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How to Buy a Bra

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Fashion  |  How Tos

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  • Introduction

    • The right bra can make your clothes fit better, make you look skinnier, and alleviate all sorts of back pain. Buying a bra can be a rite of passage, a fun distraction, or a necessity, but how to go about the process?
    • How should a bra fit? What style is the right style? In this age of e-commerce, is it better to buy online? This guide aims to help you answer all of these questions.

  • Step 1: Get a Bra That Fits

  • Measure Yourself

    • If you don't want a salesperson to measure you in a store, here's a measurement method you can do yourself at home.
    1. Measure around your torso, directly under your breasts, with a soft tape measure. Add 5 inches to this figure to get your band size.
      • Alternatively, you can measure over the top of your bust, wending the tape measure right under your armpits. This method is more difficult to do yourself, but results in a band size without needing to perform any addition.
    2. Measure around your torso at the fullest part of your breasts.
      • You may want to wear a thin bra while measuring in order to keep your bust at its ideal shape.
    3. Subtract your band size from the measurement around the fullest part of your bust. Every inch greater than your band size corresponds to a cup size.
      • Cup sizes vary by brand and style, just like with all clothing, and sometimes even the names change! (For example, some brands like to use DDDD and skip straight to H after that; other brands prefer the E, F, G, H descriptors.)
      • Here's a quick guide for cup sizes: If the difference between the band size and the bust measurement (in inches) is:
      • 1, then AA cup
      • 1, then A cup
      • 2, then B cup
      • 3, then C cup
      • 4, then D cup
      • 5, then DD cup (or E cup in certain measuring systems)
      • 6, then DDD cup (or F cup)
      • 7, then DDDD cup (or FF cup, or G cup)
      • 8, then GG cup (or H)
      • 9, then I cup
      • 10, then J cup
    • Example:
    • Under bust measurement: 31 inches
    • Band size: 36 (31 inches plus 5 inches)
    • Fullest bust measurement: 39 inches
    • Cup size: C (39 minus 36 is 3 which corresponds to the third letter of the alphabet, C)
    • TIP: Sometimes adding 5 inches to the under bust measurement is too much, especially in the case of larger banded women. Many women get a more accurate reading by adding only 2 or 3 inches. You can't know what the most accurate reading is until you've tried on several different types of bras. The best place to start is with the measurement method described above, but keep in mind that just like with all women's clothing, different brands will fit differently.

  • Band Sizes

    2. The center front between the cups should lay flat against your body.
    3. The band should remain level across the middle of your back, running under your shoulder blades, and should not ride up. To test this in a dressing room, lift your arms up and down a few times while wearing the bra. If the band has risen, try a smaller band size.
    4. If the bra is giving you back-fat bulge, try a smaller band even though this seems counterintuitive.The smaller band should hit a lower, smaller section of your rib-cage.
    5. In bands with an underwire, the wire should rest flat along the breastbone and curve up into the cup at a corresponding slope to your breast.
    6. Between sizes? Adults should choose a band that fits on the loosest rung; it's going to stretch over time. Teens should choose a band that fits on the middle or tightest rung to accommodate growing bodies.

  • Cup Sizes

    • Your cup size is based both on your breast measurement and on your band size. Should you need to adjust your band size downward, don't forget to adjust your cup size up.
    1. If your breasts are squeezing out over the top of the cup, giving you that bumpy look, but the bra otherwise feels good, try a larger cup size in the same band size.
    2. If your bra is getting dimples in the cup, but the bra otherwise feels good, try a smaller cup size in the same band size.
    3. If you have one breast that's larger than the other, get a bra whose cups fit your larger breast. You can buy padding for the smaller one's cup.

  • Straps

    • Straps modify the shape of a bra's cups as they relate to your body. They also keep your bra from sliding around. However, they shouldn't directly affect the bra's support. Here's what you need to think about when it comes to straps:
    1. Straps should lay vertically along your back. A little bit of a V-shape is all right.
    2. You should be able to fit one finger under your straps comfortably.
    3. If your straps keep sliding off, even after tightening, then the bra is probably too large in the band. Try going down a band size.
    4. If your straps are digging into your shoulders and leaving red marks, but the rest of your bra fits well, try a model with wider straps. Wider "comfort straps" spread out the weight of the breast and won't dig into your skin nearly as much.

  • Step 2: Choose a Style

    • Now you've figured out how your bra ought to fit, what kind do you want to buy? There are a multitude of styles, each with a different purpose. Here's an obvious example: You wouldn't wear something lacy and that ended just above the nipple under a lightweight T-shirt, would you?
    • The following are the most common styles:
    • Contour Bra: Contour bras are bras with shaped cups, as opposed to the standard fabric-cup kind. Contour bras always come padded (or at least lined) and with an underwire. This is a more structured version of a bra with molded cups, which may or may not have padding or wire.
    • Convertible: Convertible bras have removable straps for wear under any number of clothing styles. For example, extra long straps could be rearranged into a halter, allowing you to wear a halter dress without having to go strapless (or to go completely braless). Whether you need your straps to criss-cross, come off completely, halter, or remain in the standard vertical position, convertibles are a flexible choice.
    • Minimizer: If your bust is larger than you want it to be, a minimizer bra can make your bust look smaller by a cup size.
    • Padded: Padded bras have lining in the cups. The padding is usually graduated and will continue all the way to the top, giving your real cleavage a boost while also providing some artificial cleavage.
    • Push Up: Push up bras use the angling of the cups and graduated padding (lots at the bottom, not so much at the top) to push your breasts upwards, giving the appearance of more cleavage and, as a bonus, a lot of extra support.
    • Sports Bra: The main purpose of the sports bra is to keep your breasts from moving while exercising. The ideal sports bra keeps them from moving at all. There are two typical types of sports bras, each with their own sizing questions:
    1. The standard sports bra flattens your breasts down and keeps them tightly bound against your chest in order to achieve lack of movement. What size you choose should really revolve around whether or not you bounce when you try the bra on. If you're bouncing, it's too big even if you've tried on an XS and you usually wear a 38D. Sports bras are even more variable in size than standard bras.
    2. Here's a quick guide to help you know where to start:
      • If your regular band size is a 32-34, then try a sports bra size Small.
      • If your regular band size is a 34-36, then try a sports bra size Medium.
      • If your regular band size is a 36-38, then try a sports bra size Large.
      • If your regular band size is a 38-40, then try a sports bra size Extra-Large.
    3. Alternatively, "encapsulation" bras have immovable, molded cups to keep your breasts firmly in place. These can be a better choice for larger breasted women (say, size C cup and larger), but be careful to get the right fit. If your breasts are moving within the molding, this isn't the bra for you. Trying another brand or style of encapsulation bra may be the right choice, or you might be better off with the binding style.
    • Underwire: Underwire bras have a wire in the band that extends to the outside curve of each breast. These provide better support under the bust.

  • Step 3: Time to Buy

    • So now you know how to get the right fit, and you've decided what kind of bra you're looking for. But where do you go to make the actual purchase?
    • Specialty vs. Department Stores: If you're looking for a hard-to-find style or size, a specialty store may be for you. In the standard sizes, though, from teen through full figure, department stores stock a wider selection of bras.
    • Online stores: The obvious up side to online stores is the selection—numerous styles in significantly more sizes than are carried in stores. (For example, a 32DD will find few styles available in the specialty stores, and none whatsoever in department stores. On the company websites, however, available stock includes sizes that never make it to the physical stores.) On the down side, you can't try on a bra online. Many online stores, however, have a free returns policy that you can use to work your way, slowly, through the size-and-style combinations.
    • Combination: Found the perfect bra, but it doesn't come in the right color? Know your exact size in a particular brand, but the store was out of everything from that brand in the style you wanted? Now that you've done the in-person research, finding your chosen bra online puts you a few clicks away from purchase.

  • Resources for How to Buy a Bra


 


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