I guess I'll feel bad for laughing.

The place I go, like Rigby and Peller, never use a tape measure, the women have been fitting bras since the year dot. They are also great at picking out a brand which suits one's shape, because they definitely vary quite a bit. I tend to stick to one or two brands which I like and which I know fit well. I bought one online recently in my usual size but from a brand I don't normally wear and it was almost comically too large, so that was a lesson learned.

I am small, and almost 50 and wouldn't have a clue how to measure myself Deffo daren't walk into a shop to do it

M&S measuring worked for me, I'd been getting it completely wrong. I'm the same size in La Senza as well. They don't do y size in a lot of places though, so those are among the few places I can buy bras.

no sarcasm please genuine question
hi advice please
my mum has health problems and has been amazing in losing 5 stone but she is embarrased about her bust so she won't go to be properly measured
I have brought her several bras but she finds them uncomfortable
she is 36 under her bust but to be delicate they are no longer as they were what is the correct way to get her cup size should she measure as they are natural making her a B cup or lift them which make them an e cup
hopefully you know what i mean thanks

38B from those measurements.

(http://www.amplebosom.com/acatalog/Measuring_Guide.html)

i read that if youre big boobed best way to do it is wearing a none padded bra. This measuring guide may help

http://www.amplebosom.com/acatalog/Measuring_Guide.html

I was measured by Wonderbra at Cheshire Oaks and was wearing the complete wrong size, too big back and too small cup size by a mile!! Bought two new bras in the right size, very comfy. Will always buy wonderbra now.

Never understood the reason for adding 4/5 inches on the band

I measure myself & wear a 28f/30e (I know :sleep. If I was to add 4/5 inches I would be 34a, which wouldn't even begin to hold anything in!

I fit bras for a living, and we get so many people coming in saying they have tried to do it themselves and wondering why the bra they get is uncomfy.
It is better to get someone who knows that they are doing to measure you, it's really important to wear the right size and style.
The way I do it is with a tape measure on the back, although I usually go by what they are wearing at the time. Say they are in a relatively new 36 back and have it on the tightest fastening and its still slack I would take them down to a 34 and maybe even a 32. Two fingers under the back of the bra is meant to be how tight it is and always start on the loosest as then you can tighten as the elastic begins to go. If you are pregnant you should start on the tightest and work your way out as you get bigger.
The cup size I guage by sight, if the woman comes in in a 36B for instance and it looks ok in the cup (wires flat against the chest, no bulges or wrinkles and breast tissue enclosed in the wires) but she is 34 I would put her in a C and then if it turns out she is a 32 I put her in a D.

My advice is leave it to the experts.

Because they still add four inches to the band size if the underbust measurement it's even, five if it's an odd number.

M&S measured me as a 34, when I'm really a borderline 28/30.

thanks for that have printed the link for mum

I wear a 32E; however, I think I'm more of a 30 back size. But I hardly ever see any bras in a 30 and never in a 30F. So purely for convenience, I wear a 32E.

I would never go back to Marks and Spencers - a few years ago I went to 3 different marks and was told the same size which I knew was far too small, I eventually went to House of Fraser and found that I was 2 cup sizes bigger and a back size smaller.

I have the same problem as you Karma - I'm a 30G and the only places I can buy a bra is House of Fraser, Debenhams or Bravissimo, although very occasionally Marks. Try online sites like Brastop, Figleaves or even ebay.

Where are their high street stores located? My mum has one of their catalogues.


Same here, not my kind of job. I don't even know how to do it myself!

But that's how you calculate your bra size - as per the Ample Bosom measuring guide above.

Having been measured in loads of different shops & put my measurements into loads of different websites - they came up differently. In the end I decided the Ample Bosom method of calculation - adding a cup size per inch of boob is the one I believe gives me my "correct" size.

I agree M&S are crap for bras though.

i got measured in two different shops in the past week as a 38c and then a 38e?don't get it, I'm clearly NOT a c cup...i have also been measured in M+S as a 42DD and the bra i bought off them the same day fit fine but when i went in and bought some in the same size without trying them on, they were faaaar too small!

i think bras are like other clothing and need trying on from shop to shop

i however find George at Asda to be the best fitting bras

Haven't replied to a bra thread in a while.

I get measured in a little lingerie boutique in my home town.

Like you, I've been measured differently too. Though, I have to say that you've jumped up 2 cupsizes in each subsequent measuring, . It's not even as if you could say you're on the cusp of each.

I'd go along to another department store or two and get re-measured to see what they say. Surely, if you try on the bras you'll have a fair idea which fit correctly.

I got a lovely dusky pink lace set from George. I quite like their stuff now and again.

But one of my pleasures in life is wandering around trying on bras! Online takes out all the fun (plus I can't afford the prices on Figleaves!).

To be honest, the perils of bra shopping are nothing compared to bikini shopping!

as has been commented the wires need to sit tight against your ribcage and the breast needs to sit fully in the cup (i.e. not having an extra pair hanging over the top of the cup) my partner is a GG and getting bras to fit is hell! just bought one from m&s she tried it on - its going back doesn't fit properly. the best idea is to try a few on, cup sizes vary amazingly even between bras from the same manufacturer let alone different manufacturers!

I think the problem with Marks and Spencer, La Senza and most others is that they tell you to leave your bra on so in actual fact don't get a proper look at your breasts, and then measure with your bra on which is a bit silly if your'e already wearing the wrong size.

Hi Peaseblossom. Wish you lived nearer. I too was most disatisfied with service from M&S. I bought 4 of the bras which she recommended and have only worn one briefly because it was so uncomfortable. Why do they always seem right in the shop and even at home until you take the labels off?

I prefer underwired bras for support but I find that the wires stick into me. I have decreased the band size and increased the cup. The straps are always at their longest point but still cut into my shoulders. Do I deduce from this that I am simply trying to wear the wrong sort of bra for the shape of my breasts?

Now that my dexterity is more and more restricted by arthritis I find that the labels directly by the hooks a real nuisance.

Hey ladies, I'm off to London soon and plan to visit Rigby and Peller to be measured there as I'm convinced I'm not wearing the right size which M&S told me I was. Although they sit in the cups properly, they dig into my shoulders and I'm not convince they have the support they need.

So I have a question about Rigby and Peller, their own brand bra's are rather pricey but I believe that they also stock lots of other makes, so would they try and sell me one of their own as they're more expensive or will they sell me the best bra for me?

Thanks!

My mum gets her bras at Rigby & Peller - her recent haul didn't include anything own brand, but the other brands they stock are as pricey afaik.

A tip - she particularly liked one bra she bought & wanted to get another & I found it cheaper on the internet.

So you could either write down the ones you like & look for them online, or just buy one & do the same.

They do fit her like a dream I have to say so it's definitely worth going.