I've ben bra shopping. I need a 44 A, I think, and I'm not finding it in the local stores. Somone recently posted some good mail order places for unusual sizes. I could really use that information again!
TIA
Liz
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Comments
There are occasionally
There are occasionally offers of odd sized bras on E-bay. When I was first starting transition, I ordered some from there. They were based in Hong Kong at the time. I have been told of a person in Canada who imports from that source and she has put them up on E-Bay recently. You might check there. I think they went up to 46 A and 44 AA. and up in cupsize from there.
CaroL
CaroL
FYI, this is the email
FYI, this is the email address of the lady who reportedly received a new shipment of bras in odd sizes.
[email protected]
Tell her a former customer gave you her address and what size you are interested in. Last I heard, she accepts PayPal.
Good Luck.
CaroL
CaroL
Bras on Sale
Liz; The smalless I've seen in a 44 is an "B" at this address www.onestopplus.com. also checkout this address www.barenecessities.com/ as they say they have 44A's. Richard
Richard
JustMySize Bra Finder
Try:
justmysize.com
Use the "Bra Finder" and search for your size. They have six styles in 44A.
Kris
Kris
{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}
Bra size
Just My Size has 44A Go to the bra finder. Also One stop plus does have 44A Just go to the search.
Bra Size
There is a online company called FRESHPAIR.COM they sell all styles , size , brands GOOD LUCK ---HUGS RICHIE
The Fun Of Bra Shopping...
I measure out at 38" in the band. But from fiddling around, I know I require a 42. I am a B-C. The best luck I have had is to go to a breast cancer prosethis fitting shop. I have had poor luck on line. Don't worry, you are not the first T person to walk in to one of these shops. May the force be with you.
Gwendolyn
It's funny
But I measure at 37" or 38" just under the cups, so supposedly I need a 40 or 42 band size. Well those are way to loose on me! No support from the band, in fact some 42's the band wanted to crawl up & up ... Now I usually buy 38's, wear them at the loosest hook when new, by the time I'm at the tightest hook, it's time to toss it... Blessed is the bra fitter who told me this...
Which all goes to show, when you're going by rules of thumb, everyone's thumb is different!
Janice
I feel your pain, I've been
I feel your pain, I've been trying to find a 46A bra for a while. I finally found a "46A" bra and the cups were bigger than most of the B cup bras I own. :(
Favorite store
My favorite stores don't start with a fancy name, as long as it says ON SALE I'll take a look. Better yet, CLEARANCE if a better store.
But seriously, I've found many really good deals at this on-line store. I've made quite a few purchases from them and have been very happy with their products. My bra size is a bit harder to find, 46 A. They usually have several that will fit, just not every style.
http://www.shopnational.com/index.cfm
Happy shopping
Huggs & Giggles
Penny
Band and Cup Sizes
You do know that cup sizes are relative to the band size, don't you? The cups on a 42-B bra are the exact same size as those on a 44-A bra and a 40-C. You also know they sell bra band extenders, right? One will let you add a couple of inches to the band size, just by hooking it on.
I'm also curious how you arrived at your perceived band size. The directions to add 5" to the measurement only work up to a certain band size. Above that, you're to only add 3", and above 40", you're not supposed to add anything. These measuring instructions also vary by maker.
___________________
If the bra fits, wear it!
I was also curious as to how
I was also curious as to how you arrived at your size. I know that, using the measuring system everyone seems to use, my size was totally off! By that system I'm a 36A or AA, which is literally painful to wear. Whereas 32C (sometimes D) fits great (which shows that the conversion Pippa mentions doesn't always work). My mother and I agree that the band size should be the actual measurement of your chest just below your breasts. Where that other system came from I don't know, but it seems to result in a poor fit an awful lot.
As for finding unusual sizes, I've found that Freshpair.com and Figleaves.com have the best range of sizes. They're one of the few places I can find my size reliably. Figleaves has some good sales on occasion, too. Not too sure about Freshpair.
You also have to watch out for variances by maker, as Pippa mentions, but also by type. Strapless bras, for instance, tend to have a tighter band. Push up bras seem to tend that way, too, though maybe not as much.
Hope that's of some help to you.
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Bra sizes
Sorry to bust your bubble... But here in the US there are a number of ways that different manufacturers tell you to measure for a bra. Some say the band size is the measurement under the breasts (Playtex). Some tell you to use the measurement about the chest above the breasts. Some say to add 3 to 5 inches to the under-breast measurement (VS). And some don't tell you anything!
I have found that once I discover a manufacturer that makes a bra that fits, I try to stay with that one. You can always go in and have a fitting done.
Note: Sometimes two bras of the same size, style and manufacturer will fit entirely differently. Not everyone is 'perfect'. LOL Also your bra size can change at certain times of the month!
Zip
Cups And Bands
Saless, the example you cite is exactly what I was talking about.
Given a certain size breast, the cup size letter of a bra goes down one for each 2" band size increase. In other words, a 36A bra accommodates the same sized breast as a 34B or a 32C. Which is exactly what you've discovered for yourself.
For those of us who have purchased breast forms, the size charts were very educational. Actual breast forms aren't sold by cup size letter. They're sold by form size number. You then use a chart to match the number to a band and cup size, a chart where you'll see the form number running diagonally across the chart.
(Note, the above are hotlinks and may disappear in time. I apologize, but you can google these things. They're just not important enough to copy and download and relink.)
I agree with you for the
I agree with you for the most part, but the point was the 36A doesn't fit me (unless you count quite tightly and painfully!), while the 32C does. From what you're saying the 36A should fit if the 32C does (and that does often work, I know, as 34B sometimes works for me), but in this case it didn't.
Didn't know about the breast forms though, I never used them.
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
One Breast
The other thing the band size determines, besides the length of the band, is the spacing between the cups. The smaller the diameter of your rib cage, the closer together your breasts are likely to be. Especially in the case of underwire bras, having the wrong spacing can pinch like the dickens. In your case, I'm guessing the inside part of the wires are pressing on some pretty soft tissue in the 36, whereas with the 32, being closer together, they're not, your breasts fitting neatly inside each loop.
One of the things about breast forms that I guess makes them easier to fit than real breasts is, you can put them on your chest wherever the cups are -- just drop them in. But the fact remains that the actual size of the cup, as the chart above shows, is a function of both size letter and band size, which as you remind us, would simplify the fitting situation if people only had one breast, not two.
So, in conclusion, it's necessary to try on bras to find the right size. :)
I came to my perceived band
I came to my perceived band size when I went to a nice Mastectomy shop and the very nice lady measured me. She even offered to order me some bras, but they were much more expensive than I could afford. She is unfortunately no longer in business. :(