Bra Fitting Guide: How To Find A Bra That Fits

(Please note this article was originally published as a blog post here. I have duplicated it as a page here so it is easier for readers to find.)

The prospect of buying a bra can fill many a woman with fear. How do we know if it fits correctly? With so many bra fit guides available on the internet it’s hard to know which is the right one to follow to help you work out your bra size.

The fact of the matter is that very few methods of fitting a bra are completely wrong and it may take you a few attempts to find the system that works best for you. In this guide, I will talk through my personally preferred ways to correctly fit a bra and I will also reference some other sources of information that you may find useful.

First Things First

First off, I would like to clarify that I am certainly not a professional bra fitter and I have received no formal training in this area. I do not intend this article to be read as an ultimate guide but instead I hope it will be used it as a good reference point to start you off. My method of establishing your bra size may not turn out to be the best one for you but I hope you will find this post interesting nonetheless. 

So What Qualifies Me to Explain How to Find a Bra That Fits?

Over the past few years of writing my blog I have picked up a number of tips and tricks along the way and have even been fortunate enough to be asked to fit some of my friends, and I am often asked by readers to write a bra fitting guide, so here it is!

Ok, ok… I must hold my hands up: I myself am guilty of sometimes wearing bras that don’t fit perfectly. In my bra size there are very limited choices of brand, style and shape, and on occasion I make a compromise in order to widen my bra choices. However, my everyday bras are ones that fit well and provide great support for my large, heavy breasts.

Read my review of the Ewa Michalak SM Margot 32KK/70KK here.

I do not intend to come across as a know-it-all in this guide as I most certainly don’t know everything regarding bra fit but my intention is to help you figure out your bra size and point you in the direction of how to find bras that support you better and make you feel more comfortable and confident. Wearing the right size bra can completely transform your relationship with your body, how you feel about yourself and how you see yourself, as well as how your clothes fit.

So, without further ado, here’s my guide for how to find a bra that fits.

A Good Starting Point: Measuring Yourself

Image courtesy of A Sophisticated Pair

The first thing you’ll need to do to establish your bra size is to measure yourself using a soft measuring tape. This is not to get a hard and fast bra size, but more to get an idea of what size might work for you. It’s best to do this whilst naked and standing in front of a mirror so you can be sure the tape is in the correct position, then follow these steps:

1. Measure around your rib cage, directly underneath your breasts. Be sure to keep the tape level; do not let it ride up or drop down at the back. Pull the two ends of the tape firmly, but not tightly, together, so that it feels snug but comfortable, and make a note of the measurement in inches.
   
2. This measurement will help determine your band size. It doesn’t necessarily mean that if your underbust measurement is 32″ the band size you need is 32, but it is a good starting point. Your band size will depend a lot on how firm you like your bra band to be and also on the firmness of the band of each bra you try on. If your underbust measurement results in an odd number, you can round up or down as you choose. Essentially this number (plus maybe a little extra) will represent the measurement you need the bra band to comfortably stretch to when worn.
   
3. Measure around the fullest part of your breasts, again making sure that the tape runs straight across your back. The fullest part of your breasts will usually be across your nipples, but this will not always be the case.  Women with softer breasts may find they get a more accurate measurement by leaning over and taking the measurement. The trick here is to ensure your back is parallel with the floor and to not include the point of the nipple in the measurement.
   
4. The numerical difference between your underbust and overbust measurements will help ascertain your cup size.  Again, it’s not an exact science but this table from the fabulous A Sophisticated Pair Lingerie will help you translate your measurement into a cup size.

Measurement (in.)	US Size	UK Size
1	A	A
2	B	B
3	C	C
4	D	D
5	DD/E	DD
6	DDD/F	E
7	G	F
8	H	FF
9	I	G
10	J	GG
11	K	H
12	L	HH
13	M	J
14	N	JJ
15	O	K
16	–	KK

Courtesy of A Sophisticated Pair

So, for instance, if your overbust measures 38″ and your underbust is 28″, you would do well to start off trying bras in 28GG (UK) or 28J (US).

This table should help you to convert cup sizes across different sizing systems:

Put simply:

• Your underbust measurement is a good place to start for your band size.
• Your overbust measurement minus your underbust measurement should be used to calculate your approximate cup size (using the tables above).

And there you have it. A good starting point for your bra journey, and the point at which you should start trying bras on.

If You’re Not Sure The Size You Got From These Measurements is Correct

Your new size might sound scary or ‘way too big’ (I recently had a friend who went from a 40B to a 38F and she was flabbergasted that she had ‘enough boob’ for an F cup!) but do bear in mind that these are just numbers and letters that grade the sizing and, just like with clothing, no-one will be able to see your bra label once you are wearing the bra so your size will remain a secret unless you choose to share it.

The media and celebrities have helped confuse and mislead us over the years by incorrectly calling out their bra sizes; whether it’s Holly Willoughby, Katy Perry, Carol Vorderman, Kelly Brook, Katie Price, Christina Hendricks or Kat Dennings, I reckon they could all do with a visit to a decent fitter, or at the very least to check out this article as regardless of how stunning they all are clearly none of them know how to find a bra that fits!

If you’re really doubtful of the size you have got, measure and check again. Remember that this size is just a starting point and when you try bras on you will be able to size up or down to suit your preferences.

Why Your Bra Size May Be So Different To Before: The “+4” Method

The traditional – and outdated – way of being fitted for a bra is to use the “+4″ method. Put very simply, 4” are added to your measurements to give the band size. This was used when bras were first invented as Lycra/elastane didn’t exist and so women needed the extra inches in order to be comfortable in their non-stretch bras.

Nowadays, it is completely unnecessary to add any inches to your measurements as there is a high content of Lycra/elastane in the vast majority of bras and doing so would mean the band is too big. Unfortunately, despite much petitioning, many high street stores and online retailers still use this outdated system and so it is far more common for women to be wearing the wrong size than the correct one. This is why when looking for advice on how to find a bra that fits it is important to use a guide that simply uses your measurements as they are, without adding anything extra.

Bra Sizing is not Uniform Across Brands

Unfortunately, it’s not a simple process from here. Brands grade their bra sizes (both bands and cups) differently, so for example a GG cup in Freya might not fit you as well as a GG cup in Panache. Supermarket and high street bras don’t always use the standard UK bra sizing system either, which complicates matters even further. It’s all about trial and error and sticking to your bra fit mission until you find the size that works for you in that particular style and/or brand.

Bratabase: A Useful Reference Point

A particularly useful resource you might like to try is Bratabase. It’s a bra database where thousands of women have uploaded information about bras they’ve tried in order to help others. All you need to do is upload your own measurements and the site will provide ‘bra recommendations’ for you, which are bras that have worked for others with similar proportions to you.

Although they don’t have formal bra fitting guide, there is an invaluable forum-like section where members can get help with bra fit.

It’s an amazing website and is completely free of charge to use! I always try to add any bra I try, regardless of whether it fits or not as even the measurements of the bras themselves are useful for other users.

Buying a Bra

It feels like the right point to mention that I often get emails and messages from readers who don’t know where to buy their bras. My answer to this is simple: buy them from anywhere that stocks the size you need. For those of us requiring bigger cup sizes this can often be quite a mission but it is worth the time and perhaps small financial investment to end up in the long run with bras that fit well and make you look and feel amazing.

Read my review of the Ewa Michalak PL Violet here.

Bra Shopping Online

If you’re doing your bra shopping online, keep an eye out for retailers who offer free delivery and returns. You can use these shops to place an order to try on bras for size and then send back those that don’t fit. Even if none of them fit, the only things you will have lost are a bit of time and the trouble of posting the bras back to the retailer. What you will have gained is the knowledge of how close you got to finding the right size for you in that particular bra. I’d call that success!

Some retailers do not offer free delivery, but instead charge a small price to post the bras to you. I think this is also a good option but before you order do take the time to read the returns policy. Some online shops allow free returns, whilst others do not. If the bras you’ve ordered do not fit it could end up being a very costly venture to send them all back so make sure you read up before you place your order.

Additionally, some places (such as Bravissimo) only charge postage one time per order and offer free exchanges, so if you need to return your bras for different sizes you can do this without having to pay the postage fee again.

Many retailers may have their own sizing guide on their website but I would recommend paying no attention to these at this point in your journey…if ever!

Bra Shopping in a Store

If you’re doing your bra shopping in store, lucky you! Somewhere like Marks and Spencer is ideal for this as you’ll have a range of styles and colours available to choose from. By far the best option is to have a shop full of bras for you to compare and try on there and then, and that’s something sadly not available to many women for a whole raft of reasons. And whatever you do, please DO NOT trust the M&S bra sizing system!! More on that shortly.

When in a store, look at all the styles of bras available and find one you like. Next, pick out your size based on the measuring system described above, as well as a cup size below and a cup size above. I say this because you won’t want to go to the trouble of taking your clothes off to try on a bra only to find the cup size is off and then have to get fully dressed again so you can go and get another size.

Should I Get Fitted In Store?

If offered a fitting by a member of shop staff, I would suggest politely declining and making your way on your own to the dressing room as quickly as possible. I do not wish to tar all retailers with the same brush but the majority of stores (including Yours Clothing, M&S, Ann Summers and George at Asda) use the +4 method, which is where they add 4″ to your underbust measurement as a standard fitting system, and this does not work for the majority of women.  

Due to the way bras are made nowadays and their high elastane/Lycra content, the best rule of thumb is to start with a band that measures about the same as your underbust measurement and go up or down in band and cup sizes from there.

How To Try on a Bra and Check its Fit

When you are safely ensconced in the dressing room – or at home – it is time to try the bras on. Here are some quick tips to help you correctly put the bra on and adjust it. I’ll then describe the steps in more detail in the paragraphs below.

1. Fasten the bra’s band first with the band sitting just below your boobs and the cups at the front and hooks at the back.
2. You should fasten the bra’s band on the loosest hooks; the extra hooks are there for when the bra inevitably stretches with age and wear.  
3. The band should feel snug and comfortable and you should be able to fit a flat hand underneath your band at the back.  If you can fit more and/or you can pull the band away from your back quite a way, you need to size down in the band.  If you cannot fit at least two fingers under the band and/or it feels painfully tight, you need to size up in the band.
4. Once the band is fastened, lean forward and pull/lift the bra’s cups over your breasts.
5. Pull the straps onto your shoulders.
6. Lean forward again and reach into each of the bra’s cups to “scoop and swoop” your breast tissue so that it sits correctly inside the cups. A fantastic guide to this process can be found here.
7. Adjust the shoulder straps so that they stay in place but do not dig in to your shoulders or cause the bra’s band to rise up.

Image courtesy of Brastop

Is The Band Too Tight?

Do bear in mind that if you have been wearing a band several sizes too big then your new band size will feel quite a bit tighter than usual and this may come as a shock. This new, firmer fit may take a bit of getting used to so you may wish to use a bra extender for a few weeks to allow yourself time to come to terms with how your new bra feels and to help the band to stretch out a little. In time you will definitely feel much more comfortable wearing the right size bra.

Hopefully you will soon reap the benefits from wearing the correct size bra band as your boobs will be better supported and you should notice a reduction in any back/shoulder pain that you may have previously felt. A bra’s band typically provides at least 80% of the bra’s support so it’s really important that yours fits properly and does not ride up at the back (a definite sign of a band being too big).

How To Check Cup Fit

Once you have found the band that’s right for you, it will be time to look at the cups. The idea is that all of your breast tissue should be contained by the cups, including any tissue under your arms.

I think a lot of women, and especially those who are plus size and/or who have loose skin, can assume this is just underarm or back fat but more often than not it is in fact migrated breast tissue. This can also be found just below the breasts.

It is important to point out as part of this guide that wearing the correct band and cup size and regularly scooping and swooping (not just when you first put the bra on) will allow that tissue to gradually move back to its original position – i.e. on your boobs – so you may find that you need to size up a cup or two or more in the future to accommodate this. I’ll go into more detail about this shortly.

Any decent bra fit guide will tell you that a properly fitted bra should not have any overspill or quadboob along the edges of the cups. There should be a smooth line, without any gaps. The central gore should sit flush to your sternum and the wires should sit on your rib cage and not your breast tissue. Your central gore should NOT look like this:

Image courtesy of A Sophisticated Pair

Adjusting the Straps

The straps should be adjusted to fit. This can be a pain when trying on bras on your own as this usually means taking the bra off to adjust the straps but again it’s worth taking the trouble to fiddle about with them as they are an important aspect of the fit. 

Ideally, you should be able to fit two or three fingers under the strap. Any more than this and you need to shorten them; any less and they should be loosened. Wearing your straps too long will make your breasts sag downwards and wearing them too short will cause shoulder pain.

Always “Scoop and Swoop“

Looking at your bra in the mirror, you may think it fits pretty well. However, as mentioned previously there is something you should do every time you put a bra on: scooping and swooping. Reach into each cup (using your right hand for your left breast, and left hand for your right breast) and gently pull all the breast tissue from your back, side and underarm into the cup.

Now do the same from the bottom of the cup. This is to ensure that all your breast tissue is encapsulated within the cup and there is not any hanging out underneath or at the sides. I tend to hold on to the bottom of each cup’s underwire whilst I do this to keep the cup in place and to make sure it’s in the correct position.

What About Back/Underarm Fat?

If you have been wearing too small a cup (and too big a band) before now, it’s likely you will have a reasonable amount of breast tissue that has migrated to your underarms, back and/or beneath your bust because there was no room for it in your old cup size. This tissue is often known as ‘back fat’ or ‘underarm fat’ but in almost all cases it’s actually breast tissue that got squeezed out of place from many years of wearing the wrong bra size. Wearing too loose a band only exacerbates this issue as there is little to no structure to help keep the bra in place.

If you are now changing to a correctly fitted cup and band, I recommend scooping and swooping as often as possible throughout the day in order to help the migrated tissue move back into the breast area. You are essentially teaching this tissue that it belongs in the breast area and within the bra’s cups, and not elsewhere. This will take time but with consistency it will happen and you will likely need to go up at least one cup size as your breasts regain their lost tissue (i.e. they will get ‘bigger’), and possibly down a back size, depending on whereabouts your breast tissue had previously migrated to.

Assessing Your Bra’s Overall Fit

Here are some top things to look for when checking the fit of your bra:

• The band should be straight across your back and not ride up.
• The band should comfortably fasten on the loosest hooks.
• You should be able to fit a flat hand underneath your bra band but no more.
• The band should sit flat on your rib cage and not on the breast tissue.
• The cups should contain your breast tissue with no spillage at the centre, along the edges of the cups or at the sides.  Equally, the cups should not gape and there should be no excess fabric flapping around.
• The underwires should be wide enough to contain your breasts, but not so wide that there is empty space at the sides.
• The underwires should be high enough under your arms to contain the breast tissue, but not so high that they poke you.
• The central gore should sit flush on your chest in between your boobs and not on the breast tissue.
• The straps should be shortened so that you can fit two to three fingers comfortably underneath.
• Your breasts should look uplifted and well supported.
• You should not feel like you desperately want to take your bra off; it should be comfortable enough to wear all day without it bothering you.

Factors Affecting Bra Fit

There are many things that can make a difference to how a bra fits, including:

• weight loss and weight gain
• hormonal changes
• muscle loss and muscle gain
• the brand, style and size of the bra itself
• whether or not the bra is right for your body

Finding a bra that fits is certainly a minefield but if you stick to the guidance provided here I hope it will be relatively smooth sailing for you.

Other factors affecting bra fit include your breast shape, fullness and position on your torso, but I fear I am veering slightly off topic now so perhaps I’ll discuss this matter in more detail another time.

Bra Fitting For Different Body Types

Whether you are tall or short, slim or plus size, the process of finding a bra that fits is exactly the same. So if you are looking for information and guidance on bra fit for petite frames or even plus size bra advice, I hope this article will provide this – and more!

Different Bra Styles

I thought it would be helpful as part of this guide to include information on different types of bra as they don’t all do the same job. Indeed, there are many different styles of bra available. Here’s a list of the main ones and how they work:

• Balcony/balconette: typically creates cleavage and is cut to work well under scoop-neck or low cut tops.
• Full cup: as its name suggests, this bra offers maximum coverage and is ideal under a blouse or jumper.
• Plunge: has a lower central gore and cups with less coverage towards the middle of the bra. Perfect for dresses and tops with daring necklines!
• Push-up: gives your boobs an extra boost by (usually) using pads underneath to lift them up.
• Padded: has a thin layer of foam padding to offer support, help hide nipples and provide the illusion of additional volume to the bust.
• Soft cup: can mean different things. It can mean a non-wired bra, or it can mean an unpadded underwired bra.
• T-shirt: typically a seamless bra (so no lumps and bumps to show up) that’s ideal for wearing under a smooth garment such as a t-shirt or blouse.
• Strapless: a bra that’s great for wearing with strapless tops and dresses or those with unusual straps. It is usually supplied with removable straps of some kind. The cups and wings (the bits at the sides) are usually reinforced to offer support in the absence of straps. Not usually suitable for those with particularly large breasts.
• Multi-way: has straps that are removable and interchangeable. Ideal for tops and dresses with halternecks or crossover straps as the bra’s straps can be changed and adjusted to suit.
• Sports: a bra that is specifically engineered to provide additional support for working out. Appearance is often compromised in order to give best support, particularly with sports bras for larger busts. Breasts are usually compressed against the chest to hold them in place during wear.
• Maternity: offers extra support. Often non-wired.
• Nursing: as with maternity, but with drop cups to facilitate breastfeeding.

You Likely Won’t Be The Same Size in Every Bra Style/Brand

As I mentioned earlier, once you have correctly ascertained your bra size in a particular bra it is unlikely that you will be the same size in every bra you subsequently try. I appreciate that this can be quite a headache but it really is worth taking the time to get the right size every time.

And even if you have very large breasts, you can still find a bra to properly fit you! I hope my blog is evidence of this. There is no need to consider a breast reduction if you haven’t established your correct bra size by either fitting yourself using inline instructions (such as these) or getting yourself fitted properly in a reputable store first. The difference between wearing the wrong bra size and the right one is night and day – no longer will you want to rip your bra off as soon as you get home; instead, your bra will remain comfortable and supportive all day.

Read my review of the Ewa Michalak PL Bratki here.

Other Bra Fitting Guides and Resources

I hope my instructions in this article have been useful. There are heaps of other sources of advice and information available on the internet and it can feel like a bit of a minefield so here are some links that you may find of interest:

• Bravissimo – a lingerie retailer who offers superb fittings free of charge (and don’t use +4!)
• Leia Lingerie – another great option for fittings in Wacoal Eveden brands

Bra Brands and Retailers

And, once you are confident you have found the best bra size for you, here are some wonderful lingerie retailers that you might like to try (and the country in which they are based):

• Ewa Michalak (Poland – ship internationally)
• Comexim (Poland – ship internationally)
• Debenhams (UK)
• Marks and Spencer (UK)
• Bravissimo (UK)
• Leia Lingerie (UK)
• Belle Lingerie (UK)
• Brastop (UK)
• Panache Lingerie (UK)

Many of these retailers can ship overseas so do be sure to check the delivery policy and rates on each site. They offer many bra styles for different body shapes and several of them have their own bra fitting charts and calculators.

I hope you have found this article – which is also suitable as a plus-size bra fitting guide – useful and are excited at the prospect of getting correctly fitted, either by yourself at home or by a properly trained fitter in a store. Wearing the right size bra really can change your life for the better in myriad ways!