Are YOU wearing the wrong bra size? Expert reveals simple tricks that will show whether you need to go underwear shopping
HOW do you tell if you're wearing the right bra size?
Most women are convinced they know the correct size, but the experts have spoken and the news is, that the majority of people are wrong. But why?
How do you find a bra that fits?
According to experts a vast number of ladies are wearing a poorly fitting bra but thankfully there is a way to solve this.
Undies expert Nicole Kivitz, who works for luxury French lingerie brand Chantelle, has offered her tips on buying the correct bra every time.
In an interview with Insider Nicole said that when you first buy a bra you should be able to fit no more than two fingers between the band and your back.
If you can fit any more than the two fingers you should opt for a smaller size as that one is too big.
To start with you should always wear your bra on the loosest hook and then as you wear it and the band stretches you can change to the second and then tightest hooks, so as to keep the same level of support.
Nicole explained that despite everyone focusing on the cup size, the band is actually far more important, as “80% of your support is from your band, it should be tight”.
She also added that bra fittings should be done every year so as to make sure you are always in the right size, even if your weight fluctuates.
FIVE TIPS TO FIND THE PERFECT BRA FROM BLUEBELL FOUNDER EMILY BENDELL
- The band should be parallel to the floor and sufficiently tight that only two fingers can fit under the elastic
- The centre point of the bra – between the cups – should sit completely flat against your body
- The side wire should be flat against your ribcage and not digging into breast tissue at all
- The cups should be big enough that your breast sit fully inside them without spilling out at all
- The straps should be adjusted so you can only fit two fingers on top of each other to give the right pressure for your shoulder
So how do you fin your bra size?
It's always a good idea to go on be measure professionally, but you can get the tape measure out at home.
Here's how to do it while wearing a non-padded bra:
- measure around the bottom of the bra in inches, under the bust
- round the number up if necessary then if it is even, add four, if it's an odd number add five
- measure across your bust in inches, rounding up to the nearest inch
- the difference between the numbers gives the cup size
So for example if your back size when measured is 30, then add 4 to make it 34.
Then if your bust size is 37, the difference is three, equating to a C-cup size.
So you're bra size will be 34C.
An inch difference makes you an A cup, two inches a B, three inches a C and so on.