Bra Fitting And Measuring Guide

Its estimated that 80% of women are wearing an ill-fitting bra, whether its the wrong cup size, back size, style or simply not adjusted properly; by following this bra fitting and measuring guide youll be able to make sure youre not one of them and that youre properly supported.

A well fitting bra is not only more comfortable to wear, it also makes your clothes fit better, improves your postures and makes you look slimmer, all which give your confidence a great boost.

Sometimes an ill-fitting bra can actually just be the way youre putting it on, so follow these steps to make sure youre doing it right:

1. Lean forwards at the waist to allow your breasts to fall into the cups.
2. Lift the wires up into the crease of your bust as you straighten up and fasten the bra.
3. Adjust the bra straps to the right length.

The way that you look after your bras can also have an affect on their fitting. You should always try to hand wash your bras in cool water and never put them in a dryer or dry them on a radiator; this will reduce their elasticity and make them shrink, let them drip dry instead. Its a good idea to buy a new bra every six months too as this is when they start to loose their support.

If your bra still doesnt feel like it fits properly then read through these questions

Do the wires in the middle of your chest and rib cage sit flat against your chest?
Do the wires sit behind the breast tissue under your arms?
Do the cups cover all your breasts with no bulging or gaping?
Is the back band sitting horizontally in line with the front of the bra?
Is the back band nice and snug with the ability to pull out approximately 2 inches?
Do the bra straps stay up without digging in?

If you answered no to any of these questions then your bra isnt right for you and you should follow our bra problem-fixing guide. Sometimes the best way to find the right bra size and style is with trial and error and to try on different styles or make alterations. So here are some bra fitting tips to see if this works for you
- If the bank band is riding up then you need a smaller back size and if its too tight you need a bigger back size.
- If the should straps are digging in then you need a smaller back size.
- If the wires are lifting away from the body then you need a bigger cup size.
- If the wires are digging into the breast tissue then you need a bigger cup size.
- If the breasts are bulging over the top of the cups you need a bigger cup size.
- If the cups are gaping or puckering you need a smaller cup size.

If you still find your bra doesnt fit your properly or doesnt give you enough support then you should have a professional bra fitting session to find your perfect fitting bra.

You can also do this at home with a measuring tape. To find your band size you should measure around your rip cage underneath your bust; make sure the tape measure is level and dont breathe in when measuring either. Also pull the tape measure tighter then you would usually wear your bra because a bra will stretch.

To find your cup size you need to take into account the difference in the band sizes from your most recent measurements. If you have gone up band sizes, you must go down as many cup sizes and vice versa. For example, if you were wearing a 38C but measured as a 32 back band size then you should go up 3 cup sizes to a 32E.