PSA: a lot of people wear the wrong size of bra for them, let alone the wrong TYPE of bra/cup/underwire length for their breast tissue and appropriate lift/separation.

Save yourself the discomfort and either try and size yourself at home with a tape measure, or book a fitting at a store (if they're not free then don't go to them, that would be absurd). It's worth it to actually be comfortable in something that you wear all of the time and have to spend money on.

Some of you may be wondering "underwire LENGTH?? That's an issue??" And the answer is YES. It all depends on breast tissue and your body type; if you have firm or soft breast tissue, as well as the amount of it, AND how it hangs on your body, AND the shape of your sternum.

If your underwire is too short/sits too low on your sternum and you have heavy breasts, it's not going to be nearly as good support as a longer underwire that sits higher on your sternum.

Anyway. I'm not a bra doctor/fitter, I just have 36FF boobs and have struggled through life, one bad bra at a time 😓 I'd rather others know things to look out for.

@GoblinHellion Is important.

Sex & The City even did a little scene around it at one point, which I always felt was a bit of a PSA slid under the radar (when honestly, that show could've just had the girls talk about it openly).

@GoblinHellion This is of course very useful information and well said, but you said "heavy" and now I'm hearing Heavy Boobs
Heavy Boobs (feat. Rachel Bloom)

YouTube
@bean LOL YES!!! This runs through my head literally any time I get annoyed at my boobs ever.

@GoblinHellion And don't always trust the fitter! If you're at a store that only carries a certain size range, they'll probably try to fit you into that range even if you aren't that size.

I found /r/abrathatfits super useful for tips on sizing/shape/brands to try.

@beccabadger this is very good advice!! Thank you!!

I've heard HORRID stories about fitters being terrible about people's bodies too. I've been making sure to go to stores that carry a wide range of sizes AND makes rather than something like La Senza or Aerie that only go up to D cups, and I find that they're MUCH better about not trying to shoehorn you into their own bras.

@GoblinHellion Yes exactly! Thankfully I've never experienced it as I've only ever measured myself, but I've heard stories too.

The other issue with stores is if you're wearing a wrongly sized bra when you're measured, that can throw off the numbers a bit.

@GoblinHellion saves you the anger of tissue damages too
LB: definitely prefer measuring yourself over store fittings! there's a *huge* range of bra sizes that in-person stores just don't carry, and if you're one of those sizes they might just not tell you!
finding a bra that fits also may not stop at measurements! brands sizes being slightly different aside, different bras are shaped differently, and that can also affect the labeled size for a given brand that fits best!