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I am confused by another thread on here.
Its dealing with bra sizes and rib cage size.
I can't find the average ribcage size for women. I'm 30 in when I measure under my breasts and I'm 5ft 7in.
When people say bust size are they talking about ribcage or actual breast measurements?
I hear that the only way to have an hourglass shape is to have a small ribcage,so you have to basically be born with it.
A small waist and bigger bust/hips is what makes an hourglass shape. The ribs stop some inches above the waist. Bust size is usually given as a letter/number combo, like 34C.
When people say bust size are they talking about ribcage or actual breast measurements?
When seamstresses or size charts refer to bust size, they are talking about a measurement taken at the fullest part of the bust - over the cups. This is different from a bra size. Bras are sized by taking the measurement under the breasts - this is band size, the number in a bra size. It should be several inches larger than you actually are so you have a little room to breathe but should fit snugly. You can then get in the ballpark of cup size by taking the bust measurement and comparing how much larger it is relative to the band measurement. But that doesn't always tell the whole picture. My breasts are very full and I've always needed one cup size larger than the formula indicates - so take it with a grain of salt.
I found a nice illustrated page that might be helpful:
When seamstresses or size charts refer to bust size, they are talking about a measurement taken at the fullest part of the bust - over the cups. This is different from a bra size. Bras are sized by taking the measurement under the breasts - this is band size, the number in a bra size. It should be several inches larger than you actually are so you have a little room to breathe but should fit snugly. You can then get in the ballpark of cup size by taking the bust measurement and comparing how much larger it is relative to the band measurement. But that doesn't always tell the whole picture. My breasts are very full and I've always needed one cup size larger than the formula indicates - so take it with a grain of salt.
I found a nice illustrated page that might be helpful:
That guide is wrong. You do not add 4 or 5 inches to the band measurement, that makes no sense. Your band measurement is the measurement around your band. You don't add five inches to your hip measurements so you have roomy pants, do you?
No, the band should be snug as 90% of the support comes from it and then the straps should be adjusted to account for variations in breast sizes (lefty tends to be bigger than righty in most women)
It's pretty hard to say what a relatively big or small ribcage is because so many women are wearing the wrong bra size. I was wearing a 32B before going to a proper lingerie boutique (in other words, NOT Victoria's Secret) and was fitted in my 28D. My friend was in a 34D before they informed her she should be in a 32DD. Most women are wearing a band size that is far too big and a cup that is too small because of it.
ok,I never understood why the bra charts tell you to add 4 or 5 inches.
It is called vanity sizing or sister sizing. Women typically (in this country) do not like to wear big cup sizes. The high fashion industry and Hollywood favors tall waifish women who aren't very curvy. Women typically believe a D cup is huge and anything beyond it is a porn star with fake boobs or someone who is fat, or that those sizes just don't exist.
So a woman who wears a 32DD (which is more common then you might think) adds 4 inches to her band size and ends up buying a 36C which is what the department stores in the mall tend to carry and she can feel good about buying it because a C cup is a more socially acceptable size.
That guide is wrong. You do not add 4 or 5 inches to the band measurement, that makes no sense. Your band measurement is the measurement around your band. You don't add five inches to your hip measurements so you have roomy pants, do you?
The add "4 to 5 inches" is for a NAKED measurement. If you look at bra size charts that take the measurement directly, it always tells you to take the measurement wearing a bra that fits. (Although to me that always raises the question - if I had a bra that fits, couldn't I just check the tag?) I just confirmed this on myself. I am wearing a properly fitted bra - my band size is 34. If I measure over my t-shirt with my bra on it measures 34. If I measure naked, it measures 29. 29 + 5 = 34.
Last edited by tilli; 11-12-2011 at 03:07 PM..
Reason: clarification
The add "4 to 5 inches" is for a NAKED measurement.
Umm, no. You are always supposed to do it with your clothes off. No one knows how many layers of clothing you may have on at the time, and no guide can predict that. Those same guides also usually have a cutoff at 36" inches or so where they say only add 2-3inches.
If you look at guides that favor women with larger breasts, like Bravissimo for instance, they will tell you not to add any inches. They also say that using the method of getting an underbust measurment and overbust and subrtacting to find the cup size is just a guideline and isn't the gospel. We are talking two numbers to define two spherical 3D objects over a variety of shapes and frames, it isn't an exact science. That's where responsible sister sizing comes in. If you measure 34 under your bust and 37 in over it, you should first try on a 34C. If that doesn't feel quite right try a 32D or a 36B.
Wearing your best fitting non padded bra is because larger boobs don't hold themselves up and will give you the wrong numbers if you are completely nude.
My wife measures ~38.5" under her bust and depending on the time of the month measures anywhere from 44" to 45" over her bust wearing the thinnest non push up bra she has. Depending on the manufacturer she has 38F, 38DDD, 40DDD and 38G bras that all fit her fine from time to time. When doing the goofy 4" plus thing, the "guides" tell her to try a 42D which she spills out of and the strap rides up her back by the end of the day and she needs an extra long backrub at night. When she was nursing our daughter a few years ago I did not know anything about the "process" in which manufactures did this and we got her measured at a Lane Bryant store and they swore she was a 42DDD, even though when I measured her I got something different and she was never quite comfortable with the bras. We just assumed it to be discomfort from being swollen. Turns out she porbably would have been better off with a 38H, but they didn't carry those at that particular store.
The add "4 to 5 inches" is for a NAKED measurement. If you look at bra size charts that take the measurement directly, it always tells you to take the measurement wearing a bra that fits. (Although to me that always raises the question - if I had a bra that fits, couldn't I just check the tag?) I just confirmed this on myself. I am wearing a properly fitted bra - my band size is 34. If I measure over my t-shirt with my bra on it measures 34. If I measure naked, it measures 29. 29 + 5 = 34.
Are you wearing a wool coat when you measure with clothes on? Because there is no way your clothes should add 5 inches to your bust. And considering you wear your bra on your NAKED body, not your clothed one, shouldn't you get the measurement that, you know, actually reflects the measurement under your bust?
I used to wear a "properly fitted bra" in a 32B/C (depending on the role the hormones were playing) and I still sometimes wear them because specialty lingerie is expensive. They do the job alright but when you wear a bra that truly fits, it's entirely different. Like I said, the band should provide most of the support. One way sign your bra doesn't fit, when it's adjusted to fit your body the front and back of the bra should be parallel. Since most women are wearing a too large band, they'll tighten the straps to the point that the back is pulled way higher than the front.
Go to a real lingerie shop and get fitted. Most women find it a very enlightening experience.
Umm, no. You are always supposed to do it with your clothes off.
Um, no. You are supposed to take the measurement over a good-fitting bra, I went over my t-shirt because it is so thin. Check the directions in fitting guides - they always tell you to start with a bra. If you take it naked, then you need to add the inches. I am formally trained in dressmaking, fitting, measurement - including bra-fitting. This is how it is done.
Quote:
They also say that using the method of getting an underbust measurment and overbust and subrtacting to find the cup size is just a guideline and isn't the gospel.
Yeh, I said that in my first post and mentioned how I actually need a larger cup size than this method indicates. It is just a guideline, it gets you into the right ball-park. But ultimately you must try it on to see if it fits.
Quote:
Are you wearing a wool coat when you measure with clothes on? Because there is no way your clothes should add 5 inches to your bust. And considering you wear your bra on your NAKED body, not your clothed one, shouldn't you get the measurement that, you know, actually reflects the measurement under your bust?
No, as I said - I was wearing a properly fitted (unpadded) bra and I measured over my bra and t-shirt. Yes, the underwire and fabric do add 5 inches - like I said, I just confirmed this on myself with my dressmaker's tape. If you measure naked you must add the inches. You also use the inch adding method if you measure for band size up under the armpits above the bust. There are several methods.
Quote:
Go to a real lingerie shop and get fitted. Most women find it a very enlightening experience.
I am properly fitted, thanks.
Last edited by tilli; 11-13-2011 at 06:27 AM..
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When she was nursing our daughter a few years ago I did not know anything about the "process" in which manufactures did this and we got her measured at a Lane Bryant store and they swore she was a 42DDD, even though when I measured her I got something different and she was never quite comfortable with the bras. We just assumed it to be discomfort from being swollen. Turns out she porbably would have been better off with a 38H, but they didn't carry those at that particular store.
