Are you supposed to add 4/5 inches to your underbust find your bra size?

[Anonymous]

My underbust is a 28 and my bust is 33 and I've lost almost 2 stone so my underbust is smaller. Today, I got measured in two bra shops. Both times I measured 28 and 33 inches, but I was told to wear a 32C or D, so they added 4 inches to the band measurement. When I weighed a lot more and my underbust was 29/30 (wearing 30 band size), I was once told to try 34B, but it was big in the band and small in the cup. I'm confused about my bra size because I thought I should maybe go down to a 28 after my weight loss. Are you supposed to add inches to the underbust?

[BatDoc]

I've done costuming for years.

Here's how bust measurement works. Measure under the bust for the band size and round up for odd numbers. In your case, your band size is a 28.

And then cup size is your bust measurement minus your band measurement. So that is 5 inches. Each inch is a letter. Less than 1" = AA, 1" = A, 2" = B, etc. So that means your cup size is a DD or E.

But finding the right fitting bra isn't a science. Clothing companies manufacture things differently. So the best advice I can give you to finding a good bra is to forget about the measurements and find one that fits well. And then you'll know for that manufacturer, what size you wear. So if you get a bra at Victoria's Secret, you might wear an actual 28DD. But you may go to JC Penney and wear a 30D.

Use your measurements as a rough guide and wear what's comfortable.

[Asker]

really good answer, thank you! :)

[BatDoc]

Glad to help. I'm constantly surprised when I do measurements on women and I measure their bust and they argue with me because they've been wearing a different bra size.

Most women don't wear the correct bra size. But that's not because they don't know what it is, they don't want to wear an A cup because they thought they were a C cup. If you wear what is comfortable, it will look good when you're just wearing the bra, and it will look amazing when you put clothes over it.

[iPood]

You are not supposed to add inches. Most women are wearing the wrong bra size. If your underbust is 28 then your band is 28. However a 32 will fit you just fine and be a lot cheaper/easier to find