Scarlet, something is definitely going on with bra sizing/inconsistencies. I went bra shopping in the summer with DD#2, who keeps increasing in the bust -- she's now in a D, nearly a DD. She is 4 inches taller than me but there's no doubt that her breasts are larger and fuller than my own. Anyway, the priority was finding HER a bra, but this gave me a chance to try on all kinds of bras too, in sizes I might not normally pull off the rack. We were shopping in Bloomingdale's so this included brands like Chantelle, which is what I normally wear. (You can check their site to see what other brands, I don't remember now). We must've tried on pretty much every 32-34 in the store. So I was trying on everything from 32 to 34 band, and cups from B on up to DD. And was surprised that in some styles I took a DD (whereas it didn't fit my daughter at all). I *almost* bought that DD.. just so I could be able to say, "I wear a DD".. hee hee!
In general, I find 32C cups to be too small for me, whereas 34B cups fit just right, but the band inevitably loosens up too much after about 6 months. I tried on some 34D's in a different style, and those worked? It was very odd. And in some cases I went all the way up to a 32DD!! From that experience, I can't even say "in general" anymore.
There's a lot of air time now to this idea that "most women wear the wrong size bra-- and need to size down on the band and up on the cup." I think that is the culprit here. Manufacturers are responding by creating inconsistently sized bras, so there's something for everyone. It's not all that dissimilar to what we find with clothing sizes.
I did not buy any bras for me. I was exhausted from that experience.
