Bra measuring – the perils of size charts and “plus four”
We’ve discussed the subject of bra fitting on many occasions here on the Brastop blog – from how to go about properly measuring yourself, to how to get fitted and invest in bras that conform to your body size and shape.
The importance of proper bra fitting can never be overstated or under-emphasised – for health reasons, comfort reasons, your posture, your well-being, self-confidence – and, let’s not forget, your purse can suffer if you waste money on bras that don’t fit.
However, far too many people still rely on the “plus four” method of measuring for a bra, and it continues to surprise us that so many companies and high street retail outlets are still favouring a method of determining your bra size based on a series of body measurements and a calculation that has it’s roots in the 1950s.
Take the photograph above, for example – sent to us by one of our regular readers, Jo.
Jo visited her local House of Fraser store today, having first consulted the “How to get your perfect fitting bra” guide on their website, which relies on the “plus four” measuring method of determining your bra size.
Jo followed the instructions carefully, took down all the measurements – as guided – and then visited the store, whereby she picked out a Freya Lauren bra in the size recommended to her from the chart – a 36F.
She also picked out an identical Freya Lauren bra in her actual size – 30J – which was based on a proper fitting, and some of Jo’s own personal knowledge of how bras should actually fit.
The results are quite startling – particularly in the middle image at the top (the side-on shot), which shows how badly the fit of the cups are (Jo’s boobs are spilling out from the tops of the cups and the underwire is digging in to the side of her breast tissue) – and the rear image, which shows the band riding up high on Jo’s back. In the front-on image, you can see how the join in the middle of the bra is pulling away from Jo’s sternum.
In comparison, the image of an identical bra in 30J is pretty much a perfect fit – her breasts are fully encased in the cups, the centre-gore is flat against her breastplate, in the side-on view, there’s no double-boobage – and in the rear view, the band is low across her back.
We’re going to be running this as a regular feature here on the blog – relying on images from our readers and our bloggers to highlight the ridiculous nature of the “plus four” method, and highlighting the websites and stores that continue to rely on it as a method of figuring out which bra to invest your hard-earned cash in.
Gossard, have today posted on their Facebook a “new” bra caluclator… it’s the plus four! (OK it does calculate your brief size too)
http://www.gossard.com/Get-the-Perfect-Fit/Fitting-Guide
or
http://www.facebook.com/GossardUK
What a great addition! I’m definitely going to pass this on to some friends that just don’t believe me when it comes to the plus four issue.
I have to tell many a friend which are smaller in size that they must be wearing the wrong bra size when they tell me they wear a 36D etc. I myself am a 32HH and I’m a bigger size overall than there small shapes so how their bands can be 36 is crazy. I took my sister into M&S the woman gave her a 36B she tried it on I told her it didn’t fit correctly, even though her boobs are smaller they need the support! I eventually found her size at a 30D and she loved how t-shirts looked because her boobs were in the right place. I think its awful how shops still tell women and especially young girls this is how you should fit bras.
great article thanks a mill!
Thank you so much for pointing this out, and explaining that the plus 4 does not work. I recently went into M&S for a fitting, and was told by the lady there that I needed a 38 G. It looked ridiculous, I almost had two sets of boobs,and it felt really uncomfortable with my boobs falling out underneath. I went into Debenhams and grabbed a load of sale bras in various sizes, and then followed the bra fitting advice which I downloaded. Subsequently I bought a 32J and it fits perfectly, and is so comfortable. So I won’t ever be going to M&S again.
Zoe & Co is another store that promises a lot and carries a wide range of styles and sizes, but add 4″, on top of measuring crooked. I had a similar fit issue when I went there as the girl above, just on a little bit of a smaller scale. The girl who fit me said that is how the bra should be fitting….with lumps and bumps and obvious spillage, though she did not use those words.
that`s a radical difference. As a rule it`s worked ok for me adding 4″ on- and boy I`ve bought enough bra`s to know
I’m starting to think I’m one of the rare women the +4 method actually works for! My underbust is 30″ and I wear a 34B/C (depending on the brand).
Maybe we should see if any of our readers want to get involved and post similar images to Jo, what do you think Chloe?!
Absolutely Becky – I think this should be a regular feature. If you want to send us any pics of yourself trying on a “recommended” bra size based on a “plus four” chart, send them to: chloe.stanfield @ gmail . com
These old methods are stupid. Depending on different brands, I vary between 34E and 32FF, but I’ll mostly be a 32F. The gossard site says I’m a 34D. No way! It’s laughable.
The bra size calculator on the Gossard site gives me a result of 34C instead of 30E. Like most companies, they tell us it’s just an estimate, but they’ve still chosen to actively defend the “plus 4″ rule:
“Please note that this measurement does not directly indicate your back size.”
…the implication being that they have had some response from people using their underbust measurement as the band size, and they want to “clear up any confusion”
They are clearly aware of the “war on plus four”… maybe some more pressure would show them that we know our bras fit and we know this advice is wrong!
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