why your size doesn't really matter
a woman once called our store crying because when she got home, she realized the bras she'd bought were two different sizes. she felt lied to and betrayed, like we'd sold her the wrong size just to get her money. in truth, there is no one single right size.
two photos, the left one says "size baseline: 36E." the risgt shows a wishlist of bras, ranging in sizes from 34D-F to 36D.
there are SEVERAL things happening here: different brands, different cup shapes, and the client's natural breast shape all play a roll in determining which size of each bra works best on their body. let's break this down:
brand
the baseline size on the front of the card names what we recommend as a starting point: when trying on a new bra, start with this size, see how the band and cup fit, and then decide if you need to try it on with a smaller/larger band/cup. i determine baseline by how a client fits in the brand primadonna, a brand i trust to have consistent fit and sizing across its different styles. primadonna bras usually have a firm band and their cups styles run the range from shallow to full. i then know what brands run smaller and larger than primadonna and adjust accordingly when i bring the client a selection to try on. even then, bodies are WEIRD and sometimes someone just throws all the rules out.
starting from the top we have orlando and sophora, both primadonna bras, neither in what i determined as the client's baseline size. one comes down to preference: the client liked the orlando, but we didn't have it in a 36E. the 34F fit a bit snug, but not so tight as to be uncomfortable, so the client was fine with the fit of the 34F. the sophora ended up fiting best in the 36D for two reasons: 1) the cup on sophora runs pretty full, and 2) it's a lower cut than the orlando, which comes into play with the client's breast shape, which i'll talk about later.
the laruen and ellen bras are both from the brand empreinte. like primadonna, empreinte bras have a pretty firm band, however, their sizing tends to run large. almost everyone needs one band size smaller in empreinte than in primadonna, while keeping the same cup. so here we have the lauren and ellen, both in 34E to accomodate that difference.
the remaining two are serie by louisa bracq and hypnolove by aubade. both of these brands have softer, stretchier bands, which means if the client prefers a snug, firm fit, sizing down gives the same feeling, so 34s were what the client here preferred.
cup style and breast shape
three cup styles are listed here: full, balconette (tulip), and demi (hc). full cups and balcs tend to fit very similarly, but provide different necklines. full cups tend to have the straps placed more narrowly on the chest with v-shaped necklines and balconettes have wider-set straps with square necklines. demi cups sit much lower, only covering the tissue to just above the nipple, with open necklines styled to show off cleavage.
[i'll insert cup shape images here when i find some good ones]
cup style and breast shape often work together in determining size. in this client's case, her tissue was very full on bottom and shallow on top, meaning the openness of a demi-cup neckline often resulted in gaping up top as there wasn't as much tissue to fill it out. with the full and balconette styles, though, the full-coverage helped some of her tissue migrate upwards, leading to a more even distribution of her tissue. the close-set necklines, designed to lay flat against the chest and fully contain the tissue, meant smaller sizes often cut in to the tissue. someone with very full tissue on top would have that cutting-in problem with demi-cups as well as full-cups.
so why did you tell me all of this????
so often i see people marry themselves to one bra size, insisting they must have that size in order for a bra to fit correctly. for some people this is true! i've had clients whose purchases and wishlists are all the same size! for most people, though, you're going to bounce around a lot depending on what brand and style bra you want. bra buying can be frustrating!!! when shopping, both in person and online, it can sometimes feel impossible to find something that fits the way you want it to! i'm a strong believer in finding the brands and styles within those brands that work for you and sticking with them. breasts and bras come in so many shapes and sizes and there is not a single bra that is going to work for every single person. buy your bras when you have time for trial and error. give yourself a good 30 minutes to an hour to spend in the fitting room. buy a few different sizes online with plans to return what doesn't work. when you find what works, buy as many as you can to hopefully give yourself a good amount of time before you have to do this all again.