It is SO important that you’re wearing the right size bra!! You don’t always have to be professionally measured, you can get your own size yourself in just a few steps! It is also important that you are remeasuring every six months or so - your size can always be changing and evolving and may need to be updated!
Consider the size you come to with any of these methods a starting point, or your “baseline size.” If it immediately works, great! If it doesn’t, there are ways to make sure you find the size that fits, like trying sister sizes or bra styles better for your shape.
Bear in mind as well - not every bra company will fit the same. My baseline size is a US 34G (UK 34F), but in my bra collection, I have bands 32-36 and cups D-H. As unfortunate as it is, there is not universal standard of bra sizes or ways of measuring. That’s why both having your measurements as well as an idea of your baseline size can help you navigate different brands and bras. Always check size charts or sizing guides with each brand when buying online - at an in person fitting with a local boutique or professional fitter, they’ll know these intricacies across brands and take care of pointing them to you.
Remember - you are not a size. You wear a size (or sizes) but those do not define you or your worth. Bras are meant to fit you, you are not meant to fit yourself into a bra.
Your bra size can also change throughout your life, for a variety of reasons, or literally none at all. Weight gain, weight loss, pregnancy, hormones, differences in birth control, and physical activity could all affect your size, without even factoring in the natural changes that occur as we age. Your size can even change even throughout the month! Seriously, period hormones can affect your cup size for a few days of the month - if this is an issue for you, maybe have a bra or two on hand in this updated size to wear when necessary during your cycle.
Ignore anything you’ve heard about adding 3/4/5 inches to your band - that’s an outdated method of sizing based on older fabrics with no stretch. If you measure to 32, you are not a 36 band. Don’t do it. Ignore the Plus 4 Method. Remove it from your mind.
Your bra size is comprised of two different measurements - one that determines your band size, and one that determines your cup size. Finding these can help us establish your baseline bra size and allow us to find the best bra to fit your size.
Here’s a visual explainer on how you can find your size with a tape measure!
You might do this and think, “there’s no way I’m a [insert here] cup size, my boobs aren’t that big!” Well, you probably are [insert cup size here]. Most people that wear bras are wearing the wrong size, more commonly a cup size that’s too small. There’s a societal misconception that anything over a D cup is massive, and that’s simply not true. A D cup is only 4 inches of difference - on smaller band sizes, that can still look small, especially when compared to a D cup on bigger band sizes.
We’ll talk more about cup sizes and proportions in the Sister Sizing section.
Check here to read about how sizes differ around the world:
https://www.tiktok.com/@madisonanneh/video/6846787094392753414?lang=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@madisonanneh/video/6866943200666356997?lang=en