https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:48:13 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-683450 Thu, 02 Aug 2012 16:54:56 +0000 christieanne 683450@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Cup size is def. relative to band size, I totally agree. And to make it even ore confusing, the Europeans cut and size differently than the US so it's trial and error sometimes. </p> <p>Sometimes you can go a band size and down a cup size and get a good fit but you just want to make sure you get support from the band and not all the "work" is from the shoulder straps. </p> <p>A good bra fitter is indeed priceless </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-683097 Thu, 02 Aug 2012 10:10:07 +0000 Jjsloane 683097@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Rae has figured it out with Christianne's great information. Since I discovered my real size (exact band size is my under bust measurement) my bras fit way better. The band eventually stretches some anyway. I wear 34DDD, but in a few brands that run smallish I am better fit in a 36DD (the cup to band ratio is the same in this case)<br /> For Diana I think you need to find the right style of bra for your shape, you have the size right. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-683032 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:44:16 +0000 rachylou 683032@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>That has been my belief and experience, Rae - that the volume is a function of band size. Although, how this plays out is probably not always obvious. I wore 34B for a long time, and had gapping problems. With a 32 C, these go away.</p> <p>Link to <a href="http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/clothes-new-intimates/25689001.jsp">bra top.</a></p> <p>I call the bra a "bra top" because it's a bit like a non-binding corset. i.e. covers some of the torso. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-683012 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:48:01 +0000 rae 683012@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Christieanne's comment reminded me that the actual "volume" of the cups is a *function* of the band size and the fullness of the chest. That means the cup of a 32C is going to be smaller than that of a 42C. It's not like there is a a standard "C" boob size that is just strung on an ever larger band. Therefore, the band size will always affect the cup size. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-683004 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:35:29 +0000 Diana 683004@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Mo, I've tried that, and it never really works right. The band never seems quite supportive enough. May have to do with the fact that I like lacy French bras though so I'm sure they're constructed in some super complicated way that gets messed up when you cut and paste. =P</p> <p>PS- supposedly Panache bras are very wide set and Freya bras are very narrow. I don't have any experience with Panaches personally though as they do not make unpadded c cups. (Which annoys me - people with "small" cup sizes have fit issues too!) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-683002 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:33:28 +0000 Mo 683002@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Diana, funny, I have the opposite problem, the cups are never close enough. I'd say you should buy the 36's and just cut and sew the band smaller in back. I'm a needle and thread, by hand kind of seamstress (read: not highly qualified) and I do this quite often with older bras that have stretched. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-683001 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:31:15 +0000 Diana 683001@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hmm, the underbust thing works almost perfectly for me. I measure 33" underbust and take a 34 size band. A 32 might actually even be OK, except then the cups are always too close together for my wide-set boobs, no matter what size the cups themselves are. A 36 has nice wide-set cups but the band is way big on me and does not support properly. (Psst, Shiny, that might be your problem with the 32 band as well.) I actually suspect that my "perfect" bra would be like a 36 in front and a 32 in back, which of course does not exist. (My rib cage is definitely wider in front than in back, plus my sternum is very wide.) I make do with the 34s - some brands tend to be more wideset than others. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-682990 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:56:58 +0000 shiny 682990@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm not sure what a bra top is, but if it's not a real bra, then you never know. It might work. You won't know until you try it on!</p> <p>I find bra sizing to be all over the map. Went bra shopping with my teens recently, and it was quite frustrating. I wear a 34B in Chantelle, and that brand fits quite well, but my measurements suggest I should actually be in a 32C. It's true that the 34 band inevitably loosens up too much, so I wouldn't mind finding a 32 because it'd probably last me longer. </p> <p>However, every single 32C just doesn't fit me right. The cups are too small. I have sized up to a D. In one style I took a DD... shocking! I nearly bought that one -- it was different style to what I usually wear, and came in a cute color. Then I tried it on in a 34 just to compare, and the C cup fit almost exactly like the DD? </p> <p>So confused! </p> <p>Ultimately I gave up and figure I will go back and try again when I'm fresher. (I always replenish bras in August). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-682982 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:44:59 +0000 Janet 682982@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>KL, I question that too. I measure about 29.5" around the underbust, but I wear a 32 band comfortably. 30" would cut off my circulation! I already have marks on my body when I take off my bra at the end of the day. Besides, it's hard enough to find 32DDD or 32E styles -- I can't imagine how much harder it would be to find the corresponding 30" size! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-682960 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 19:17:42 +0000 Mo 682960@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think the underband measurement is a comfort issue. I measured barely 27" last year and got a few 30" bras. (the measurement and size accuracy was confirmed by a Nordie's fitter) I busted one earlier this year, lol! Now I measure closer to 28" underbust, but still, that shouldn't snap the elastic in the center gore of a 30" if the underbust in inches is truly our exact size, now should it? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-682937 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:35:59 +0000 Keix 682937@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm a 32A and I can wear a very few 34A or 32B styles, but for the most part, no--different sizes are, well, different. Actually I've found that the 34AA has a larger cup than a 32A in the exact same style.</p> <p>ETA: Christieanne, does one really take the same band size as the underbust measurement? My underbust is 29" but I can't imagine fitting comfortably in a 30 band. I find petite/junior-sized 32 bands a little tight already. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-682933 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:31:58 +0000 christieanne 682933@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hmmm.<br /> The standard way to measure for bra size is this: </p> <p>Measure around body just under breast line - that is your band size. If you are 34 around, then you wear a 34. If you are in between (an odd number) then round up. </p> <p>Then measure around the largest point of breasts - take the difference between the two measurements. So if you measure 35 around on that measure but 34 on band measure, the difference is 1 inch. That is an A cup. A 2 inch difference is a B, 3 inches is a C and etc. </p> <p>The confusion comes from bras or bra tops without standard cup sizes. There isn't a one size fits all bra top is there??<br /> And then there is the math. So many people can't do math. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-682931 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:29:23 +0000 rae 682931@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>o_0</p> <p>If the band size is *different*, then how exactly is the size also the same? Sounds like a pretty weak sales pitch. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/speaking-of-lingerie-and-fit#post-682883 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:10:51 +0000 rachylou 682883@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>One of the Refinery newsletters featured a cute bra top yesterday. I went last night to check it out and learned, yes, wait for it... they don't make it in my size.</p> <p>The girl tried to tell me the next size up was the same as my size, cup is the same and only bigger in the band. Now I think there's a big difference, but perhaps I'm a marketing victim? </p>