Cardigan Empire

Salt Lake City Fashion Stylist

How to Measure your Bra Size


You might believe that your bra is a completely private matter.  If it is left to stain, stretch, and literally decompose on your body, so be it.

Consider that your bra cradles you at your most vulnerable sectors. Although only a few will view your bra directly, everyone can perceive the effect. The foundation of fashion must be approached earnestly and accurately.

Here’s the beastly truth: there is an 80% chance that you’re wearing the wrong bra size. Your band is likely too big and/or your cup size is presumably too small. Even if you were wearing the right bra size last Valentines day, weight shifts, pregnancy, nursing, and age may have transformed your needs.

At this point, I must endorse measuring. (And if you haven’t measured your body type yet, proceed while you’re disrobed and in possession of soft measuring tape)

1. Preparation
Don your best fitting, unpadded bra. Minimizers and sports bras are not proper candidates. This bra should nest your lady eggs approximately half way between your shoulder and elbow. If possible find a confidential friend (mother, sister, daughter, husband, levelheaded lingerie associate) to assist you.

2. Band Size
Exhale all the air from your lungs and measure carefully around your ribcage, directly under your bust (too high and it will be too big, too low and it will be too small). This measurement should be taken as small as possible, with the tape parallel to the floor.

Take this number and round up or down to the nearest whole “even” inch (i/e divisible by 2).

Example: 33 3/8″, round up to 34.

3. Cup Size
Standing straight, with your arms at your side, wrap the circumference of the fullest part of your bust while keeping the tape measure parallel with the floor.

The tape measure should be just touching, not binding. If one of your mademoiselles is significantly larger, pad the smaller counterpart to make it even before taking your measurement.

Round up or down to the nearest inch. Then subtract your band size measurement from this second measurement. The difference can be translated using the chart below to a cup size.

Example: 42″ – 34″ = 7″ -> G Cup Size.
 But wait… this is not the final determinate of our lady eggs.  Thank WWII ideals and marketing, but bra manufacturers conceived of the idea of adding inches to the actual measurement so the resulting measurement would be closer to the artificial ideal (36-24-36).  Therefore, all our bras are mis-sized to stroke our lady egg egos.  Luckily, there is an easy way to translate your real bra size into vanity-sized bras.
34 G = (Hop 1) 36 F = (Hop 2) 38 DD = (Hop 3) 36 D
These sizes are equivalent to each other.  As your band size increases, the cup size also increases which is why we diminish the cup size with each translation to keep the proportions appropriate.  Generally a hop of three points is easy to find and comfortable to wear.

Ta-da: band size, cup size, abracada…bra size. True, it is only a starting point, but stay with us. the magic continues this week as we diagnose the right intimate for your unique intimates. 

And remember when you try on the bra, try it on by snapping together the widest set hook and eyes.  This will ensure that you will have room to make your bra smaller as your bra stretches with time.

Feed me fashionably fresh

Comments

  1. I just found this blog! I think I’ll be stopping by more often!

    Thanks for the helpful bra tips – every woman can use this kind of info.

  2. Thanks for the fitting info. I am going to carefully measure myself and await your next instructions. Please give advice for those of us in the AA category! We need a LOT of help! Our clothes do not fit because we have not the “mademoiselles” to fill them!!

  3. Any advice on where to find bras with great support for those of use well-endowed in the DD category would be much appreciated. Or brands…

  5. Oh, yes, I agree with Angie. Any help for us AA girls would be much appreciated.

    Love the blog, by the way.

  6. One day recently I was so disgusted with how I looked in my bra (bought on sale from Gap Body) that I went to a beautiful shop in San Francisco called Alla Prima and was measured. Turns out, I was wearing such the totally wrong size bra that it was horrifying. Instead of a 40D, I am a 36G (in European sizes, instead of DD, DDD, etc the letters keep going up). I learned there that when a bra is new, you should only need to put it on the biggest set of hooks. The other hooks are for when the elastic stretches out. If there are any ladies out there who need nice, beautiful bras for gigantic boobs, the brand Primadonna is a great one. Hope this helps, getting my bra size in order was literally a life changing experience.

  7. I just found you and am dying– true true – there is nothing like a good bra. I had quite the experience here in my town going to the the bra shoppe- wow! I guess I had never been truly fitted before. It was an eye opening experience! Seriously those old ladies were not scared to get in there and show you how it is done. Lifting, tucking and jiggling I had no idea. Luckily someone warned me, or prepared me- They had no shame- Thank goodness because I needed the help! Any way so am loving Le Mystere Tisha bra- Great bra for the well-endowed — keeps those large lady eggs right where they are meant to stay and the strap in the back stays place too- This bra is well worth it! These 36 G’s are as happy as could be- ps your clothes fit soooo much better when you have the right size bra on- Who knew?

  8. Is the cup measurement supposed to be taken with your bra on or off? From the instructions it seems to it should be on, but I wonder if that will inflate the results? Just wondering…

  9. Becky & Andrea, we will be posting specifically on delicate and bountiful bust blooms. So stay posted.

  10. Rachel, you can take the measurements with your bra on, but select a bra without any padding or minimizing agents. You can also take the measurements with your bra off, but if your chest doesn’t naturally fall halfway between your shoulder and elbow, fold your arms to support them there and have someone help you take the measurement.

  11. Hm, according to this method I am an A cup, which is definitely not right… (more like a large C)