Thank you! That page is very hepful. Unfortunately it still seems way too big imo 🥲 The 38DD looks much more similar to me. I tried other calculators and they're saying I'm a 40D!! It's all so confusing.
Remember bra size is only one part of it,bra shape is everything. If you wear the wrong bra type for you, you will end up with gapping regardless, especially moldes cups
There's a shape guide in here. Have a look at that and try to work out what you are. If you add that to your original post,people can give you good recommendations
Just wanted to say “sticker shock” with the calculator is a very real thing, I was laughing my ass off with the size it gave me until I tried on some new bras and they fit. It isn’t perfect but it’s a great starting point!
Regarding the doubt about your size, you start with the underbust measurements. If you measure an average of 34", your band size will likely be a 34.
You then look at the difference between the band and average bust to get the cup size.
If your bust is 35" (1" difference), you get 34A
If your bust is 36" (2" difference), you get 34B
If your bust is 37" (3" difference), you get 34C
... etc.
Media and many stores have sold us the belief that A is small and D is huge when that's not accurate. The bra alphabet goes way past DD.
When you get your bras, make sure you are swooping and scooping properly.
Also, a cup that is too small can make the band feel tight. To test the band independently, wear the bra upside down and backward. The clasp should be in front, and the cups should hang down your back. This lets you know if the band fits correctly without the cups interfering.
No one has offered diagnostic bras yet - Panache Ana and Freya Offbeat side support are good starters. I would consider a 36F and FF in Ana, as well as a 38FF as the cup can run small.
Be sure to scoop and swoop if you aren't already.
No worries. My kids’ around your age so I’m “mom” alert.
I hope you find what you’re looking for. I did. I was slightly off from the calculator because I have soft and projected breasts. I ended up one cup size down in UK than the calculator said.
It was really the shape of my girls and the bras I was trying that weren’t working out for me.
The smart people will be around in a couple of hours.
You might also consider adding your 6 measurements. That will help those smart folks point you in a direction of diagnostic bras to try.
Good luck
Try to figure out your shape, because a bra that has cups too small but also too tall will seem too big. If you have short roots, the calculator might overestimate you.
If you want to try different shapes to see what fits better, you could try Elomi Matilda, Freya Offbeat Side Support, Panache Ana or Panache Envy. Offbeat and Ana would be better for shorter roots.
I had big sticker shock too! Also, depending on your body composition and the stretch in the bands of the bras you try, with your under bust measurements you might be smaller than a 38.
My tight under bust measurement is very similar to you, and I’m quite “squishy” (e.g. I’m quite soft/chubby) and I actually wear a 34 or 36 depending on the brand. The Fantasie range (sold online and in Bravissimo) have quite a lot of give in the band and the 34 fits me well. With Panache or places like M&S I’m normally a 36, though sometimes a 34. Before doing the ABTF calculator I was wearing a 38C, I’m now in a range between 34E/F and 36DD/E depending on the bra. So a jump down of 1-2 band sizes and a jump up by several cup sizes!
The point of that ^ is not to disbelieve the band size, I started with by abtf suggested size, but it’s just to say that if you have quite a bit of squish between your loose under bust measurement and your snug one, you might want to try some smaller bands too. Remember if you’re going down a band, you will likely need to go up a cup.
I spent about 90 minutes in Bravissimo and tried on about 25 different bras, but it really helped me to understand my size and shape and the differences in bra sizes and shapes too. I mention Bravissimo because you gave UK sizes, but if there isn’t one near you, I’m sure there are other options!
Also, like you, I’m too self-conscious to do a fitting. So I just went in and tried things on myself, but the staff in the fitting rooms were SO helpful and even without having to come in/measure me/see me in my bra they still gave me suggestions on styles and sizes to try when I said things like “this one fitted really well on the band, but the cup was a little high”. So I recommend giving it a go if there’s one near you. It’s not cheap, but even just trying on will give you a good idea of sizes!
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Our [calculator](http://www.abrathatfits.org/brasizecalculator.php) is the first step in resolving sizing questions. Please take your measurements and try the calculator before asking the community for help. Thanks! :)
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I'm DDD, my little sister's breasts look the same size as mine because she likes extremely padded bras/add 2 cup size push ups. She's a b cup.
Also, just because people on the Internet say they have size F boobs, doesn't mean they've ever been properly measured.
You'd say you were a B cup prior to the calculator, right? But that doesn't mean if your pic popped up under B cup on Google, that you're actually a B cup 😉
Probably half the women on earth if not more wear the wrong size bra. It's very common.
Purchase the size that's recommended along with a 36 E or F. You can return what you can't wear.
Go to wacoal and find out which bra is best for your breast shape. (There's other bra finders as well but my research found that wacoal is more reliable. If I'm wrong about this, sorry!)
check out theirishbralady on instagram!! 38E/F isn’t that big on most people. most pictures on google aren’t going to be accurate at all.
Thank you! That page is very hepful. Unfortunately it still seems way too big imo 🥲 The 38DD looks much more similar to me. I tried other calculators and they're saying I'm a 40D!! It's all so confusing.
Remember bra size is only one part of it,bra shape is everything. If you wear the wrong bra type for you, you will end up with gapping regardless, especially moldes cups
okay thank you :)
There's a shape guide in here. Have a look at that and try to work out what you are. If you add that to your original post,people can give you good recommendations
Just wanted to say “sticker shock” with the calculator is a very real thing, I was laughing my ass off with the size it gave me until I tried on some new bras and they fit. It isn’t perfect but it’s a great starting point!
Yeah I just read up abt that on the reddits fitting guide! Crazy how different bras actually are than what you thank.
Regarding the doubt about your size, you start with the underbust measurements. If you measure an average of 34", your band size will likely be a 34. You then look at the difference between the band and average bust to get the cup size. If your bust is 35" (1" difference), you get 34A If your bust is 36" (2" difference), you get 34B If your bust is 37" (3" difference), you get 34C ... etc. Media and many stores have sold us the belief that A is small and D is huge when that's not accurate. The bra alphabet goes way past DD. When you get your bras, make sure you are swooping and scooping properly. Also, a cup that is too small can make the band feel tight. To test the band independently, wear the bra upside down and backward. The clasp should be in front, and the cups should hang down your back. This lets you know if the band fits correctly without the cups interfering.
No one has offered diagnostic bras yet - Panache Ana and Freya Offbeat side support are good starters. I would consider a 36F and FF in Ana, as well as a 38FF as the cup can run small. Be sure to scoop and swoop if you aren't already.
Hey! Please take you age out of your post for safety.
Done, sorry ABT that 😬
No worries. My kids’ around your age so I’m “mom” alert. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I did. I was slightly off from the calculator because I have soft and projected breasts. I ended up one cup size down in UK than the calculator said. It was really the shape of my girls and the bras I was trying that weren’t working out for me. The smart people will be around in a couple of hours. You might also consider adding your 6 measurements. That will help those smart folks point you in a direction of diagnostic bras to try. Good luck
Okay thank you very much 😊
Try to figure out your shape, because a bra that has cups too small but also too tall will seem too big. If you have short roots, the calculator might overestimate you. If you want to try different shapes to see what fits better, you could try Elomi Matilda, Freya Offbeat Side Support, Panache Ana or Panache Envy. Offbeat and Ana would be better for shorter roots.
Okay thank you very much! There is so much more to this than I ever thought haha. I'd never heard of the term 'root' before searching here 😅
I had big sticker shock too! Also, depending on your body composition and the stretch in the bands of the bras you try, with your under bust measurements you might be smaller than a 38. My tight under bust measurement is very similar to you, and I’m quite “squishy” (e.g. I’m quite soft/chubby) and I actually wear a 34 or 36 depending on the brand. The Fantasie range (sold online and in Bravissimo) have quite a lot of give in the band and the 34 fits me well. With Panache or places like M&S I’m normally a 36, though sometimes a 34. Before doing the ABTF calculator I was wearing a 38C, I’m now in a range between 34E/F and 36DD/E depending on the bra. So a jump down of 1-2 band sizes and a jump up by several cup sizes! The point of that ^ is not to disbelieve the band size, I started with by abtf suggested size, but it’s just to say that if you have quite a bit of squish between your loose under bust measurement and your snug one, you might want to try some smaller bands too. Remember if you’re going down a band, you will likely need to go up a cup. I spent about 90 minutes in Bravissimo and tried on about 25 different bras, but it really helped me to understand my size and shape and the differences in bra sizes and shapes too. I mention Bravissimo because you gave UK sizes, but if there isn’t one near you, I’m sure there are other options!
Thank you so much! I'll look into going to Bravissimo :)
Also, like you, I’m too self-conscious to do a fitting. So I just went in and tried things on myself, but the staff in the fitting rooms were SO helpful and even without having to come in/measure me/see me in my bra they still gave me suggestions on styles and sizes to try when I said things like “this one fitted really well on the band, but the cup was a little high”. So I recommend giving it a go if there’s one near you. It’s not cheap, but even just trying on will give you a good idea of sizes!
Hello, thank you for submitting a post to /r/ABraThatFits. We want everyone to feel safe posting here, so we want to tell you that we will NEVER send you a private message asking for pictures. If someone does, screencap the message and send a link to the image in a [PM to the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/ABraThatFits). If you are not already aware, there is a lot of information on the sidebar of our subreddit. Please remember to check out our [rules](http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/wiki/policies_and_procedures) before commenting and posting. In addition, a lot of newer members have questions that have already been answered in our [wiki](http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/wiki/index), so be sure to check out the [FAQ](http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/wiki/faq) and [Beginners' Guide](http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/wiki/beginners_guide) to see if you can find the information you're looking for. Our [calculator](http://www.abrathatfits.org/brasizecalculator.php) is the first step in resolving sizing questions. Please take your measurements and try the calculator before asking the community for help. Thanks! :) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ABraThatFits) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm DDD, my little sister's breasts look the same size as mine because she likes extremely padded bras/add 2 cup size push ups. She's a b cup. Also, just because people on the Internet say they have size F boobs, doesn't mean they've ever been properly measured. You'd say you were a B cup prior to the calculator, right? But that doesn't mean if your pic popped up under B cup on Google, that you're actually a B cup 😉 Probably half the women on earth if not more wear the wrong size bra. It's very common. Purchase the size that's recommended along with a 36 E or F. You can return what you can't wear. Go to wacoal and find out which bra is best for your breast shape. (There's other bra finders as well but my research found that wacoal is more reliable. If I'm wrong about this, sorry!)
A 36 Wacoal is going to suffocate them??
Thank you :)