Proper Bra Fit- Something Americans Apparently Know Nothing About

So, I’m not going to be cutesie about this blog post, nor will I include personal details about my bust (you can thank me later, friends).  But it behooves me to share the priceless bra fitting information I was recently directed to in the event that you, like 99.9% of all American women, are woefully misguided in the lingerie department.

If you want the full, detailed article I got my information from, you will never regret going to this site:  http://www.epbot.com/2013/04/everything-you-never-knew-you-needed-to.html

If you want my somewhat shorter version, here’s the briefest of summaries of what I learned:

How to find your fit:

1:  Using a tape measurer, measure your ribcage RIGHT under your bust.  It’s called the “root” of your bosom, and it may be a little higher up on your ribs than you’re used to.  DO NOT wear anything when you measure.  The tape should be TIGHT.  Not painful, but seriously, very, very snug.

*Fascinating fact:  When women err in their bra fitting endeavors, and (statistically) pretty much everyone does, they choose a bra that is too big in the band and too small in the cup size.  That’s lame, cause a cup that’s too small smashes your bosom down, which is (DUH) undesirable!!  A band that’s too big allows your precious bosom tissue to migrate where it DON’T BELONG!  More on that later…

2:  Now you measure your actual bosom (do you appreciate how careful I’m being here??  Teachers don’t get any slack about what they post online, I tell ya).  You’re still not wearing anything.  Bend forward so you make a right angle.  Use your hands to smooth everything forward, even pulling skin and chub from your back forward.

*Fascinating fact:  so much of our bosom tissue gets pushed up into our armpits and out toward our back because 1) improper bra fit, and 2) we put our bras on wrong!  From today until you die, clasp your bra, straighten it where you want it, then LEAN OVER and pull everything forward from your back and position all the bosom matter carefully into the bra cups.

…Continued… You’re leaning forward.  Measure the fullest part of your bust while it, ahem… Dangles?  Sorry, couldn’t think of a better word.  You want the tape to be loose so that it doesn’t cause a depression in your breast tissue, but not so loose that it’s sliding around.

3:  Take your first measurement (your ribs) and subtract it from your second measurement (your bust).  This will tell you how much bigger your bosom is than your ribs.  That number translates into your cup size.  This site will show a little chart where you can find what cup size your number represents. Be prepared to be WOWED.  You have probably been grossly underestimating your cup size.

*Fascinating fact:  Go with the UK sizes on the chart.  The US, well… they’re a little behind.

Now you know your size.  Your ribcage measurement is the band size, and you’ve just discovered your true cup size.  People will not believe you when you tell them what your true size is.  They will say that only women of questionable professions have cup sizes that big.  Here is something that may make you feel like less of a tool when you embark on buying a 30G bra, or whatever ridiculous size you have discovered that you actually are:

Cup sizes are relative to rib sizes.  Translation:  if you have a smaller ribcage than your friends, you may have a bigger cup size than them.  That’s because a “C” cup on a super small-framed girl is a smaller cup than a “C” cup on a large-framed girl.  The cup sizes represent how much bigger your bosom is than your frame, remember.   This chart made it more clear for me:

You will also be wondering where on earth you can find your new bra size, and the answer is, NOT HERE.  Lame.  So I recommend shopping online at this fabulous UK site.  I am extremely pleased with my shopping results, as is everyone else apparently, based on the comments. 🙂

Good luck, girls!

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