Girls: Do you wear your correct bra size? Why do most girls wear the wrong size?

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Bras from Poland are awesome, just saying.
I'm a 32JJ/J, I can fit into a J if need be and some J's fit better than JJ's. My fitters at my specialty shop tried to put me into a 30K cup...I couldn't beathe so instead of figuring that I needed a larger band, they put an extender on the bra and told me it'd fit better once I got used to it (I've been wearing the correct size bra since I was 18...I'm 25 now). Many fitters are determined that they are correct and that their method is the ONLY method that works. It also doesn't help that most of the UK bras are meant for women who have wide roots and are a full on bottom shape. I used to try on between 5 and 12 bras in my size from my specialty shop before finding 1 that fit sort of correctly. If I didn't struggle for years finding the correct size, I'd be wearing a bra that was uncomfortable today. It also doesn't help that the bras are so expensive. My Polish bras are cheaper to buy from Poland and get shipped to the US than to buy a UK bra from the US.

Fun fact about bra manufacturer's: Bra manufacturer's construct bras based on the population of that country's breast shape/root is. So in the UK, most women have wide roots so the manufacturer's make bras to fit this shape...in Poland, most women have narrow roots and so the manufacturer's make bras to fit that shape (you get a more projected look when you have narrow roots). Curvy Kate, though, seems to be trying different things...some models work best of those who are full on bottom and NOT heavy with wide roots and others work well on women who have narrow roots and are more full on top. I think they're either trying to see what sells the most or making both in order to maximize profits from both sides of the table.

Anyway, when fitters either don't know or don't understand how breast shape and root take part in the sizing process, you have women who end up in the wrong size-besides the typical add 4-5 (I've even seen 6) inches method. That and the availability of sizes. The US right now is very slow to recognize that most women wear between a 28 and 32 band and most women don't think they could wear below a 32 band size because the band feels too tight-even though this is caused by a cup that's too small and the band being pulled too far forward to cover breast tissue. These two combinations are what causes probably 70% or more of women wearing the wrong size bra. Misinformation and availability with probably a little bit of stigma (although the amount of women who want bigger breasts seems to be huge!) about large breast. I do believe that's why brabandproject.com was started though.

I'm currently getting a grad degree in marketing and I really wanted to study bra sizing and advertising/promotion for my thesis but my advisor is a man and I didn't feel comfortable discussing the extremes of the topic with a guy but oh what amazing joy it would be to find out! I may still do a study since I want to open a bra shop one day....Show more

There are many variations in fit that are not captured in size. The claims about the number of people who wear the wrong size should really state that this is the number of people who don't wear the size that the fitter thinks they should....Show more

When bras were making their early appearance they were made with materials that were less stretchy, hence why you needed to add the extra 4 inches to your ribcage. But that way of measuring is outdated because bras are made with different materials then back then. They are more stretchy and because of that we do not need to add any extra inches to our ribcage measurement but society has neglected to get rid of the outdated way of measuring, media doesn't help with this either. Popular culture has us believing that any woman above a cup size DD has abnormally large breasts and that is not true. Because of this many regular every day women are in denial of their true size. They see women like Katie Price claiming she's a DD cup and a REAL DD cup woman is saying "oh I can't be that size, her breasts are so much larger than mine" it also doesn't help society as a whole. I've watched youtube videos about proper bra sizing techniques and when measuring a woman who is a 30D most of the youtube comments are horrendous, saying that girl couldn't possibly be a D-cup and how she looks more like an A and accusing the fitters of vanity sizing. No wonder women stick to bras that are way too small for them, according to the right method I am a 28F but I've been measured as a 32C/D, I compensate by wearing a 32DD which after looking at a chart conversion I have the right cup size volume, just a too big band. But imagine telling someone you wear a 28F, in their minds they would imagine a pair of watermelons on a stick. And with that kind of negativity women are too brainwashed and blinded to know what their bra sizes really could be, it also doesn't help that sizes like 28F, 30D, or 26G are not available to the general public....Show more

I probably don't wear the right size because I hate bra shopping. I'm incredibly fussy and it has to fit just right. And our local shops have a rather generic selection which doesn't fit me well (one whole shop doesn't fit right) and they are never right. So I just buy what's comfy and wear it until it wears out. But last time I was measured I was told I was a 36D. Tried on on and there was space for a whole other person. Tried on a 34C and it fitted so much better. Tried another 34C and it was super tight. Then another make was too big again - so I wasn't what they told me I was, and the different makes had totally different fits anyway so in that shop the sizes weren't at all helpful...Show more

I thought I was a C for a while before I measured myself again and found out I actually was a double D. I always wondered why no bra ever fitted me!

It also doesn't help that the sizes vary from shop to shop. Bought my exact right size in one shop and it was heavenly to wear, bought another from another shop and it was ridiculously wrong. So yeah, it is frustrating because then you have to guess and that's where it all goes wrong.

I think most girls think they are smaller than they actually are (like myself). Probably because of all these body hang ups we have......Show more