Properly Measuring Yourself

[expedient-traveller]

If this thread has been covered...forgive me. If not, then here we go!
Measuring your breasts by yourself is, a minefield, to me at least. Naturally being guys, we go to the source of all breast knowledge, women's bra sites to get the info on properly measuring ourselves. Therein is the problem. Some sites say to measure for band, above the breasts and some say to measure below the breasts. Everyone agrees on measuring across the breasts for cup size.
The problem with measuring is: are we supposed to be wearing a bra at the time we measure ourselves or are we to do the measuring sans the bra and go au-natural?
If I go au-natural, I am a 44B, but if I put on a bra (leisure bra), I balloon out to a 44D. Actually the 44D bras seem to fit better, but I an not sure of the correct way to measure myself. I was supposed to go and get a fitting but my girlfriend and I have been too busy at our respective places of employment.
Help!

[hammer]

I found below worked best and even without a bra on you will get close going across your breast for the cup. Problem is all manufacturers vary so much, and that is why a formal fitting works best.

You find a place that does them and you will be treated very respectfully and then you will have your go to place as well.

[Samael]

Visit https://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/ and ask for help. 
1: your band size is what you measure under your breasts. Do NOT add inches.
2: cup size is very hard for guys. We tend to be "shallow" and full on top. I measure a 42G(uk) but I'm moving into a 42D(uk) bra from a 42C as I'm still growing and my body is actually adapting to having a good bra on. 

[island dude]

I go with traveller on this one, measure all you want, with or without bra. I can come up with at least three different sizes that should fit, based on measurements.  Also going with Hammer, and others, not all brands fit the same. I would think a measurement taken with a unlined bra, style based on personal preference would result in best measurement. But you would be back to trial and error dependent on the brand. It's almost down to finding web site with best return policy, or again going with Hammer getting a fitting, which I have yet built up the nerve to do.

[buffaloken]

I'm new here, just found this site, but have had gynecomastia my entire life.  I've gone to Macy's to buy my bras for years.  I'm a 42 D now, and they've always been very professional. 

[TigerPaws]

Gentlemen, measuring is difficult and in researching how to make a garment especially for men we learned a great deal.

Measuring under the breast works as well for men as it does for women, just do not pull the measuring tape tight. It should be comfortable but not compress the skin more than 1/8".

Measuring across the breast while standing and wearing a bra is the accepted method for women.

We are NOT women, the vast majority of men's breasts extend well under the arm; a woman's dose not. Additionally men's chests are wider and the center line of the breasts are further apart.  

Women are generally fuller than men for a given cup size, so men need a shallower and less full area for the breast tissue.

Women generally want to show off and enhance their bust line (bless their hearts) while men want concealment and comfort. Big difference.

Bottom line a new measuring system needs to be (and is being) developed especially for men. To that end when we roll out our new SportsVest and web site there will be instructions, videos and downloadable aids which should make the process easy and intuitive.

[hammer]

Great news, Thanks for the work put into this!

[chestyoldman]

Tiger Paws,
I appreciate the work you and your lady are putting into the development of bras specifically designed for us who have gynecomastia.  In a recent post you said, "Bottom line a new measuring system needs to be (and is being) developed especially for men. To that end when we roll out our new SportsVest and web site there will be instructions, videos and downloadable aids which should make the process easy and intuitive."

Will this new measuring system offer a method of converting  to women's bra sizes, or will it only apply to the new SportsVest?  For me, using the current measuring system results in bands that fit, but cups that are too deep.  Admittedly, for several reasons I have not gone for a professional fitting, and perhaps that would have simplified my search.  It has been only by trial and error that I have finally determined that the cups on a 38B (for one specific bra, anyway) fit my breasts very well.  It would be great if there was some sort of conversion chart or formula that would equate a man's breast volume measurement to the closest-fitting women's cup size.  That way the fitting process would be simplified and we would have the widest-possible assortment of bras available to us.

[TigerPaws]

Tiger Paws,
I appreciate the work you and your lady are putting into the development of bras specifically designed for us who have gynecomastia.  In a recent post you said, "Bottom line a new measuring system needs to be (and is being) developed especially for men. To that end when we roll out our new SportsVest and web site there will be instructions, videos and downloadable aids which should make the process easy and intuitive."

Will this new measuring system offer a method of converting  to women's bra sizes, or will it only apply to the new SportsVest?  For me, using the current measuring system results in bands that fit, but cups that are too deep.  Admittedly, for several reasons I have not gone for a professional fitting, and perhaps that would have simplified my search.  It has been only by trial and error that I have finally determined that the cups on a 38B (for one specific bra, anyway) fit my breasts very well.  It would be great if there was some sort of conversion chart or formula that would equate a man's breast volume measurement to the closest-fitting women's cup size.  That way the fitting process would be simplified and we would have the widest-possible assortment of bras available to us.

To directly answer your question, I do not think our volumetric measuring system will directly convert to a woman's size. We have worked very hard to develop a system especially for men and to that end our designations while seeming similar, instead of AAA, AA, A, B, C, D, DD,DDD, E and so forth will more directly represent the realities of a man's needs.

As for the cup dimensions, our design takes into account several realities necessary for a man's garment verses a woman's bra and the underlying physical differences. Our SportsVest will be comparable in cost to a well made high quality woman's bra and is expected to last as long or longer.

[TigerPaws]

Gentlemen, please remember we are spending a tremendous amount of time and money (we have already invested hundreds of man hours, made numerous prototypes and invested over $100,000.00 dollars to date) to take a traditionally woman's bra and redesign it to be a uniquely male garment.


Just like any innovator and manufacturer we have no interest in creating or making it easy for completion to build on our hard work. We are not being altruistic we expect to make a profit from this  enterprise.