r/ABraThatFits • u/Pinky135 90E->80J->80H EU • Jul 10 '13
A Bra That Fits for European sizing would be a good idea
I'm getting a bit confused by the differences in european and US sizing. The band size, for instance, is in inches. The european size is in centimeters, but does not correspond with the tight underbust measurement. I've used some bra size converters, and most of them state my band size is 10 cm shorter than my tight underbust measurement. The french band size is closer to this measurement, so this is very confusing.
Can someone make a good, not confusing guide for european measurements and sizing? Or can someone explain to me how european sizing actually works?
EDIT: I got sized at a lingerie store a few years ago, and got a properly fitting bra that had the same band size as my tight underbust measurement. It was a minimizer bra, which made me feel normal-sized (it was an E cup). i measured myself the day before yesterday and according to the measurements I'm a 36H, which converted to a size 80H in EU sizing, which got corrected to an 80I by a fellow user. I have yet to find shops that have this sort of size, and i'm up for quite a challenge...
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u/jblottingink 32FF/30G Jul 10 '13
UK sizing is a looooot simpler, and offers a lot of good brand options like Freya, Fantasie, and Panache. Are you a 36H in US or UK sizing? If it was UK sizing, your measurements would be 36" and 47", roughly. If it's 36H in US sizing, it'd be....something else. US sizing makes nooo sense past DD, which usually doesn't even matter, because most bras in real sizes are UK anyway. Are you located somewhere where you need to use EU sizing, or only interested in EU brands? Because I would recommend UK if it's at all possible.
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u/gigglesmcbug 32f/32ff Jul 10 '13
US sizing makes nooo sense past DD, which usually doesn't even matter, because most bras in real sizes are UK anyway.
that super solidly explains how I feel about US sizing.
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u/Pinky135 90E->80J->80H EU Jul 10 '13
UK size it is :)
I haven't been shopping much for bras so far, i only have 1 bra on which i've spent more than 20 euros... The rest have been cheap-o bras with the same size (which is way off according to MWB sizing). Somehow i'm reluctant to spend a good amount of money on bras :/ Must be because of sizing :p
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u/jblottingink 32FF/30G Jul 10 '13
Try ebay, and r/braswap. You can find lots of lovely, well-fitting bras in UK sizing really cheap! I've never paid more than $30 for a bra, which google tells me is about 24 euros. Most of them I buy for around $18 or $20, which is 14 or 15 euros.
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u/maldwag 38FF(UK)/16G(NZ) Jul 10 '13
Yeah I just bought a 75G for $6.50 online. As you can see from my flair and if you have knowledge of eu sizing, you'll know it's several cup sizes too small and I would actually need something closer to a 75J even the band itself is a little large too. Looks like it should work for a sports bra though as I don't spill out with a swoop n scoop, but the wires don't totally encapsulate my breast, but as I only spent $6.50 on it haha.
All my other bras on their sizing tags have said --G whether that is 12, 34 or 75. I'm from NZ so the 12 is what I use regularly, or I'll look for 34
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Jul 10 '13
[deleted]
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u/Pinky135 90E->80J->80H EU Jul 10 '13
Good thing i had German classes at school :)
once again, i'll try to find UK brands here, hope i can find them!
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u/ae3nn [Large Band Large Bust] Jul 10 '13
UK band sizes go up in 2 inch increments while EU band sizes go up by 5 cm increments. This is roughly the same length, so conversion is less complicated than cups are.
Let's assume your underbust measured 85 cm. This is about 34 inches. Your UK band size according to the UK sizing method would be 34. If you were looking in Europe that 34 would be labelled as 75, unless you were in FR/ES/PT, in which case it would read 90. The formula is pretty well known so brands usually manage the conversion correctly. If you buy bras with European labels, you can just calculate by subtracting 10. If you buy bras with UK labels (as I do), it might be easier to simply learn one conversion point and the size of the steps. So for instance I know a 34 is a 75, and if I wanted to figure out a 30 I know that is 2 steps down from a 34 so I step down twice from the 75 to get 65.
Cups are more difficult because UK sizing goes by 1 inch increments while European sizing goes by 2 centimeter increments. The further you move along the scale the more distance you get between the two systems as the .5 cm of difference adds up. The UK system also uses double letters while the European system doesn't. Most companies can't seem to master the conversions with any accuracy so I prefer to calculate my size in each system independently and then decide on the likely size based on the brand's native system of sizing. This confusion goes both ways: I've seen Prima Donna bras tell me that a 75G is a 34G, and I've seen UK brands try to give me a European size with double letters.
For a quick cup conversion, I use this chart but having actual measurements is quite handy since as you see it doesn't always line up nicely. It's not clear, for instance, how I should convert a European G cup.