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I just want to share the story of my journey of finding my "true" bra size. I love to talk and I am extremely passionate about bra fitting and bra shopping. Most people probably wouldn't be interested in hearing this story, but I don’t have that insecurity on this site. This is why I love the Bratabase community ![]()
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Unlike many full-busted girls, I did not develop large breasts at a young age. I had small breasts until I was 16. I wore a bralet from the age of 10-13. When I was 14, I started wearing 34A bras. When I was 15-16, I wore 34B or 34C.
June – November 2010
At 17, I began to notice that my boobs were growing. I couldn't figure out why bras didn't fit me right. The 34C's I was wearing were way too small. I never thought I could be a D or higher, so I started wearing 38C's because I thought they fit. Currently, my ribcage is 29 inches and my breasts are 42 inches around the fullest part. When I was 17, my ribcage was probably about 31 inches and my breasts were probably 40 inches around. At this time, all of my friends commented on how big my boobs were. I was surprised because I hadn't really noticed their size. A few friends with similar sized boobs said they wore DD's, and I thought that maybe I was bigger than a C after all.
December 2010
I bought a few 38DD bras, and they covered my boobs better than the 38C's, but the band was still way too big, and something about the cups didn't fit quite right. I thought that maybe bras in general just didn't fit me. The band was almost up to the back of my neck, and my boobs would slip beneath the underwire. These memories make me shudder.
July 2011
When I was 18, I lost a little bit of baby fat and decided to size down to a 36DD, or the rare 36DDD I could find. I wore 36 bands for about 5 months before I decided that the fit was wrong. I was buying bras at JC Penny, and thought that maybe they didn't support me correctly because they were poor quality (I was buying DKNY, Calvin Klein, Playtex, and Ambrielle. The bras actually were high quality; they just weren't supportive because they didn't fit me!)
December 2011
All of my friends loved Victoria's Secret bras. I had never shopped there because I thought they were too expensive (Poorly fitting bras aren't worth $40-$60 each!). I went to Victoria's Secret and picked out some 36DD's. I tried them on and they didn't fit quite right. I asked an employee for a fitting. She measured me above the breasts for the band size. She said "You're probably closer to a 34DDD, which we don't carry, but you can try 36DD's and see if they work". They didn't work, so I headed to Macy's to see if they had any 34DDD's. I found some 34DDD Wacoal plunge bras. They were pretty, sexy, and high-quality. The 34 band was a big improvement to the 36 I had been wearing. I thought they fit me really well, probably because I had been wearing larger bands. I thought that the double boob I had going on was cleavage, and that my migrated breast tissue was armpit fat. I bought two of these bras. They were $68 dollars each. I had never paid more than $30 for a bra before, but since 34DDD seemed like my rare, perfect size, I thought they were worth it.
March 2012
About 3 months after buying the 34DDD Wacoal bras, I noticed that my boobs didn't feel supported enough. The band was riding up and my boobs were also slipping below the band. I was uncomfortable all day, and my clothes didn't fit smoothly over my bumpy quadraboob. I went to Macy's and Dillard's in search of 32DDD's and US 32G's (UK 32F). I bought a full-coverage 32DDD Modern Movement bra for the relatively reasonable price of $42. The gore was extremely wide for my close-set breasts, and the shape was weird. But, I had less quadraboob and was much more supported due to the smaller band. At this point, I started thinking about bikini season. I wanted to buy a bra-sized bikini. This bikini search introduced me to Fantasie, Freya and Panache and many bra-related blogs. I began researching bra fitting online, browsing online lingerie stores and reading lingerie blogs.
I live in a small US city with a population of 400,000. There isn't a variety of shopping options here, and the nearest large metro areas are about 600 miles away. I tried to find local bra shopping options besides VS and department stores, I only found one bra boutique that carried D+ sizes. I looked at the website of the store and saw that they carried Freya and Fantasie bras in E cups. I also saw that the shop was going out of business in less than two weeks. On the last day that the shop was open, I decided to check out their liquidation sales. I asked the employees if they had any 32E's left. They had one 32E and one 34E, and helped me pick out some 34DD's. They had the Freya deco in a 34E and I was really excited about that because I had read so much about it. (Currently, I own the Freya Deco in 3 colors, all in a 30GG. Obviously, the 34E fit completely wrong, and I was disappointed.) I was shopping in the last hour that their shop was open and I was the only customer there for most of the time. They brought me many bras, and examined the fit of each one. They weren't the most knowledgeable fitters, but they were very friendly and tried their best to help me find bras that fit. I ended up buying a pretty lacey sheer-cup Fantasie bra and a DKNY molded plunge, both half-price and 34DD's. I made the last purchase the store would ever have, and I felt kind of cool because of that. I never wore the Fantasie bra in public. I wore the DKNY bra a handful of times, but it was extremely uncomfortable and killed my back. BTW, my back was always in pain until I started wearing 30 bands. I ordered a 32E Panache Fern bra and a 32F Le Mystere Dream Lace Tisha bra from Bare Necessities. They were both way too small and I unfortunately never got around to sending them back.
April 2012
A Nordstrom Rack opened in my city, so I decided to check out their lingerie department to see if I could find anything bigger than an E cup. I found a 32FF Panache Harlequin Rosa Bra and a 32DDD Chantelle bra. I bought both of them. I ended up returning the Panache bra because the band was riding up too much. I wore the Chantelle bra for a while. It was sheer and gave me a round shape. It was a full coverage bra, so I wasn't busting out of it, it just kind of covered my boobs and squished them to my chest slightly.
I went back to the Rack a couple of weeks later and found a 30G Freya Lacey. This was the first 30 band I had ever worn. It fit really well and was really supportive! I was so excited! I thought I had found my "true" size. I haven’t worn the Lacey very much because I don’t like the pointy shape it gives me. However, I will never get rid of that bra because it changed my life.
May 2012
I ordered a Curvy Kate Fleurty in a 30G and loved the shape, cleavage and support of the 30 band. I also bought two Midnight Grace by Figleaves bikinis in a 30G and 32FF. The 30G bikini was a foam sweetheart shape. It was too small in the cup and band, so I never wore it. The 32FF bikini was a foam triangle bikini. It fits decently, and I wear it often.
June 2012
After wearing the Fleurty for a month, I decided the cup was too small and the band was stretched out due to wearing it 24/7.
I ordered another Fleurty in a 30GG. I thought that it was an improvement. I wore this bra 24/7 for 4 months. Can you picture the state it’s in after that abuse?
September 2012
I ordered the Curvy Kate Entice in a 30GG. It was much too small. The Fleurty was also too small, but it’s more open at the top so it was wearable. The Entice was less deep and not very open at the top so it was not wearable. I never got around to sending it back. Now, I kind of want to buy the Fleurty in a 30HH and the Entice in a 30J.
October 2012
Up until this point, I was mostly reading Invest in Your Chest and Thin and Curvy. Reading Thin and Curvy helped me find my true size, and I love reading Invest in Your Chest for their bra reviews. I started reading Bras I Hate, and noticed that her boobs and waist are similar to mine in size and shape. I was tired of making the mistake of ordering too-small bras. I decided to order bras in the sizes that fit the author of Bras I Hate. I bought a Freya Deco in a 30GG, a Curvy Kate Tease Me in a 28HH, and the Panache Ultimate Sport Bra in a 30H. I was sort of afraid these bras were going to be too big for me, but I was wrong! The Deco is a near-perfect fit. The band is little loose and the cups don’t fully encapsulate my migrated breast tissue, but I love this bra and will settle for the less-than-perfect fit until Freya makes a 28HH Deco. The Tease Me is a bit too small, I recently bought a 28J Tease Me from a Bratabase user, and I can’t wait to see how it fits. The Panache Sport bra is a perfect fit! I decided that my “true” size is somewhere between a 28HH and a 30J.
After owning the Freya Deco for a week, I ordered two more for the low price of $35 each on amazon.
November 2012
I bought a yellow Cleo Lucy in a 28HH for $15 including shipping. It’s brighter than expected! I don’t wear it often, but that doesn’t bother me since it was so cheap.
I bought a few cheap used bras from Bratabase users.I bought the Curvy Kate Tease Me, Tempt Me and Thrill Me, all in a 28J. I’ve wanted these bras for a while, but since they aren’t the most practical bras I don’t want to spend a lot of money on them. I already have the Tease Me, in the too small 28HH, I haven’t seen the Thrill Me or Tempt Me at a reasonable price in my size on any US websites. I haven’t received them yet, but I can’t wait until I do!
Today
I finally have enough well-fitting bras. I rotate through my three Decos in a pattern, so I never wear one bra more than once in a 3 day period. I have a well-fitting sports bra. Now I have to resist the urge to buy all of the bras I lust after. I am completely obsessed with bras, and can’t stop myself from browsing online stores and bra blogs when I should be doing homework. I will now only buy bras when I find them at really low prices, under $30. This post ended up being wayyyy longer than I planned. I’m hoping that many of you can relate to my story. Or maybe someone who has given up on finding bras that fit will read this and realize that there is hope for the. Even if no one reads this and I don’t help anyone, at least I have all of this off of my chest!
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Shared on Dec 04, 2012 Flag this
But there must be a way to figure out whether my wires are too high or too low. 
Hope it was clear enough!
You did the right thing regarding sizing. However you bought a different model. Same company, different bra, so it fits different. Also Chantelle has different models that are labelled the same (there are three Haussmann bras), so maybe you just got the wrong style.
Are any of the pictures of the Rive Gauche or the Icone yours?
t_maia
This is my rive Gauche: http://www.bratabase.com/browse/chantelle/rive-gauche-3-part-cup-3281/75H/?system=US
and the link in the first post is to my Icone
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