20% of you will find this baffling
According to Oprah's Bra Revolution, 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size, and people, I am one of them. My back often hurts (like right now), and I'm constantly tugging on the band or pulling the straps back up on my shoulders. I have gained and lost over 40 pounds since high school and have nursed a child over a year, yet I'm still wearing the same 36C I was then. So this afternoon I set out to discover my "true" bra size, and what I've learned is that I am more confused than ever.
- Hanes.com has a bra size calculator. I started here because I like the new commercials with Jennifer Love Hewitt, and I want my boobs to look like hers. Following their instructions, I measured first under my bust around the rib cage (32"), and then around the fullest part (37.5"). Unfortunately their calculator won't allow you to do a half-inch, so according to them I'm either a 36A or 36B.
- Figleaves.com doesn't deal with pesky measurements in their advice on how to find your true bra size. Rather, they want to you think about how your current bras fit and adjust from there. My back band rides up, and I think my cups are too big, so according to them I should try a 34B. I think. I'm not comfortable with guesstimation, especially when ordering online (and potentially having to mail things back).
BareNecessities.com illustrates their measuring process with this helpful image. Assuming I measured properly, I got 36" in Step #1 and either 37" or 39" inches in Step #2, so that makes me either a 36A or 36C. Great, but now I have that song from The Jungle Book stuck in my head.- Victoria's Secret, my least favorite lingerie store of all time, uses the same measuring instructions as Hanes (measure rib cage, then fullest part of bust). This is worth visiting if only for the "seductive" way the model wields a tape measure. By Victoria's Secret's calculations I'm either a 36E or a 38D. They suggest I try both sizes and pick the one that fits best. (That's the best advice the inventors of "Secret Embrace Technology" can offer me?)
- GapBody instructs me to first measure around my rib cage (32") and add 5 to that number (so 37). Next subtract that number from my bust measurement (either 37", 37.5", 38", or 39", depending on how I measure--yeah). The difference (0, .5, 1, or 2 inches) means I'm, um, a nothing, a nothing and a half, an A cup, or a B cup. Wait, what was my band size? They don't sell a 37". It can't be 32" because that would indicate my Gap dress size is somewhere between 0 and 4, which it is not. Looks like I won't be buying a bra from them either.
- Intimacy, the store owned by Oprah's bra guru, has a lot of information on bra size and women who wear the wrong one, etc. Their bra fit questionnaire is three questions - current band size (36), current cup size (C), and current blouse size (8-10). And their answer? "You should be wearing a 34D size based upon your body frame and current cup size." This, I am promised, will keep my straps from falling down, the band from riding up, provide maximum lift and support, maximize definition and increase protection, and make me more comfortable. And well, that's what I'm looking for in a bra. If I could afford to shop at Intimacy, I would head over there for a professional bra fitting and buy two or three bras, but I can't, so.
(As an aside, while trying to think of a clever title for this post, I came up with "The Hunt for Red Octo-bra," which is, uh, a bra with 8 cups? and is not what I am looking for.)
2 comments:
I think that for whatever reason, there is no such animal as consistent sizing anymore, in bras or in clothing. It's funny you posted on this because my mom was just telling me about this the other day. She used to be like, a 34a, and now she's a 36c or something or other, I don't remember exactly. Which is partially because she's gained weight, but still. I wear like, a size 2, at say, Target or Ann Taylor, a size 4 at the Gap, a size 6 or 8 at H&M, and a size ----0 in department store suits? (In other words, none of them fit. And the suits in the juniors section? Hahahahahaha. Yeah. 'Cause I want a suit that exposes my navel.)ht Huh? Ok, end rant. I may be tall and thin, but clothes still don't make any sense, and it isn't any easier to find things that fit.
And that precise lack of industry sizing standards is why I feel the need to go to a bra expert, someone who might actually know what she's talking about and save me the trouble of trying on 452 bras.
I think a bra is the type of thing you can't really skimp on, so if the right one is expensive that's just how it goes. Unfortunately my pocketbook doesn't line up with my opinions.
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