The Bra Matrix

The Bra Matrix is the world of false bra measurements and uncomfortable bras.


It is the world where busts are divided into A, B, C and D, and underbust measurements into 70, 75, 80 and 85.


It is the world in which you live feeling that you have a strange bust, and that adjusting your bra umpteen times a day is normal.

   I always thought that I had the right bra. I carefully read those little tables on websites, measured myself, and bought 75 c bras.
   I thought that it was normal to adjust the bra a couple of times every day. I believed that my breasts were spaced too far apart, and that was the reason that the underwire never went all around the breast, but poked into it. I thought that comfortable bras don't exist anyway, well maybe only if I had the money to buy a really expensive one. And I was sad that pretty thin bra straps were bad because they didn't offer enough support.

   Until the day I discovered I was stuck in the Bra Matrix.
I read and read, measured myself, and got a 65D bra. I was delighted ! For the first time I had a bra that was comfortable and made me look good. The band was tight, but contrary to expectations it was very comfortable. The underwire framed my entire breasts, so I realised my breasts weren´t too wide apart, it was the bras that had been wrong. >Pics of my breasts, before and after<

  So, what´y the Bra Matrix ? I discovered it on this blog. Since you probably don't read Polish, I'll explain.

The biggest misconception is that there exists a fixed size for each cup. For example, that the only difference between 70A, 75A, and 80A is the size of the band that is attached to it.

This is not true. The cup size changes with the band size.

Take a look at these photos:

DD cups are big in the NZ band size 18 (EU 90) and quite small in NZ 8 (EU 65)

Both the cups here are DD... but as you can see they are not the same !

The D cup in 65 and the B cup in 70 are very similar in size ! However, the 65D underwire is slightly broader than the 70B.

More photos and explanations *here*

The other big myth is that to get your under-bust measurement, you have to measure yourself under the bust, add 5 cm, and go up to the nearest band size.

This is absolutely stupid for the following reasons:
* The measuring tape is not stretchable. The bra band is, and it stretches up to 20 cm. Try it at home !
* It is the band and not the shoulder straps that should support the bust. To give good support, the band must be snug, not loose.
* Would you wear panties that are bigger than your hip measurement ?

A test if you are wearing the correct band size:

Do a jumping jack: Jump, lift your arms over your head, and clap. If your band moved, it's too loose.


Another test: if you can pull the bra band more than 3-4 cm away from you body, tie it tighter. Then bend forward and gather all your armpit and back fat into the cups (that was actually escaped breast tissue). Stand up, and you´ll see your cups spilling over.

Another way to check is to take a look at your back view in the mirror.

The correct band size should look like this: 

  

The band size is too big if it looks like this:

    

Reading for beginners: 

How to measure yourself and get your CORRECT size !!! Then read: How to buy your first right-sized bra. For later reading: complete list of my Bra Matrix Articles. You can also mail me with any bra question you have, but don´t forget to include your correct measurements !


♥ For examples of bra before and after shots, take a look >here<.

70B to 60E !!!
note the "quadruple breast" effect in the wrong size (70B)

note: I am using European measurements.
 Use this chart to convert it to the sizes of your country

 

Posted by Eternal*Voyageur
at Tuesday, April 08, 2008