After a couple of months of staring down at my outfit, wondering if I was gaining weight or if I was going through some kind of late puberty. I clearly knew that something was going wrong with my bra selection as my flawless outfits all of a sudden appeared to seem as if I had cup spillage and the back of my bra was hiking up towards my neck. Something was wrong, the perfect bra size was no longer the one, I wasn’t pregnant and I haven’t gained or loss weight. Instead of doing research or seeking advice from the professionals that could have provided me the information to find my perfect bra size, I chose to shop without any advice and experiment with different sizes.
As you can imagine, I thought that I was clearly in control of the situation until I tried on different sizes of bras, made purchases then went home and the reality of an incorrect purchase kicked in. The bras would fit great at the store as I was trying them on but when I would begin to wear them on a daily basis I began to notice that when I lifted my hands they would rise above my breast, the sides of my breast were popping outside of my bra, or my breast felt painful after a long day of wearing my bra. There clearly was a dilemma that I couldn’t fix on my own.
It took me three visits to my local Victoria Secret to find the courage to answer the friendly sales person “yes please help me find my bra size” instead of the usual “no I am fine, thank you” and then coming home with everything else except the bras I needed. For some reason I felt embarrassed, I was in my 30’s and the thought of admitting to a complete stranger that I didn’t know my bra size would be mortifying. But bras are expensive no matter if you buy them at a retail store or a small boutique, I couldn’t go on building a collection of bras that I would never wear more then once.
To my surprise I was not the only one in my 30’s who is having this dilemma. In fact it is very common to have yourself measured every six months to see if your body has changed and might need to adjust your size. This doesn’t mean that you’re getting old and gravity is kicking in or that you have gained weight. There are so many unnoticable factors that can cause a change in your bra size.
Here are some tips to follow for the perfect size: Bra buying 101
1. Determine what kind of bra you will be purchasing, there are so many types of bra styles to select from push up, semi coverage, padded, and lightly padded.
2. With a measuring tape measure around the bottom of the band, directly under your bust. The measuring tape should be level and very snug. Round to the nearest whole number. If the number is even, add four inches. If it’s odd, add five. Your band size is the sum of this calculation.
3. Wrap the measuring tape loosely around the fullest part of your chest at nipple level. Round to the nearest whole number.
4. Subtract your band size from your bust measurement to find your cup size.
If you are not feeling confident on finding the perfect bra fit on your own, you can visit your local Victoria Secret Store where they have trained their staff and have equipped them with the proper information to make sure that you leave knowing your perfect bra size.
