Bra Sizing and Resolving Bra Fitting Problems

Approximately 85% of women are wearing the wrong size bra. While this figure may seem outstanding, it becomes plausible when you consider the complexity of each women's shape and the variations in bra shape from style to style and manufacturer to manufacturer. Furthermore, provided the continuing change in a woman's shape due to water retention, dieting, exercise and the natural aging process, a bra that once fit properly will likely continue being worn beyond its proper fit.

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, the What Not to Wear duo, are back to reveal a beauty secret that literally performs miracles. It can reverse aging. It can make you look 10, even 20, pounds lighter. It's all about wearing the right size bra!

Trinny and Susannah conducted bra interventions on five unsuspecting women committing serious brassiere violations.

Our first offender is Deirdre. Her offense? Underwire fraud. She is hiding a great asset under that lumpy bra. Deirdre had been wearing a 36A, but when she got fitted, she found out she was a 32C!

"You forgot that you had boobs!" Susannah says to Deirdre. "It was like they were hidden and just, like, this one great big lump of flesh. And now we've given her two breasts with this very plunging bra, which allows you to open the neckline deep and again pushing them forward. You know, it doesn't matter what size your boobs are, you should always push them forward."

Colette's offense: Reckless endangerment. Her ill-fitting bra is only making her post-baby sag even worse. Colette was wearing a poor-fitting strapless bra that smashed her boobs flat and elongated them like bananas. And her shorts only accentuated her thighs and saddlebags, making her look wider than she is. But Trinny and Susannah loved the fit of Colette's jacket.

Colette had been wearing a size 36B bra and now she knows she's a 34DD. And with the right size bra and straps, she doesn't have to keep tugging at her bra to keep it in place.

Next, we charged Jennifer with indecent exposure. She's spilling out of her bra in front and in back. And she was wearing the brightest color across her biggest area! Before Jennifer thought that she was a 36C and wanted to be smaller. She was in for quite a surprise—she's a 32G.

Jennifer went from an apple-shaped figure to an hourglass with the right bra! Most importantly, by wearing the right bra, you could suddenly see Jennifer's small waist. Having a dress in all one color elongated her torso, and the v-neck, according to Susannah, was crucial. "If you have a v-neck, you're separating the breasts," she says. "You have more flesh here and you're making them look smaller, whereas if you have a huge expanse of fabric going over the top, not only do you look like you have a third chin coming down with your bosoms but they look enormous. You need to break them up with the deep V."

Briana's offense was false imprisonment. She's not even close to filling out her padded bra. Trinny shares her own bosom-enhancing trick—gel inserts!

"It's like a silicone thing," Trinny explains, "and you put your bra on and put it in and it pushes your cleavage. Now she has cleavage! … Before, she was this bland woman wearing stripes to make herself even flatter. Now she has gorgeous cleavage!"

Briana is also wearing firming Spanx® shorts to give her thighs smoothness.

And finally, Beleta was charged with transporting breasts in an illegal container. She's been wearing the same bra for 20 years!

Forty-nine-year-old Beleta's summer wardrobe is in desperate need of an update—Trinny and Susannah raid her suitcase and find pair after pair of unflattering high-waisted pleated shorts. "That's a grandpa short," Susannah says. "That's what old men do the gardening in. Not for someone like you, gorgeous!" Beleta has a fabulous figure, but in the clothes she chooses to wear, she looks at least10 pounds heavier than she is.

Beleta had been wearing a 34B, but now she's a 32D. Her new bra and flattering summer clothes make all the difference!

While the guidelines below will help a woman achieve a general idea of her bra size, the actual bra size purchased may vary because of the lack of true standardization among bra manufacturers. For this reason, a woman should always be willing to focus more on fit and comfort than her historical or projected bra size based upon measurements with a tape measure.

Follow these four steps to achieve your bra size:

1) Measurement 1. Measure under your bust line. Put on your best-fitting, unpadded, under wire bra. Measure underneath the bust line and make sure to measure tightly. Be sure the tape measure is straight across your back.

The general rule of thumb for all measuring is: less than 1/2", round DOWN, more than a 1/2", round UP. So if your measurement is 32 1/4, call it 32.

2) Calculate your band size. If measurement 1 is UNDER 33 inches, add 5 inches. If this number is odd, round up to the next EVEN number. If measurement 1 is OVER 33 inches, add 3 inches. If this number is odd, round up to the next EVEN number. Write this EVEN number down.
 

3) Measurement 2. Measure over the largest point of your bust line. Make sure the tape measure is straight.

4) Calculate you cup size. First subtract measurement number 1 from measurement number 2. Then consult the following chart to find your cup size.

Problem: - The band at the back of the bra rides up.
Explanation: - The band of the bra is too big
Solution: - You need a bra with a smaller back size.

Problem: - Under wire digging in under the armpit.
Explanation: - Your cup is too small, the under wire should encase the breast not dig into it.
Solution: - You need a bra with a bigger cup size.

Problem: - Bumpy silhouette under clothes
Explanation: - Cup encasing breast is too small and so causes breast to overspill.
Solution: - You need to increase your cup size, until you have a smooth silhouette.