Why are most women wearing the wrong bra size?

You might have seen the statistic that 80% of Australian women are wearing the wrong bra size, and wondered, how? I mean, 100% of women who wear bras have bras that function for them well enough to wear every day. So everyone’s secretly wearing the wrong size and can’t tell for themselves?

This actually goes hand in hand with another phenomenon, where women find their true bra size and are shocked to discover they should be wearing a larger cup size. Their old bras fit their boobs just fine, so how can they magically go from a D to an FF in one fitting?

The real culprit here is a lack of accessibility to bra education, and for busty ladies, a lack of options.

90% of the time, when someone comes in to get fitted and finds out they’ve been wearing the wrong bra size, it’s because they were wearing a band size too large. 

Why is that such a common issue?

1. Lack of understanding of how a bra’s support works. 

A properly fitting band does 80% of the work of supporting your bust. You can tighten your straps all day, but if your band isn’t firm enough to stay in place, all that will happen is your band will creep up your back, your bust will fall lower in the front, and you’ll end up with neck and back pain.

2. Not knowing what a well-fitting band looks and feels like. 

Your band should be firm enough that you can just fit two fingers between your band and your body - not even three! You should be able to achieve that level of firmness on the loosest set of hooks on a new bra, so you can use the second and third rows of hooks to maintain firmness as your band stretches over time.

3. Lack of cup size options. 

If you’ve read our page about Sister Sizing, you know that band sizes are fixed measurements, and cup sizes are proportional. This means that the band fit of a 10D bra and a 10J bra are the same, but the cups of an 8D bra are much smaller than the cups on a 16D bra! 

When a lingerie store doesn’t carry a cup size big enough for you, they can fudge a larger cup by giving you a sister size with a bigger band size. So if you really need a 10F, they can sell you a 14DD and it will have a very similar cup fit. If you don’t know how a band should fit, and all you see on this new bra is how well the cups fit, of course you’ll take it! 

However, even if it can offer a tiny bit of support when it’s brand new, that 14DD bra will stop giving you any support at all after a few wears.

4. Fear of “back fat.”

When your band is firm enough to do its job of supporting your bust, it will cause indentations on your skin and result in some level of a bump above your bra band on your back, by your armpits. This is normal!

Your body is soft, and your band is firm, it makes sense!

It can be tempting to purposefully size up in your band to try and achieve a smoother looking back, but this is a mistake. If you are wearing a bra for the purpose of supporting your bust, especially if you’re a busty lady, your band needs to be firm. The bra simply won’t be supportive at all if the band is too big. 

Embrace your body's lovely softness!

Are you wearing the right band size? Here's a few ways to tell:

• Slip your fingers between your band - you should only be able to fit two fingers between your band and your body. If you can easily pull your band away from your body, or even fit a whole fist between yourself and the band, it's time to size down!
• If your band rides up your back throughout the day, it's too big.
• If your underwires sit away from your body underneath your breasts, or slide around a lot throughout the day, your band is probably too loose to be holding them properly in place.
• If your bra band size is larger than your usual dress or pants size, it's likely your band is too big (for example, typically wearing a size 10 in pants and a 14D bra). For the majority of women we fit, their band size will end up being the same as their dress size, or a size smaller - it's common for your ribcage where your bra band sits to be one of the smaller points of your body.

Your bra's age is an important factor here as well - if you're wearing an old bra on the tightest row of hooks, and your band is still too loose, you might just need a new bra with the same band size. Bands stretch out over time and lose their support (one of life's great cruelties). 

Is it time to size your band down? If your current bras have a good cup fit, don't forget that when you size down in the band, you'll need to size up in the cup to maintain the same cup size!

If you need help with sizing, don't hesitate to reach out! We know how hard it can be to shop when you're busty, so we have a few different ways to get you fitted. Learn more here!