Archive for the ‘how to measure bra size’ Category

Is there life outside of 34 and 36 inch back bands?

February 1st, 2010 by Carissa Rose

I hope you answer resoundingly YES.

Decades ago, when bras were in mainstream use but the sizing depth hadn’t developed, the back band would increase to accommodate cup size.  Jayne Mansfield is noted as small as 34D and as big as 40DDD.  We know she probably never had a rib cage even close to 40 inches around.

We receive calls and visit with clients that still hold on to this sizing system – nothing beyond a D cup and instead they erroneously purchase a bra with a wider and wider back band to make room for  the volume of the breast.

In the myriad of women we have fit in bras (we don’t sell bras but we used to have a personal bra shopping service), none of them were fit in a bra over 38 inches in the band.  Although they would come in wearing a 40+ band.  Most women we fit are size 32-34, with G cup being the most common.  And they wear our W size range, well-endowed, the smaller bust proportion.

30HH is the smallest back/largest cup combination I personally have fit.  I myself have always been a 34.  Thirty pounds lighter and now.  When I’m lifting weights and my back muscles become more prominent, sometimes I am 36 back band.  Rib cage measurement isn’t necessarily ‘in-line’ size wise with your body.  Our 30HH client has a medium frame, her shoulders and hips are size 8-10.

What about you?  What is the back band size of your bra?  Other than having your epiphany (hopefully you’ve had one) that you felt better and had greater uplift in a more snug back band, does that band size fluctuate?

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De-bunking Bra Myths

November 30th, 2009 by Carissa Rose
Bra Myths oftentimes stand in the way of us purchasing and wearing the bra that will optimize our assets.
1.  If my bra leaves red marks on my body, it is too small.
Socks leave red marks, as do some panties.  Even a hair band temporarily stationed around my wrist leaves red imprints on the skin and it does not indicate that the band is too constricting.
2.  Making the straps tighter on my bra will lift my bustline.
Tightening the straps positions the bra better on the body, causing the cup to encapsulate the breast tissue more effectively.  But the straps don’t affect the height of the bustline as much as A)  snugness of band, B) the best bra cup for your body, and C) the natural placement of the bustline on your torso.
3.  I have to wash my bra after everytime I wear it.
In the heat of the Texas summer sure, wash your bra if its covered with sweat.  Otherwise, use discretion to judge when its appropriate to wash your bras.  If worn for a half day in mild weather, washing is unnecessary.
4.  A bra expires after a certain date.
We have clients wearing bras that are five years old.  Bras come and go out of rotation in our wardrobe for various reasons:  weight changes, lifestyle changes (pregnancy, etc.) or we choose to stop wearing it for some other reason.  When a bra is consistently uncomfortable, then it has expired.

5.  The band should be comfortably loose.

The worst offender of all!  Just a couple of weeks ago an acquaintance mentioned she had gone up from a 34C to a 36C because the 34 *felt* too tight.  While I knew this wasn’t the right move for her, being a C cup its not quite as imperative to have a snug band. 

Do you know of more bra myths?  Have I omitted one that really bugs you?  If so please share your thoughts.

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The Back Band of your Bra

May 11th, 2009 by Carissa Rose
The back band is the size of your bra that is typically something like 32, 34, 36, etc. Most of the women we see wear their back bands too loose, this causes the back band to ride up, which in turn creates the back fat that noone likes to see. Please, try anchoring your bra band below your shoulder blades, just a tad lower than the bottom of the bustline in the front (easily done while viewing your profile in a mirror).
The picture on top has the band higher in the back and you can see a back-fat roll. While the picture on the bottom has the bank pulled down a bit and the back fat roll disappeared. We illustrate this to clients all the time.

We recently went shopping with a client – Bratique Helene provides a complimentary bra shopping service to full bust women. This woman is a beautiful hourglass, maybe fourteen inches or so between her bust – waist – hip measurements. Previously she’d been measured as a 34 band size and even she knew herself that was too big. We tried 32s, because that’s all we found at this particular store. But when we found a 30 back band and put it on her she proclaimed, “there, now I feel like I have on a bra”. Really, a snug & seccure (as opposed to moving up the back) back band takes the pressure off the breasts. And takes the pressure off the abdomen (if breasts are laying there), the shoulders (if the straps are super tightened), and relieves back pain from heavy breasts. She purchased Freya balcony plunge bras in size 30HH.
Prior to that we shopped with a client who was wearing a 36G. She had lost some weight and we put her in a 34G. As she wore it that evening she said, “This is really uncomfortably tight (in the back), I think I may return it”. I told her to wear it for a week and if she still didn’t like it, then return it. A week later she says its the best fitting bra she’s ever had and is going to buy more of the same kind.
BH recommends the following:

  • Wear your new bra on the loosest hook, so as it stretches you may tighten it.
  • See how snug you can go. You may be pleasantly surprised at your uplift – both mental and physical.
  • If the bra band can be pulled several inches away from your center back, its time to either a) wash it, b) tighten it, c) go shopping!

And finally, do you have a good bra size story? I’ll start . . . we had a client who was wearing a 36DD from a mainstream lingerie retailer. I could tell by looking at her that she was a 32 band size because her body was a small size 4-6. Sure enough we fit her in a 32GG. Again, an enviable hourglass with more than a 10 inch difference in her measurements (and believe it or not she wish her body was less curvy). We also have a 32GG client who has a size 14-16 body, can you guess on which body (the S or L) the bust-line looks bigger? Because technically they are the same size – 32GG.

Remember, embrace your endowment; it is a blessing and not a curse
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Bra Makeover

March 23rd, 2009 by Carissa Rose
Here in the Dallas area, Bratique Helene offers a personal bra shopping service to our clients. As you know, when it comes to the full bust, its almost like one has to be or have been well-endowed herself in order to know our pain. Its akin to wanting a woman OB/midwife who has delivered a baby herself before she delivers your baby. I have witnessed countless lingerie sales people, in both large department stores and small boutiques, that don’t know their D’s from their G’s so to speak, which frustrates the full bust bra buyer.

The Before Bra. This woman is a standard small on the bottom, usually a size 6 and sometimes a size 4. She is not short in stature either, about 5 feet 5 inches tall. This terrible bra creates a bust mound – a real term that garment pattern drafting books use in reference to the bustline. We use it as a negative term, in that you don’t want a bust mound, you want a bustline.


Talk about lift!!! This is the deal: lifting the boobs creates a waist, which immediately makes you look slimmer. A bust mound is an eye catcher, people will definitely notice a pair of low and and large boobs, so go for it if that’s the effect you’re wanting. Overall her bustline looks closer to her body’s proportion. We call this a silhouette makeover. Try it, it works wonders and is a lot cheaper than surgery or pills. Just FYI, her size is 32GG.

We have clients that immediately say, “wow, I look smaller” when they have on a well fitting, supportive, and often times seamed bra.

Please contact us – Bratique Helene – if you need input and counsel on bras. And if you’re in the D/FW metroplex, call us and we’ll go shopping!!!

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