so that she could have requested a reduction of 3 cup sizes thus getting her to the size she actually wanted to be.