What's Your Size Range?

Many women find a bra they like that fits well and believe that's their size in every bra. There's a myriad of reasons this isn't the entire truth because behind each label there are different factors that comprise the make up of each bra.

It stands to reason most brands would have one or more designers responsible for each season's styles and the ongoing core or "continuity" lines, you know the ones available usually in Black, White and a "Skin-tone" year after year. The total fabric content also likely differs depending on whether it's made from lace, nylon, sheer mesh, lightly-padded for shape and security, the list goes on, really. Each material will grant a different level of flexibility and some remain rather firm.

I think it's quite important to be properly measured for the likeliest size that will fit and work with it. After that it's basically up to finding the nuances of your appropriate size in each brand. Sometimes a band will be far too snug for comfort and so you can size-up the band. Other times a cup may be too big with very clear signs of wrinkling. Or, the underwire may poke at your sides so you can try a cup larger to see if that helps alleviate the issue (so long as it fits right everywhere else!).

Online Bra Size Calculators!

Measure in Inches
Linda's Online (aka Linda The Bra Lady)
http://www.lindasonline.com/bra-fitting-calculator.html

Measure in Centimeters
Elektroniczny Bra-Fitter
http://www.atlastravel.nazwa.pl/mini

Measure either Cm or In
Butterfly Collection
http://www.butterflycollection.ca/bra-size-calculator

A Sophisticated Pair
http://www.sophisticatedpair.com/bracalculator.htm

It's really just a starting point. The only real way to find out if a bra will fit you is to try it on. Here are some examples of variation through the same brand.

I'm a huge Cleo fan. The colors, the patterns, the fit! I believe (after blooming early) taking about fifteen years to find the right size has me longing to make up for lost -and very necessary- wardrobe time. Give me the bright purples and neon greens any day! I found much of the 2010 through 2012 seasons to run either TTS or they may appear so and tend to stretch out rather quick. Most notably I purchased the Eleanor in Red one band smaller and a cup size larger, 28gg, because I anticipated it would stretch somewhat given a bit of time. So I added an extender and wore this cherry tomato red pieced-cup bra with a lovely almost picnic-basket like embroidery a few times over the course of a summer week. Usually after a wash and dry a bra's elastic snaps back into place somewhat making it more snug. After only a few wears I had to leave the extender in my drawer because it was already perfect on the first set of hooks. I was shocked and definitely in awe. So I figured from thereon if the shape fits it was best to buy smaller bands so my new bras would have more life. As it turns out I would go on to purchase several more Cleo's in this size such as the Bonnie and the ever popular Lucy in many colors.

left to right: SS11 Cleo "Bonnie", SS10 Cleo "Eleanor", SS12 Cleo "Lucy" (all 28GG)

Migrating Tissue?
 
When one size seems to work a majority of the time there can still be size variations. As mentioned in an earlier post on my first proper fitting I'd originally been fitted into 30FF's. After wearing proper sizes for about 8-12 months I noticed the need for a slightly larger cup. I wondered why because my weight rarely fluctuates outside a few back-and-forth pounds and never enough to significantly alter the fit of my clothing. So after all the years spent wearing ill-fitting and unsupportive boob hammocks the extra tissue had over time kind of floated away from the front bust into the underarm and toward the back but now had been brought forward where it should be. Claire at Butterfly Collection has a great blog post with examples.

Even in my new found 30G I still found variation depending on different brands and styles. As of current time writing this I fit and constantly wear a 30FF in Fantasie moulded cup styles as the 30G is still a bit too roomy leaving little air pockets inside the cup. Fantasie's Ava from their core line is one of my favorite bras and the first one I ever wore all day without feeling like I was wearing a bra. It's that comfy! Otherwise I tend to fit well into the 30G cut-and-sew Fantasies as well as Freyas which makes sense as they are sister brands and often design shapes are identical across both lines. That said, I own just a couple of these in Freya since I'm less a fan of the overall pointed shape they give me personally. Not to be confused the similarly named AW12 Freya Ada is perfect in 30G and I loved the pattern so much I made an exception for it. Going back two seasons the Cleo Sasha (AW11) technically fit in both a 30G and 30GG but the 30GG felt more secure. In comparison the cups are ever so slightly higher and more supportive and I feel better about bending over/moving about. However just as with the previous 28-band Cleo's this band stretched out quickly and it now wears on the final hook, sometimes second-hook when a bit of room is required (luckily I was able to snag it in the smaller 28H via Bratabase and the shape is consistent).

left to right: Fantasie "Ava" 30FF, AW12 Freya "Ada" 30G, AW11 Cleo "Sasha" 30GG

Bump It Up
 
Most of the above mentions are of unlined cut-n-sew types with the exception of Ava. Not everyone will find themselves in the following situation but most of the time I tend to need one cup size larger in lightly padded styles. It feels like there is just a tiny bit less room in there with more than just the outer defining fabric. And so it's usually a 30GG for me in padded bras like Cleo's Juna. A shape from the core line it's one that started long before her as she is well known today. Available in Black, Ivory and "Nude" shades Juna seasonally wears different patterns and shades such as the current AW12 Darcy with patriotic red, white and blue leafy heart print and the purple tartan AW10 Sadie below. The purple Sadie however was not available past a G-cup. Here is another exception made and purchased in the same volume however in a 32G, worn immediately on the final hooks and will eventually need altering to shorten the band. Braless in Brasil has a good post on altering or shortening bra bands. When I purchased Juna and her colorful sisters Sadie in Orange, Darcy, and Rihanna I was still anticipating their bands to stretch out fast in a 30 and so bought the size down all in 28H's. They work well for my shape and I have a matching bra extender for each to get more wear in the long run. The only 30G bra I've found to work appropriately in a padded style so far has been Cleo's SS12 Arianna which ran 28-38 D-G and I tried the 32FF and 32G but they were both too big in the band and the 32G was definitely too big overall!

left to right: SS12 Cleo "Arianna" 30G, Cleo "Juna" 28H, AW10 Cleo "Sadie" 32G

For those curious, The earliest incarnation of Juna I've found was from just before my introduction to Panache and their Masquerade line: SS10's Inca.
 
Being measured on average for a 30G is just the starting point as witnessed above. All of these bras are worn on a regular basis and all have their own slight variation on fit and shape although on the same body.

Do you find yourself varying between brands or even in the same line? Please share below in the comments!

DD+'s on Television: Double Divas

We're super excited to see the ladies of Georgia's Livi Rae Lingerie bring DD+'s to the world in Lifetime TV's "Double Divas". The first episode premiered last night.

Image courtesy LifetimeTV

 

One reason we love them is because not only are they responsible for helping lift up some southern belles they are helping to dispel myths about big breasted women. Mainly, lingerie and brassieres are generally about function. That is bras play a supporting role in every woman's life as her busom friend. Let no bust be left behind! From episode 1's Norma having a custom made bra made by Cynthia, LiviRae are changing lives one pair at a time!

Were you tuned in? What are your thoughts? If you weren't able to watch the first full episode is available streaming at the link below on mylifetime.com. Go now and watch!

Check out Double Divas via link: http://www.mylifetime.com/shows/double-divas

A bra of gold at the end of the rainbow

It all started with the first proper fittings. There wasn't an initial "Oh wow, this bra fits!" moment because it didn't happen in just one store.

It was Summer of 2010 and I finally got around to making an appointment at one of the more well-known bra-fitting chains with a location in Manhattan. Five months earlier, a lady friend I trusted at the time insisted I needed much more support than the 34D printed on my bra tag. The premise was simple: start yourself with an appointment, a bit of cash, purchase a few new bras and start fresh! I was so beyond ready to feel better about myself and be much happier on the whole. So during the hottest time of year, when out of sheer necessity women don the more revealing pieces in our wardrobes, I was having a mini-crisis about how my overthings were affected by my underthings.

I had no idea what was in store.

I'd read the online testimonials and even how Oprah & Co. lauded their services only to find out from my fitter that the 32F she had just put me in was still too large for my frame. The correct size would need to be smaller, a 30FF—and a uniquely UK size, although these particular stores did not stock anything below a 32. Instead of feeling better, I instantly felt freakish for being what I deemed to be an irregular size. I mean, I had been working in retail for some years at that point and never heard of bras below a 32. And didn't only the D's go into double letters? How then could my particular needs surpass this even "semi-normal" range? I was informed that they provided complimentary alterations to these gorgeous new bras should I choose to buy them. The downside was that I would have to wait an entire week and make a second pick-up visit.

I was stunned in so many ways.

As I put back on the unpleasant and unsupportive boob decoration I walked in with my heart sank. Was this my only option?

I left empty-handed but remembered another place which came recommended and immediately called for the next available appointment. And so the following day I went in ready to resume my mission that had abruptly left off the day before.

I must have been in my own makeshift “fitting room" more than an hour while the fitter was off simultaneously helping several other customers. Then it happened. This was it! The first well-fitting bra I decided on was an appropriate shade for my skin tone, a basic foundation "nude". Boy was it tight! But it fit well and I was in fact so happy that I walked out of the store wearing it all the way home. Upon arrival I trashed my old nude since my boobs now stood high like the first time you stand tippy-toed above a crowd and realize you can see for miles. They were absolutely delighted to be in a place they'd never before been! That was... until I took it off only several hours afterward. Surely there was some "breaking in" to do, which really means adjusting your body to a piece of clothing. In this case, the band and corresponding underwires were actually sitting in place against the ribcage for the first time, but I could tell something wasn't quite right. I had red marks all over and deep indentations that hurt. Thankfully there wasn't any broken skin but as happy as I was at the time, this newfound excitement was joined by an accompanying worry of having to start another entire day this way. I wasn't sure I could do it. And I grew very, very anxious. I scoured the web for every New York store listing and called the very next morning to find out who carried my new size. Some said they didn’t, while others offered promise.

What started as a daylong excursion doubled itself… then became a pseudo three-day weekend... and finally a week-long ordeal.

After calling and visiting the majority of New York's top bra boutiques and becoming frustrated in some way with all of the options (or lack thereof) I decided also to visit any and every store I thought might carry a variety of sizes. This included department and discount stores as well as liquidation outlets. I found myself longingly eyeing colorful offerings (like Calvin Klein and B'tempd) and then while thumbing through racks my eyes popped out of my head at tags I thought I'd never see: sizes such as 34E, 30FF, 30G all listed in UK sizes as well as their US interpretations (34F, 30H, 30I, respectively). I must have yelped out loud in surprise but didn't care as I rushed off to the fitting rooms in attempt to become my own fitter. By now there had been a bevy of bras on my body day after day after day and armed with a newfound self-taught knowledge of brawareness I could tell not only what visually fit but also what felt right. I told myself then that even if the colors weren't my specific preference at least I would find a great fit and it was a process of learning.

In the end, I lucked out big time. Many women are likely to share a similar story when finally finding their correct size range. I prefer the phrase "size range" because a bra size is really just an approximate size based on your own ratio of measurements as well as other factors like your unique shape and where your breasts sit on the torso. I had some fitters insist on bringing me the same size repeatedly without considering the particular materials or bra shape. Still others couldn't bring me other sizes for lack of stock. It turned out my new sizes were 30FF and 30G (both UK sizes): two full bands smaller and 4-5 cups larger than the 34D (US size) I had been wearing, and a UK 30G is the cup size most stores maxed out at.

If New York really had it all, then why couldn't I?

Fast forward two years and many wonderful bras later. Although I still find myself at one end of the cup rainbow I know that smaller bands still seem a rare find but are absolutely essential for many women regardless of age or cup size.

It is the ultimate goal of this blog to ensure women possess a good bra education and are aware that smaller-backed sizes do exist. In fact some stores carry partial size runs of manufactured styles but may not carry the entire range due to lack of demand. It seems to remain a catch-22.

We'll report on everything from small bands to full figure finds and where specifically YOU ladies can shop in New York City!

Because we are the Busts of Gotham.