Breast sizes

[taleya]

now that I have your attention...

How do americans work out breast sizes? I mean seriously? Like someone being 36D - if the 36 is inches, and underbust, then Angelina Jolie is a hell of a lot bigger than I thought - I'm only freaking 27DD (and no, I'm not a waif)

so is it overbust? Underbust? eh?

And what about the UK?

Australian method is here At 70cm and 100cm, I work out to a 10E (which doesn't exist. I know. I've looked.)


*sticks to Australian convetions...they make sense*

EDIT fixed up the size, I'd misconverted it.

DOUBLE EDIT BIGGER THAN A G CUP? YOU AMERICANS ARE FUCKING CRAZY

Comments

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

Well, I dunno what to tell you. For point of reference, in US sizing, I tend to wear a size 18 top. At places like Old Navy, I tend to buy knit tops in size XL.

And I'm a 40 C.

One of the things you hear about a lot (and I tend to agree with this) is that most women are wearing the wrong size bra. Lots of larger breasted women buy bras that are too small for them in terms of cup size and/or band size, and they end up with spillage, and with their shirts looking ill-fitting.

If you've ever watched that UK show "What Not to Wear," one of the first things they usually do for women is get them a good bra, and it's always miraculous how much better the women look--like they have better posture, and like their more proportionate.

I mean, I've seen women on that show who start out with what look like four breasts, because they're wearing bras that are sized too small, and that cause spillage out the front, back, and sides.

I think it might be a phenomena like men and their trousers. Lots of guys never buy up when they put on weight as they age, and so they end up with their pants hanging too low, and look ridiculous.

And with women, they tend to settle on a bra size that worked when they first started buying them, and then sort of ignore most bodily changes (weight change, weight redistribution, childbirth, ageing) that might cause a bra-size change.

I mean, when I was 18, I wore a 36 nearly B. After having 2 kids, I'm a 40C.

[taleya.livejournal.com]

That's why I like the AU ones...I don't actually have spillage, they're comfy, the minimise bouncing and only one bra is a little ill-fitting and that's chiefly on purpose because I have to pretty much hog-tie the twins when I want any exercise.

How can a woman wear a bra that ill-fits to the levels you were describing? do they not try them on and check that they fit and they're comfy before actually buying them??

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

How can a woman wear a bra that ill-fits to the levels you were describing? do they not try them on and check that they fit and they're comfy before actually buying them??

Denial. And also, I think that it becomes routine for women to buy the same size every time, without thinking about it, and without trying it on, especially if they also tend to buy the same brand.

And after years of this, some changes in their body aren't reflected in the bra they buy.

I mean, I've seen *lots* of women on the street everyday who are quite clearly wearing the wrong size.

Now part of that may well be that, in American stores outside of plus-size clothing stores, it's rare to find band sizes over 38 on the rack, and if you do, it's a 40D. And bras at large sized stores cost much more than bras at, say, a discount store, and a woman of limited funds and a large chest is much less likely to have a good bra.

Meanwhile, if you go to a plus sized store (like LaneBryant, for instance), they rarely have an C cup bras, and if they do, they have so much fabric that it's quite ridiculous looking on a woman with a C cup, so I've found it somewhat difficult to find a 40 C, and if I see one on the rack, I buy several at once.

[taleya.livejournal.com]

ugh. THankfully that's not so much of a problem down here - I mean, I have trouble finding a correct fit, but then again I'm like bullshit tomb raider proportions - its' just not common.

A couple of friends of mine from the US have remarked that Australian women tend to have bigger breasts than they're used to seeing. Could be cultural clothing (it's freaking hot, we wear less) or the large amount of Greek stock. Or anything from healthier weights than they're used to seeing, or a million other factors.

But it definitely makes it easier to buy decent sized bras ^_^

Have your kids ever worn your bras as a yamulke? Cj used to do that all the time, but they were more like pith helmets. *little bastard*

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

My own bras tend to be unpadded, sometimes with underwires, and not having much of a shape when I'm not wearing them. So they don't really make very good hats. My daughter, however, does like to put it around herself like a scarf. *g*

[taleya.livejournal.com]

oh god, I wouldn't wear a padded bra if you paid me. As far as I'm concened, the nose belongs ABOVE the clevage, not sandwiched therein.