I Plan For It To Be The First Of Many Workshops

To say that I'm excited would be an understatement.  To help educate women to determine their breast shape and starting-point bra size has been my passion for so long, that I can't remember a time that I *didn't* want to help them.  Even while at VS, and I knew so much less than I do now, it was exciting to see how women reacted when they found something that fit and that they loved.  With even more knowledge and experience, I feel like I can help even more women.

I'll be sure to share how it goes.

It's Survey Time

I'm trying to capture information regarding only band sizes--I say "only" because I'm not trying to capture data regarding cup sizing at this time--and the various shades of "nude".  Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey.

You will need a seamstress tape measure if you don't already know your Snug and Tight band measurements.

Please share the survey with other bra-wearers that you know.

Survey Link: About Bra Shopping and Sizing

Inspired to Help Women Find Their Size; Just Not Inspired to Post Anything New...Til Now.

A few weeks ago, I (as is stated in the military) got my "peepee spanked" for linking my blog willy nilly just for the sake of linking my blog.  And, even though I really was trying to help the person on whose thread I'd linked my blog, there was some truth to the statement.  As a result, my brain went into questioning mode.  "Do I really have anything to contribute?"  "Is what I offer valid/useful?" and on and on.  Granted, I haven't been as informed for as long as the moderators on the sub on which I was posting my links but my answer still came to a resounding YES.  Why?  Because I have mid-band, mid-cup boobs and that perspective is different from the "usual" 28, 30 and 32 bands that are on there and might be more useful to the 40, 42, 44 bands that post.

So, I continue to read and learn and I still post links that I know are helpful--even when there seems to be an ongoing discussion about what terms are correct to use and which ones are not.  The discussion on "Immediate Projection", alone, is enough to make your head spin.  But I press on, bowing to the "voice" of whomever is speaking the loudest about what terms to use.  I like the term Immediate Projection because you can explain that the breast tissue "projects immediately from the rib cage where the two meet."

I continue to tell folks that cross my path, at work and out and about in town, about my blog.  If only so that they go to the bra size calculator and discover that most retailers measure you incompletely.  I don't say "wrong" because they are using a couple measurements that determine a correct fit but they aren't using ALL of them.  Did it just the other day, at the gym.  I saw this poor woman with her bra band nearly up to her shoulders on her back.  I always try to mention the blog right away so that ladies don't think I'm some kind of stalker.  It also helps explain my passion for helping women get what fits.  If they're able to glean some nuggets about shape, great!  If it leads them to the reddit sub, even better!!  I just want them to find what fits even if it doesn't fit perfect.  Fitting *better* is good too.

Official Workshop Slides in Work

I'm very excited to be working towards pulling the information from online to a workshop form and forum.  The powerpoint is in work--taking a break because I just realized just how long the prep work for this endeavor is going to be.  I can't wait for it to be completed so that I can do a run-through with a couple trusted advisors and friends to get their feedback on format, layout, and grammar.

Here's the Title Slide:

I plan to have it completed in time for me to take it on the road during my cross-country trips this Spring.  I'll be happy to conduct a workshop anywhere along my Southern States or East to West routes come April and May.  

Encouragement For The Discouraged (And Those Who Are Just Beginning Their Journey)

Trying to find a bra that fits can be quite the daunting task; especially if it’s something that you never really thought about before.  It can seem that the more you know about how a bra should fit, the more difficult the struggle and that is not an incorrect assessment because the more you know about the nuances of fit, the more bras you find that *don’t* fit.  At the beginning, you may have just been happy to have something to keep your breasts from wobbling around.  Now, you may have very specific wants and, eerily like dating, what you’re looking for means you have to weed through a ton of what doesn’t work for you or your shape.

If you’ve never worn a bra before, it’s learning a whole new language, jargon and all.  Before you started getting educated, a gore might have just been that guy who made a documentary about Global Warming; cups might have just been something that you drank out of; wires might have been what you send via Western Union.

Have patience with yourself.  No language is learned overnight.  No partner is found immediately.  It will take some time to find a garment that fits perfect; especially when you consider everything that you’ve learned so far and how many aspects of fit you’re trying to meet.  If you don’t shop online, it will take much longer, more than likely because that’s where you’ll find those non-matrix sized bras.--unless you’re fortunate to have a boutique within driving distance. You’re very lucky if you find the Perfect Fit within your first ten bras.  I really think that is rare, considering how many styles there are.  In my size, there are nearly 200 styles to choose from.  Some are nursing/maternity so that makes it that much easier to rule those out—I don’t even have to try them on to know they’re not for me. 

You might even encounter a situation like I have: you find a bra that fits and then you gain (or lose) weight and thereby changing the size (and possibly the shape) of your breasts and now you can choose to start fresh or wear what fit last month for a few more months, until you can afford to buy your new size. 

Again, please be patient with yourself.  Going back to the language analogy—you know how I love them—if you’re learning a new language so that you can visit a foreign land, the words are going to sound different when they’re actually used in context.  Give yourself time to learn the language and time, again, to get comfortable communicating in it.  THEN, it’s time to navigate the new land.

Six Months Into My Journey For The Perfect Fit

     Six months ago, when I realized that I had been measuring customer incompletely for nearly nine years, I was completely taken aback.  I took great pride in getting women into great fitting bras, and to find that maybe they hadn’t fit all that “great”, was quite a revelation.  As it was, I suffered from what I called an “occupational hazard” of assessing whether someone’s bra fit everywhere that I was.  I didn’t need to be at work.  I mentally assessed everywhere—grocery store, book store, walking down the street.  Well, now that I know more than I did six months ago, it’s even worse.  Lol.

     I see women with very small ribcages and think: “I bet she’s wearing a 32 band because that’s all that she can find.”  Or, I’ll see a very large busted woman, coming all out of her bra and think: “Goodness!  I wonder if she knows there are letters beyond DDD?”  That last thought was common before but the first one, even more so.  In some cases, I’ve taken to working the subject of well fitting bras into every conversation that I have.  It’s not difficult.  Just about everyone hates buying bras because they really don’t know what size they are.  I like to think that by referring them to the bra size calculator on my blog—so conveniently linked to r/ABraThatFits on reddit—that I'm helping the nation’s population, one size at a time.

     As for my own journey, it’s been quite the challenge.  I got rid of all my regular 36DDD garments within the first month of finding that I was a 36FF/36H.  That was after I set out on my quest to find the Perfect Fit.  I still haven’t found it, even after trying on more than 70 bras so far--here's a snippet, but I did find one style that fit Pretty Well—the Chantelle Rive Gauche (thank goodness for sales)--and another that Fit Even Better—Elila Unlined Banded Lace—so I feel like I’m doing pretty well.  The only downside is that I gained ten pounds in the past month and I think five of it went to my boobs which means that the size I bought back then doesn’t fit as well as it could/should.  I’ll be damned if I go buy new bras, though, after spending $200 on new ones.  I’ll just get these ten pounds off and call it a day.

     I can’t wait to see how the journey has progressed in another six months.

It's not only those at the larger end of the band spectrum that are getting left out.

Those who are at the smaller end usually have to compromise as well.  Imagine needing to wear a band that is a 24 or 26 but only being able to find a 28 and hoping that you can "sister size" into a decently fitting cup?  If you're a 24FF, you *might* find a 28E that fits decently but probably not.  28 bands barely get any love in the current world.  Imagine how much less love there is for 26 and 24 inch bands.  It's like being a grown person and having to shop in the children section because "you're so tiny".  Condescending much?

Help these folks out.  Sign the petition on change.org:

UK lingerie brands: Show some love to the 26 band sizes.

Closed the Chapter at Victoria's Secret

Because my conscience kept eating at me, knowing that what my customers needed was not actually sold at VS (where most bras are very shallow in depth and there really isn't "A [bra] For Every Body"), I opted to close the chapter there.  I couldn't work another shift where I had attempt to sell an item that I knew wasn't going to fit my customers.  I couldn't put my customers in a sister size of 32B when what they really needed was a 28D.  Or if they needed a 34G and sister size them into a 38DDD.  Maybe they needed a bra with immediate projection.  They're SO not going to find that in any bra there--where nearly every cup is made from one whole piece of material rather that the multi-piece cup that immediate projection calls for.  I feel like I can rest easier, knowing that I can talk about the local bra store Buttercups and other places to acquire bras that run the gamut of sizes 28-56, and A-(UK)KK, and beyond.


My previous place of employment has done a great job of marketing themselves.  Folks think that they are the end all, be all of the bra world; but, you know what, there's a whole world of bras out there.  Just check out this page for a list of bloggers: Lingerie Blogger Database on etsylingerie.  So many discuss various styles, fits, and places to shop.  Just like what I've embarked upon with my own blog--one more resource so that you can be well informed when you shop.

Why Is It Important To Find A Bra That Fits???

Why is it so important to get into a size (and style) that fits?  

In a nutshell, to change the world. 

The bra is a fairly young garment—when compared to the existence of other types of apparel.  Outer coverings—such as pants, shirts, and dresses—have been around for hundreds of years.  Maybe not in the shape or style that they are now but attire that served their purpose has been.  Without doing a poop-ton of my own research but going off this website--A Brief History of the Bra--the bra first came to be in the early 1890s, as a replacement (of sorts) for the corset.  Underwires came to be in the early 1930s and cup sizing came soon after.  It should be noted, though, that cups sizes from that time bear little resemblance to the cup sizing of today. 

The history, for someone with my passion to fit my clients and know where it all came from, can be quite distracting.  I nearly got sucked into reading from numerous websites rather than finish up the point that I’m trying to make on this post.  Please forgive me if it gets a little scattered because I may see a tidbit that I want to include and throw it in randomly. 

In the meantime, a little visual timeline of the evolution of the bra:

 Early 1900s

 1910s

 1920s--when busts were flattened and squished

 1940s--note the age progression and how it relates to the length of the bra

 1950s--you could hurt someone with those shapes

 1960s--all about function, not flattery

Starting to appear in a much "softer" shape; far less structure

There are tons of bras to choose from nowadays.  I really think the style explosion began when Madonna started  the trend of underwear as outerwear—first in the 1980s when she first hit the scene in her lace bustiers...

and continuing into the 1990s during her Truth or Dare/Dick Tracy era...

 An extreme throwback to the 1950s.

Before that, bras seemed more functional than anything.  After that, they had to be “pretty”, “unique”, “eye-catching”.  Because of this paradigm shift, hundreds of choices became available, at all different price points. 

They no longer appear to be the *right* choices, though.  For decades, the shape and size of women was pretty stagnant and fairly small, even if we did get taller by a bit.  In the 1960s, based upon numerous sources that I could find, the average weight of a woman was 140lbs.  In the 1980s, there was a increase to 145, and by the year 2000, the average weight was more than 165lbs.  Yet, bra *sizes* remain pretty much the same.  Granted, it was a whole different sizing method then—one that I don’t know enough about to explain, I just know that it was different.

For example Marilyn Monroe was touted as a 36C but the *fullest* part of her bust was 37” so, clearly, the sizing system was different then.  (And a “32” might have worked for someone who may have had only 26” around their ribcage because the measurement was based upon bust proportion or whatnot.)  However, even with the sizing *method* change, they stuck with the same band size range: 32 to 38 or 40; and, pretty much the same cup range: A to DD or DDD.  And, in stores, that is the consensus of availability today.  Yes, there are exceptions but they are few.

20, 30, and 40 years ago, we didn’t have nearly the “insulation” that we do now so having that limited a range wasn’t as much of an issue.  With the increase in body weight and obesity, though, comes a variety of flesh distributions, for lack of a better description.  Band sizes have to take into account rib circumference as well as the flesh that covers it; which could be very little or quite a bit or somewhere in between.  Cup sizes are approaching their limit, in terms of letters of the alphabet.  The UK is up to L; the U.S. is up to N (which is actually *smaller* than the UK cup of L); yet the flesh that fills the cups continues to be more and more.

Despite these drastic changes, though, department stores haven’t really changed what they carry.  They just carry more options in the sizes that they already had, and have had, for years.  To some degree, having that small a band range is perfectly fine but is it the *right* range to have?  On a survey post on /r/ABraThatFits, where the majority of responders (646 of 909 or 71%) fall into an age range between 18 and 29, the perceived band size (774 of 895 or 87% ) does fall into the 32-38 range but, upon further investigation (i.e. inputting measurements into the provided bra size calculator) it seems that the majority actually falls into a range of 28-34 band sizes (714 of 895 or 80%).

The other disparity lies in the perceived and calculated cup sizes of survey participants.  Perceived cup majority (cups measured via UK sizing): B to DD (629 of 894 or 70%).  Calculated cup majority (again, UK sizing): DD to G (571 of 895 or 64%).  I should also mention that the perceived cup greater than G totaled only 34 but, when cup size was calculated, it totaled 192 above a G cup.

   

Why is this important to note?  Department stores, in general, are providing cups only up to F (U.S. size DDD) and the band size that is *married* to these cup sizes are TOO BIG for the customer—usually a 36 or larger.  Customers are forcing themselves into these mismatched sizes because it’s too tedious and labor intensive to get the band/cup combo that actually fits.  

The mode value of the perceived cup size is a B and the mode value of the perceived band is a 34.  So, folks are buying the 34Bs but are really needing 30Es (mode value of calculated band is a 30 and mode value of calculated cup is an E)—two band sizes and three cup sizes different, not even a “sister size”.

A sidenote: there wasn’t an alignment between age and bra size so that’s why there is the number differences that there are.  It *is* important to note the age of the majority, though, because this is the demographic that is a primary candidate for much of the well known bra marketing in the present time.

So, I go back to my original question but slightly rephrased…Why do we need to buy bras that fit?  So that manufacturers will listen and adapt.  They won’t change what they think works until their bottom line indicates that it’s necessary.

Quit buying the 36Cs that work “okay”. 

Invest in the 30F that makes you feel fabulous!!

Join My Group on Facebook, If You Like.

Over on the right sidebar, I've attached a link to my "If The Bra Fits..." group on facebook.  It's an easy way to be notified of the newest post and discuss the topic at hand.

The Struggle is Real and All Too Common.

Anyone else had an issue like Kristin Chirico, a frequent poster to BuzzFeed...

Watch This Woman Get Fitted For Bras and Get All Different Sizes

I'm hoping that my Bra Fit Events help alleviate this problem, one person at a time.

A Recent Experience Utilizing What I've Learned

During a recent shift, I had such an experience that I wanted to share it with those who read my blog.  I was sorting bras in our clearance bins at the front of the store and a woman came in, carrying a slightly crumpled bag from our store.  I greeted her and she said that she was there to return some bras because they just didn’t fit, even after getting a fit the week prior and that it may be due to having had some post-op swelling over her breast area.  She headed towards the cash wrap and I headed towards Beauty then back to the fitting rooms to help a customer who had rang the buzzer, for assistance.  Over my headset, I hear “Nichole, I’ve got a customer coming back for a fitting.  She’s been fitted a couple times before and always returns what she buys.”  I could only conclude that she wasn’t getting a proper fit or that it was due to the swelling that she mentioned earlier.  I greeted her again and asked how I may assist her, also offering a bra fitting in the dressing room.  She expressed that the bras just didn’t fit but that the swelling was completely gone now, according to her doctor.  The bras that she had were 36DDs.

I went on to explain how I measure and that a proper measurement involves actually not wearing a bra but that I wouldn’t be doing that.  Instead, I would just measure over her bra.  When she took her blouse off so that I could execute the measuring, I could see that she was not fitting, at all, in the bra that she was wearing.  It was very similar to this.  There was no separation between her breasts; she was coming out her armpits; and it just looked too snug overall.  Kind of like in the picture below (from boosaurus.com).

I went on to explain how a bra should fit while I measured her.  Her snug underbust was 33”.  Her overbust was 41”.  I recognized that this wouldn’t be accurate because of her bra holding her in but let her know the measurements that I was getting.  I counted off cup sizes on my fingers for her, letting her know that, based upon those numbers, she’s actually measuring at a 34H, not the 36DD that she had been told.  She, initially, couldn’t understand why there was such a cup disparity.  I then asked her to Scoop and Swoop her breasts in her bra—even demonstrated on myself the act of reaching into the bra and under the armpit and pulling the breast tissue forward (no, I didn't remove my shirt to do this lol).  If you could have seen the look on her face when all that breast tissue came forward (and nearly out the front of the bra)…  I’m sure I had the same look when I first learned S&S.

(image from bra-fitting-lores)

I went on to tell her places that she *may* be able to find that size and gave the address to this blog so that she could reference it later.  She was so happy to learn that it was the bras that were the issue and not her breasts--and to be armed with more information than she’d been given in the past—that she appeared to have tears in her eyes.  I was so touched that I wanted to hug her.  I hope to be able to help more customers, just like her, find their true bra size.

THAT is why I feel called to pursue this passion.

What I Offer vs Victoria's Secret (and Other Retailers)

I think it’s important to make a post specific to any potential conflict of interest with my part time job, Victoria’s Secret.  I am not looking to take ANY business away from them.  If any of my (future) clients have sizes that fit within their size range and the styles they have are what said clients are looking for, you can bet I will be referring them there. 

It’s my intent to help those who can’t shop in (pretty much) ANY bricks and mortar store.  Most retailers carry sizes that fall into a specific size range, often referred to as: The Bra Matrix.  It’s those size that run from 32A up to 38DD, for the most part.  Now, I know that a number of department stores carry larger cups in the 36-42 band spectrum—cup sizes like G, H, and maybe I—but where are the Ns for those bands?  Or…where are the Gs, Hs, and Is for the 32 band?  Then there’s folks who find that a 32 band size is just too big.  A few retailers are starting to carry 30s and that’s awesome but where are the 28s?  Lastly, is the folks that need a small cup who have a large band size.  Where are the A and B cups for the bands that are larger than 42?

It’s my intent to help the outliers who, ironically, probably make up the majority.  If you calculate into those “outlier” sizes, I’m here to help you.  Let me help you find what fits because, I promise you, it’s not YOU, it’s the BRA that is shaped or styled wrong.  YOU are created perfect.

A Fine Line Between What Fits and What's Available

When a customer comes in, and they’re expecting to walk out of the store with a couple bras, it can be difficult to tell them their more accurate size. 

Case in point, this evening a customer was trying on a 38DD size and it was clear that it was too large in the band.  The cup was a push-up so that skewed the cup size measurement a bit but still, I could tell that the band was just too large.  She had it on the tightest hook and I measured her, snugly, at 36 inches just under her bust.  Over her bust, it was measuring 45 inches.  Subtract an inch or two because of the pushup and that’s still a seven inch difference.  Seven inches is a G cup in U.S. sizes.  She’s not going to find that where I work.  My coworker was standing behind me, watching, as I shared with the customer *why* her band size wasn’t working.  I also explained that to really test the band’s fit you should connect the band with the cups in back or upside down with them over the belly (if your belly doesn’t resemble a case-a-day beer belly lol).  If the band feels fine without your breasts in the cup, then it’s the right band size.  If it feels too large, go with the shorter band length and then find a cup that fits.

I encountered another customer who was expressing dismay about the “fat” underneath her armpits.  I shared with her about “swooping and scooping” and bringing that “fat” back where it belongs: in the bra because it’s migrated breast tissue.  She kept the band size that she was in and went up a cup.  I hope it fit.  She wasn’t specifically my customer so I didn’t follow up with her.  Same with the first lady.  I just dropped little nuggets of fit information so that they would be better informed while shopping.

I think I can hope to only be like the butterfly, fluttering its wings, making an impact on my customers.  You know that butterfly? 

With This Follow-Up (dated Jun 7th, 2015)

Even though my previous entry may seem like I’m sending the message that I’m an expert, I’m not.  I’m very new to this portion of the journey of finding what fits.  I’m hoping to bring folks along with me on this journey and help them find what fits as well.  Maybe they don’t have the resources to acquire a whole slew of garments to try on all at once and maybe they don’t have the time to try on just one at a time.  What I’m trying to say is: I know that there are a lot of folks who can’t plop down the initial investment to get a wide selection of bras to try on all at once and they don’t have the time to order only one item, try it on, find out it doesn’t fit, send it back in exchange for another size or style that will probably, also, not fit.  I want to help those folks.  The first go-round will be easy because I already have two collections of sizes on hand—36FF/36H, from what I ordered to try on and 28E, from what was acquired for another person to try on—in quantities of more than 20 different styles.  I’m extending an opportunity for those who are neighbors to me to try on any of the ones that are on hand before I send them back.

In some cases, it may appear that I’m competing with my place of employment but that won’t be the case.  I can’t compete with a company if I’m not offering anything that can be found at their store.  That being said, I wouldn’t be offering bra fit events for those who can shop within the “bra matrix”—that range of sizes that most every bricks and mortar store carries and/or has on hand.  I’m talking about the 34Bs and the 36Cs and the 38Ds—those are the ones that I WON’T be doing these for.  The ones that I WILL—the 32FFs and the 36Is and the 40As and the like—are the ones that you can find only online.  It will take some time and it won’t be something that will happen all that quickly because there’s only so much that I can acquire at a time and there are a ton of underserved and unsupported (pun intended) sizes out there.  How many?  Just check out the range of sizes that are carried at

• Bare Necessities (with band sizes 28-56) (http://www.barenecessities.com/sitemapbybrasize.aspx)
• Fig Leaves
• AA-D (with band sizes 28-54)  http://www.figleaves.com/us/aa-d/bras/24942/?link=bras_lhn_aa-d;
• DD-G (with band sizes 28-54) http://www.figleaves.com/us/ranges/dd/bras/20539/21410/?link=bras_lhn_dd;
• GG and up (with band sizes 28- 48) http://www.figleaves.com/us/ranges/gg/bras/20546/21420/?link=bras_lhn_gg)
• HerRoom (with band sizes 28-58)  (http://www.herroom.com/bras.aspx)
• Amazon (with band sizes 28-58) (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=lp_14333511_ex_n_16?rh=n%3A7141123011%2Cn%3A7147440011%2Cn%3A1040660%2Cn%3A9522931011%2Cn%3A14333511%2Cn%3A1044960&bbn=14333511&ie=UTF8&qid=1433663887)

 I intend to start with the most common band size, whatever that may be (and to be determined by a poll on an easily accessed page), and get started that way.  I won’t be offended if folks try on at my place and then opt to purchase elsewhere.  I’m not a business.  I’m not looking to make any profit.  I’m aiming to help folks find their fit.  If they choose to take a product off my hands by reimbursing me for its cost (and therefore saving me the effort that it will take to return it, even better), they can do that too.  Because, seriously, the less that I have to return, the better.  J

I will keep you posted on my own fit journey.  I posted the link to the previous entry to the reddit page that I referenced in said entry and received some excellent feedback on the fit of my new calculated size.  It’s a work in progress and I’m just glad that I was able to find anything that I even liked on the first round of try-ons.

I’d love to read any comments that you have for this or any other blog entry that I’ve made.  Please don’t hesitate to leave ‘em.

Photo by Stacy Hart of Stacy Hart Photography-- www.stacyhartphotography.com 

An Early Attempt to Help Customers Help Themselves (originally posted to my personal blog on Oct 22nd, 2008)

Basic measurements are (while wearing a decent fitting bra):
Around the top of the chest/under armpits
Around the fullest part of the breast (where the nipples are)
And then around the rib cage just under the breast.
Make sure your tape measure is not on any breast tissue with the bottom measurement. I've had a lot of customers come in and tell me that they were last measured at XX when, in fact, I just measured them at XX-3 because the last person to measure them didn't make sure that breast tissue and/or bra underwires weren't included in the measurement. I've even gone so far to ask women to please lift their breasts up so that I could ensure I wasn't measuring the bottom of their breast tissue. (Once the tape measure was in place, I had them let go)
Your band size will fall between the measurement under the armpits and the one around the ribcage. I can't give you an exact # because the rest of your structure will dictate which it is but it does give you a ball park figure.
For example, if I measure a customer at 38" under her armpits; 40" around her fullest part; and 36" around her ribcage, I will suggest a 38B and a 36D as places to start. You won't know what fits until the bra is on. From then, change only the size to find the correct one in that bra. Don't change bra and size unless it's super obvious that both are not suited.
If all your bras have padding in them, and that's what you're wearing when you measure, subtract a 1/2" or so or just measure a little snugger...not tight, but snug.
With fit, you want to ensure there are only two breasts. You don't want two hanging out the center and you don't want two squishing into your armpits. If you have this problem, try a larger cup.
If your breasts are falling out the bottom of the bra, the band is too big/stretched out.
If the band keeps hiking up in back, go down a band size but get the comparable cup size. It will be the same cup coverage but snugger in the band.
You want the center gore (the part between the cups) to be flat/flush against your skin. You should not be able to put you keys in this space--it's not a pocket. If the center gore isn't flat, go up a cup and down a band--see below for conversion.
Don't be afraid of letters beyond DD. It is what it is. Wouldn't you rather have a bra that fits rather than a specific size. Though, I did encounter a customer who refused to believe she was a 36DDD and only because she had to have a VS bra.
Bra math:
32C=34B or 30D
34D=36C or 32DD
36DD=38D or 34DDD
38DDD=40DD or 36DDDD
D=D (4" difference between band size and cup size)
DD=E (5")
DDD=EE=F (6")
DDDD=EEE=FF=G (7")One last tidbit...we all have mismatched breasts...some as much as a cup difference. Fit the larger cup. You can always add to the smaller one. You can't make the larger one smaller with a bra.
Can't find your size in stores, try figleaves.com, barenecessities.com, or herroom.com. They all have beautiful bras in a huge range of sizes...all the way from 28A to 52J.

How the Passion Ignited

Six months after moving to Dover, I got a part time job at Victoria's Secret as an offset to all the testosterone that I was surrounded by at my full time job--the USAF.  It was great!  (It still is.)  I could talk about girl stuff to my heart's content.  I could test all kinds of beauty products to see what smells I liked and which I didn't.  And get paid to do so because I was "zoned" to that section when I first started.  We received training for bra fittings and then had to practice on our coworkers throughout the day because the company wanted to ensure that we knew what we were doing.  There were meetings held approximately once every quarter/season to introduce us to new products coming out and to expand our product knowledge on items that were already being sold.  The meetings also served as training opportunities to further our bra fit knowledge.

In time, there were fewer meetings.  We're talking over the course of a number of years since I'm going on year #9 in the same location.  So the training isn't as in-depth but it's still there and we're still encouraged to have the new employees fit their coworkers during the slow times of their shifts.

Even with all this training (or because of it), I was finding that I couldn't put ALL my customers into bras that VS sold.  They had too much breast tissue or their rib cages were absolutely tiny.  I say tiny because some were the size of my thigh.  lol.  So, I started looking for other options for them because I wanted to be able to help my customers find bras that fit them; though some just wanted VS bras.  In those cases, I would find the ones that we carried that best fit them and steer them towards 'em.  Other customers wanted ones that fit.  I suggested larger department stores in nearby states.  I suggested online locations.

I adopted the mindset like "the link economy" in Miracle on 34th Street: 

I wanted customers to know our VS location as a place that they could come to get good information, even if we didn't have their exact size, and it's something that I've employed ever since.  I like to think that customers come back because they know that we're there to help.