Bra fitting - it's a matter of opinion

[Johndoe1]

IMHO style and material is just as important as size. Style has all to do with support given since you want the cups to mold to the shape of your breasts to provide solid lift and to give containment to your breasts. Incorrect style can lead to poor support and containment. The material used can help provide proper support and containment and comfort as well. Particularly in summer. 

[Sophie]

OMG John, you are sooooo right about material and style. Our breasts are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations. In the summer, boob sweat is real and so s the struggle to manage it. In this case, unlined bras, with a 3 piece cut and sew style cup with lace panels are my best friend in the summer. I wear nipple petals to keep my high beams from becoming a distraction. 

In the cooler months, I wear either a spacer style which is a lightly lined bra, a lined underwire or even a push up bra. These bras keep the girls warmer and keeps.me from nipping-out.

As a woman, I also say that a good bra is the perfect marriage of function and fashion. My top that I choose to wear is dependent on my bra I choose to wear and vice versa. I will usually bring a few different tops with me when I am bra shopping. It gives me the opportunity to try like 15 bras with a few different tops. I am very confident with my purchase that it will not only fit right, but it will look right. 

♥️Sophie♥️

[Zaphod B]

Good points but  also think that our breasts develop differently in shape to females  and most of us are not as full higher up our chests. Full cup bra styles can be a problem for me as I fill the bottom of the cup but leave space higher up. You can down size cups and bands or look for demi cup and plunge styles.  Our breasts still need  support and containment but you just need to find the right bra style .

Therein lies the problem.  A bra size chart places me fully into a 42C.  Molded cups don't work because I fill the bottom nicely but there is space left at the top.  Also, most wire free bras don't work because they don't do anything with the underarm boob so I don't fill the cups.  Underwires take care of that but, again, they have to be a soft cup, not molded.  Once you get past a 40 band, anything smaller than a C cup is hard to find, because women seldom need that size. Bali Lace Desire does have a 42B but I can wear my wife's 42Cs when I want to wear something pretty.  So, after years of trying different bras, my choices are soft cup underwire (harder to find than you think) or pullovers.  Hanes Cozy is the best I have found in a pullover. I just ordered 2 more to replace some older bras.

[AlfaQ]

I must admit that I am not a fan of molded cups because they scream fake to me. Try demi cup or plunge bras and have you tried smaller band sizes?  Bras do stretch with wear. I am lucky to have a narrow chest at 35 inches and wear both 34 and 36 bands.  Here is a pic of me in a 34C. I think it fits really well but I  am not going to pretend that I am really a C cup!

[Evolver]

I will usually bring a few different tops with me when I am bra shopping. It gives me the opportunity to try like 15 bras with a few different tops. I am very confident with my purchase that it will not only fit right, but it will look right.

♥️Sophie♥️

That's a really clever thing to do and it's a shame that more people don't.

One thing I notice on the Her Room website when I have an occasional browse there, is that there is a function that allows you to superimpose different styled tops over the bra. This is really handy in my opinion because it allows the customer to 'try' different tops and bras virtually.

[Gino]

I don't know why fitters and some bra makers make this an elusive quest to get a well fitting bra.

My measured band size is 36, the vast majority of maker's garment bands marked 36 will fit me perfectly on the rear hook closest to the end of the strap allowing for band stretch so I could use the last two hooks if needed.

If I went by the online absurd add 4" to my band size method and ordered a 40 I'd slide out of it.

Measuring my bust with an unlined well fitting unlined bra on or being naked and bending over I'm also exactly 4" over my band size and a known nearly "perfect" B cup. Some brands  have cups that are a tad smaller, some a tad larger but the vast number of brands fit with a B cup.

The online cup size determining method using a difference of:

• 1 inch (2.5 cm) = A
• 2 inches (5 cm) = B
• 3 inches (7.5 cm) = C
• 4 inches (10 cm) = D

This table would make me a "D" cup and I could fit BOTH of my boobs in a D cup,  I know this as my GF is a D and her bra and cups swim on me.


So my advice is find a brand that fits and stick with it.

A long while ago I was lucky to stumble into a thrift shop that had bins of sized bras from 32 through 40 and an employee saw me looking and sold me the whole bin of 36B's for not much more than the price of one quality bra and it happens that I discovered several brands marked 36B and every one fit me so I stick with those brands.

I re-donated those which were too stretched, front hook, lined, padded or old and tattered and I can order my fave brands online with high confidence that they will fit.

The main reason the normal measuring doesn't work for men who went through a normal puberty and developed gyno later in life is because our chest size in the bust region has more muscle mass on average and a bigger and straighter ribcage overall.  Thus, generally when using the normal women's measurement system you will end up with cup sizes that are too large. I am generally an A Cup with some B cups depending on the brand. But if I follow the usual rules I would almost always be told I am a D Cup.

IMO, Bust size - chest size is what's relevant, and not a single chart matches a genetic female I know either. 

[blad]

Calculating bra size using advanced calculus;



Where 'x' is the inter nipple distance and 't' is the band size.

I actually used to know this stuff backwards and forwards in my undergraduate degree in university before entering my post grad doctor degree.

[WPW717]

Blad,
Funny but I can relate coming from an engineering program before going into healthcare.
Like others I have come to the same conclusions above. Our boobs are different from the majority of females.
Still learning but I use the simple equation band from bust. Then it’s knowing if a manufacturer has a penchant to have true vs generous cup sizing. Love to check out return policies before pulling the trigger.

[taxmapper]

show off.....

[Justagirl💃]

Blad,
Funny but I can relate coming from an engineering program before going into healthcare.
Like others I have come to the same conclusions above. Our boobs are different from the majority of females.
Still learning but I use the simple equation band from bust. Then it’s knowing if a manufacturer has a penchant to have true vs generous cup sizing. Love to check out return policies before pulling the trigger.

All my bras need to be special ordered now, so I have them delivered to the store. I try them on before taking them home. If they don't fit, I got a credit right away.

[Traveler]

I’m 39 underbust and 50 across the nipples. Those numbers are nowhere near reality when it comes to what I actually fit into; DD to a few DDDs; even the ABraThatFits calculator puts me in a G/H category. Having wider, more diffuse breast tissue, like most men do, makes it a real surprise when you find a bra that is comfy and supportive. 

[Johndoe1]

That's why for years I thought I was a large B to small C until I got fitted and found out I was really a DD. That explained why nothing fit me. 

[Parity]

I have never found the size calculator to work as it should for me.  I to have a wide chest with broad shoulders.  Looking at myself I never thought I was as big as I truly am.I was amazed when I first tried a 40C then the last purchase in one style found a D was the perfect fit. 
Just remember it's only a number.  Brands and styles all fit differently.  Buy what fits.