Bra fitting help » Trying to find the right size and shape for me (from France).
Triumph » Shape Sensation Full Cup (W01) » 95G 42:7
Issue resolved
I ordered some Sculptresse Candi and some Elomi Cate bras, and am going to ask for advice to know which size would fit me best for those models. Thanks !
Original problem
Hello, I need some help to find the right bra size for me (and how to find suitable bras online).
The bra on the photograph doesn't fit (it is a French 110 G size, UK 42 F size), but unfortunately it's the least ill-fitting of my bras (I've never had bras that fitted perfectly, moreover I've gained quite a lot of weight recently).
My problems with this bra are:
-most of all, the center gore is uncomfortable, its top is too far away from my torso and so it looks bad under clothes. It probably is too high for me-the cup size seems too small for my left breast (the biggest one), as there is a small "double boob" effect
-the underwire is uncomfortable on my rib cage (probably because it's a bit too low)
-the underarm wires probably are too high (uncomfortable for some arm movements)
-the band probably is too large (I usually put on my bra backwars, do the hooks in front and spin it around, so maybe it made me choose bras with too large bands ?)
-it doesn't look good under clothes (a bit too "East-West"...), but alas I've yet to find a way to make my breasts look good whatever the bra
The calculator on abrathatfits tells me that my size is 38 H/HH.
On this site, the calculator tells me that my size is something between
38HH - 38J - 40FF - 40G - 40GG - 40H - 40HH - 40J.I've never had bras with such sizes, and I don't even know where to find some : I'm French (please be indulgent with my English) and it's extremely difficult to find bras with large cup sizes in shops where I live (for most brands, shops have nothing larger than French E or F cups, i.e. UK F or G cups), and it also is very difficult to find online shops with large sizes, shipping to France and free (or not too expensive) returns.
I'm not even totally sure of which French sizes would be equivalent to the sizes above (38 would be 100 and 40 would be 105, and UK FF/G/GG/H/HH/J seem to be
H/J/K/L/M/N but not all sites give the same equivalences, and most French sites don't even list cups above French H...) And it's a bit difficult for me to believe I could wear a 100 or 105 band without hurting.Sorry for the long message, but any advice on which size and which bra shapes might suit me, suitable brands, online shops with deliveries to France, etc. would really be welcome (I prefer bras with molded cups and no lace, but I'm probably asking for too much...)
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Suggestions (4)
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helpfulThe bra being too large in band and not big enough in cup causes all the problems. The gore should tack at your sternum but it can't since the cups don't have enough room there for your center breast tissue. Also it looks like the wires on the side lie on breast tissue which is bad. What happens if you push the gore flat ? Would get more overspill (quadboob)? Also sometimes when the band is too large the gore can't tack but in this case it's also because the cups are too small. The band seems to ride up in pic 4 and5. It should be paralell to floor, it looks like most weight is carried by straps when the band should do all the work.
The measurement "laying breast perimeter" (it says 0.0 on your profile) is an important measurement as for many of us it is about the cup depth we need in a bra. It would be very helpful if you add that measurement. You also can look up cup depth measurements on bras your are interested in buying here and compare it to your measurment. For me it helps so much.
I'd also suggest Elomi as a good starting brand in your size range. I saw that Zalando.fr has a good selection of their bras https://www.zalando.fr/elomi/. You could order few styles in the sizes you mentonied to figure out your size / what styles work. Swiss Zalando does have free shipping / returns - I don't know how it is on French Zalando. They translate the 38 band to 100, H -cup to K, HH to L and J to M. The size conversion for Elomi seem correct in the site. I'd also suggest Bravissimo.com but they are based in the UK but ship internationally. Their own brand is one of my faves.
Updated on July 8, 2020 Flag this
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I can't comment much on the particular bra bands and styles, but I will say that 38 and 40 bands are not going to be as small as you think they are. When the cups are too small in a bra, it can make the band feel tighter. Nonetheless, if you're nervous about going two band sizes down, you could either buy a band extender along with your new bras just to be safe or try a 40H or 40GG :).
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Thanks @bustyand !
Your suggestion about an extender is very clever.I found another French web site with many large-sized bras and free returns: 3 suisses (it hadn't thought about it because for me it had a rather "old-fashioned" image, it was well known decades ago as a mail order company, my grandma used to by aprons and tableclothes from them... ;-) ) And they do have the Elomi Cate bra.
Now I'm hesitating to wait until the sales begin on July 15 (I guess that the only advantage of having an uncommun bust size is that such models probably don't sell very fast ?)
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When the cups are big enough, the bands won't fell so small anymore. A too small cup can make the band feel smaller since the band have to cover breast tissue too that couldn't fit in the cups.
For example before I got fitted I wore EU sizes (too small cups since I never could find my size) which translate to UK 34 and 36 bands then I was fitted into 32 bands and found out I can even wear some 30s comfortably. Also I recommend trying several sizes in cup and band. Also some bras run differently. For example the Sculptresse Candi has a tight band, don't size down.Band less styles just mean that the cups are not connected by a full band on bottom on the front, compare front look of Elomi Cate Banded Bra (4030)](model:20243) to the Elomi Lydia Bandless.
I personally find full band more supportive but nothing wrong with bandless. I'd suggest you to try both styles.I don't know Marks & Spencer bras, have only tried one Pour Moi the St. Tropez : quality is bit cheap and I didn't find it gave a decent shape, it comes up also bit small in cup.
Curvy Kate is hit or miss - they are good for wide and shallow breasts - and short roots. Only exepction is the Curvy Kate Victory Balcony (9001) which is a tall bra. Also the only one I found supportive enough in my size, but I have tall root / full on top shape. -
Thanks alisa !
I had waited for a few days before ordering some bras (just in cas the prices would go down, as the sales period started yesterday in France, but they remained the same). I'm going to order a few sizes and try to see what fits best.As my breasts don't seem to be shallow, Curvy Kate doesn't seem to be the best choice for me.
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helpfulBonjour et bienvenue à Bratabase! Je vous parlerais en français, mais je ne sais pas la terminologie du soutien-gourge en français
.Definitely agree that this bra is too small in the cups and too large in the band for you. Sister sizing down, this bra has the same cup volume as a 38G/38:9, so I think 38H or 38HH is probably a good place to start (because the band is too big, it's masking the fact that this bra is probably 2-3 cup sizes too small for you). Many people will agree that Bratabase's recommendations are a bit wonky.
I feel you on it being hard to find bras. I'm also in a place where there aren't many/any stores I can pop into close to me that have my size. I'm not French or even European, so I might not be the best source of advice for where to look, but if you go to bra manufacturers' websites, you can usually look up locations that stock their bras. Apparently, in France, there are quite a few stores that stock Elomi bras.
Updated on July 7, 2020 Flag this
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Thank you very much for your reply !
DO you have any suggestions about which kind of bra shape might suit me best ?
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helpfulI'm not in your size range, but I can tell this bra is too small and is not giving you the best support you could get.
I'm tagging cupandahalf as she is in your size range. Maybe she can make some recommendations.
Maybe try looking into Elomi. They have a french page and maybe you can order online or find someone that carries them?
Wish I had more advice, but I hope you find your perfect fit!
Updated on July 8, 2020 Flag this
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Hello! I have been summoned!
As you probably know by now, this bra is probably a little too large in the band and too small in the cup. A lot of people have mentioned Elomi. I think they have the only bra that has no seams in a size that might fit you. Try 40HH - Elomi » Amelia Spacer Moulded Bra (8740) in 40HH (France sizing 105L): https://www.elomilingerie.com/row/en/elomi-size-guide/
That is the closest you will probably get without seams, although I hear Curvy Kate is coming out with a moulded bra in size 40J this season- I’ll post once I find out more.
You can also try 42HH - Elomi » Cate Banded Bra (4030) in 38JJ or 40J (that is 100N or 105M in Fr sizing). It has seams and embroidery but is fairly plain and seamless looking under clothes.
Those sizes seems really big and I know are bigger than what has been suggested to you, but that was the size I was wearing when I had similar measurements to you. You might choose a few sizes in the same bra style to narrow your size down if you have free returns.
As far as Curvy Kate/Scantilly (their luxury/sexy brand) is concerned, they are good if you have short roots and/or don’t need to feel “locked down”. They tend to be a little less supportive but more light and sexy.
Panache or Sculptresse by Panache are also great brands and have the most supportive, firm wires. If you can find it try 40H - Sculptresse » Candi Full Cup Bra (9375) in 105L as an alternate to Elomi’s Kate.
If you would like me to send you anything I have a bunch of bras that don’t fit which I could sell to you for the shipping cost. Let me know if that would be of value to you and I can post them on the marketplace here.
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Hello cupandahalf !
Thanks a lot of all your suggestions !
Bras with seams are not such a big problem, as long as the seams are not too visible under clothes.I think that, now that I've found a few French web sites with free returns, I'll follow your advice and order a few different sizes to see which ones fit best.
You mention "short roots" about Curvy Kate: how can I know if I have short roots ? (The bra vocabulary is quite new for me, actually I discovered it just before posting my first message here...)
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I have short roots. Basically where my breasts attach on my body vertically is not a long distance, and I often don’t fill out the tops of very tall bras (although as I get older my breast roots are getting longer). People with taller roots need taller bras because their breasts attach to more area vertically on their chest.
Fullerfigurefullerbust is a good example of a blogger who has tall roots. Here she is wearing a bra where you can see her roots are taller than her bra- this is a notoriously tall bra as well but you can still see breast tissue reaching up to her collarbone. If this bra were more open on top she wouldn’t have cutting in, but she also wouldn’t feel as contained.
We are both full on top so if you compare our shape you might get a better sense of what looks like what.
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@cupandahalf Thanks a lot fot the explanation about short/tall roots !
Now I understand what it means, but unfortunately I don't see any picture of FullerFigureFullerBust (maybe a link is missing in your message ?). I'll try to see some of her photos to see what her roots look like.
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Here’s a link to her insta: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAfC2sKjq-l/?igshid=1wb80iu04skwl
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helpfulI had ordered five bras (two @Sculptresse @Candi and three @Elomi cate, with various sizes)- thank you so much for helping me find these brands and models !
They arrived them today, I'm going to close this fit request, and to start a new one to ask for advice about which size to choose (or whether I need to order yet another size).Updated on July 24, 2020 Flag this
Thank you very much for your replies, alisa and Wilderness1 !
I'm really very happy to have found Bratabase, as there was nobody with whom I could talk about bra problems...
Yesterday I didn't have enough time to measure my laying breast perimeter: I'll add it as soon as possible, I hadn't realized that it was so important.
"What happens if you push the gore flat ? Would get more overspill (quadboob)?"
When I push it flat, there is a bit more overspill over my left breast (the bigger one). So you're right, it's because the cups are too small.
I'm still hesitating about buying a bra with a 100 band as it sounds so "small" to me and I'm a bit afraid that it would hurt (or that I wouldn't even be able to fasten it).
Many thanks for the @Zalando link ! Returns are free in France too for them.
Bravissimo would be a bit more expensive as deliveries to Europe outside UK cost 6 £ and returns aren't free, so it'd be better to be sure of my size before ordering there.
On Zalando, the brands offering sizes large enough for me are, besides @Elomi: Pour Moi, Curvy Kate and Marks & Spencer. Would you recommend another of these brands ?
Several of the Elomi bras on Zalando are said to be "bandless" (@Charley Bandless Spacer Moulded Bra, Amelia Bandless Moulded Bra, Lydia Bandless), does it imply that they offer less support for the breasts ?
Since yesterday I've also found another web site with free returns (free only for exchanges actually), called Lemoncurve, and it has Elomi, Curvy Kate and Scantilly bras.
And also: when I entered my measurements, the site recommendation for me was the Cate model from Elomi (size 40GG). I don't know how accurate such recommendations are in general. Unfortunately, the Cate model isn't available on the two French web sites I've found so far (only on another one with 5 euros returns).