Bra sizing in the UK?!

Bra sizing in the UK?

I'm probably going to get my eyes scratched out for this question, but it's bugging me. I don't understand the definitive way of measuring one's bra size. You go to Marks and they measure it with a tape. But the likes of Bravissimo look at you and see what fits. I've heard of people going from a 38C to a 34 E by going to Bravissimo. Now, I don't see how that works. Surely the most logical way of measuring would be measuring under the bust, which is your band size, then the cup size is however many inches difference there is between your band and the fullest part of the bust. But in Bravissimo it cannot possibly work that way. So many women recommend them, but I can't help wondering whether we're being taken for mugs! So many women are being measured as obscure sizes after wearing normal sizes for years. Think about it, someone who has worn 34C for years, how can they then jump to a 30E? And, the only place she'll get a bra that size would be...Bravissimo!

I just don't understand.

2 weeks ago
I think it is a marketing thing, and I think it's terrible. If someone with a 34 inch back squeezes themselves into a 30 inch bra, they're gonna have problems. I'm a 34 according to Marks and my own tape meaure, so I guess that means I'm 34 around the back? Granted the cup sizes in Marks are a little small, but other places fit just fine.

I think it must be targetting women's egos which are notoriously fragile. As I've said before, a lady would much rather be 30F than a normal 34C.

2 weeks ago
To the last answerer - you say other places sizing is laughable. How do you know that Bravissimo is the right one? Surely the other shops measure and then give you a bra of that size that fits? That's what most do. Everyone says that Bravissimo gets it right - how do we know when they don't even use a tape measure?!

2 weeks ago
Emma - I had the same experience, I went from a 36C to a 34E, but that's not four inches and three cup sizes is it?! The only place I've been measured is Marks, maybe it just depends on who does it - I don't believe that a young girl working part time in Bravissimo knows what size I am by lookin at me. No way. What my problem is that if they say someone is a 30E without having measured it, where is the 30 coming from? What does it mean? It can't be the back measurement because 30 is TINY, and it's not that common in most women!

2 weeks ago
KD: You can't get 30E from loads of shops at all. Not where I'm from, unless you wanna pay through the nose. Primark, La Senza, New Look, Asda - all the normal shops I'd go to to shop for underwear. None of them. I haven't convinced myself, I genuinely believe that Bravissimo are appealing to egos. I'm a size 12, pretty ordinary shape, and I'm a 34 around the ribcage. Therefore, I am reluctant to believe that all these women you see on the Bravissimo ads who claim to 28H or whatever are 6 inches smaller than me! They look about the same size - if not bigger! I just don't get the measurement system and it really annoys me. M&S might not be very good, but they've given me an excellent guideline to work with, one that included a tape measure. The adding four inches thing was hopeless - I ended up being a 38AA. Eek. Anyway, closing this question now, I've ranted enough!

2 weeks ago
KD I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. I'm just asking, because I want to understand. I've not found my definitive size, but I know that if I go to Bravissimo they'll tell me I'm some really random huge size and I don't want to be. I have plenty of choice, I have just as much choice as anyone who shops at a standard high street. I'm not trying to convince the rest of you that 'your bras don't fit' and I'm upset you've said it. I'm just trying to understand my own.

sizing in the uk is flakey when done by most assistants in my opinion. I am a 34DD normally (since I was about 20 and get the assisstant to look at me in the bra to see if it fits).
When i got pregnant i went to Marks and Spencer to get a maternity bra and she said i was 34 C!! I laughed at her and said well I am wearing a 34 and it feels tight around the band and my DD cups are exploding - she then said "well - yes its only a GUIDE!"
Trouble is - most shops measure you with a tape measure - with the bra you are wearing at the time on you - now if its say a maternity non-underwired one - thats likely to squish you flatter.

Measure yourself with a tape measure under your bust, then again around the fullest part , and see what the difference is, that will tell you the cup size.

i had a friend who had never been measured before and she was 24. she was wearing a 36C. When she got measured at the lingerie store - she was a 32E. She said she felt much better. The bra strap didnt ride up any more and she looked thinner, because she was wearing the right size. so yes i can see how some people may go from a 34 to a 30.