Plus 0, plus 4, and a whole lot more: Bra Sizing Simplified

I know I'm not the only one who has walked into a bra store and felt less confident than before the visit. The experience of bra shopping can be very daunting. It's as if, in the span of only a few minutes, your boobs go from being lumps on your chest to a mathematical equation that will continue to define your future shopping experiences. Unlike traditional clothing shopping, measurements are a crucial part of bra shopping as they inform what level of support you need to hold up your tatas. Then how come it seems that with each new bra shopping experience, you are led to a different conclusion?

Now I know what you are probably thinking, because I've had that thought too - "I have big boobs, so I need a bigger bra".... wrong. Bra sizing is actually quite simple; it's two numbers, a little subtraction, a few letters, and there you go. But if it's really that simple, why do most women wear the wrong size bra?

Well, my friends, we can credit that to the establishment of the first bra way back in the 1950s. As a close relative to the corset, these undergarments were commonly made of materials such as satin and silk and did not contain much stretch. Given this unfortunate reality, Bra manufacturers and vendors would add a few inches to a women's band measurement to provide a bit more room to breathe.

While bras made of silk and satin seemed to fall to the wayside, the process of bra measuring did not adapt as quickly, and the method of adding inches plagues many women globally without them even knowing.

You are probably thinking, I know I've been measured before, but how does it actually work? Now stick with me on this because it will explain everything.

Bra sizing begins with a base measurement band size compared to the overbust. It is then the difference between these two that helps determine your cup size. Now it's within these two measurements, however, that lies the debate.

Plus Zero is the global measurement standard and the most accurate sizing system to achieve the correct bra measurement. Just like the name, this measurement system is intended to measure around the underbust to the exact number of inches and then rounds to the nearest even number to obtain your band size. So, for example, if you measure a 29, you'll get rounded to a 30 or a 31 to a 32. Now the Plus Four method complicates this simple system a bit because rather than rounding to the nearest even size, you add four (or five, given an odd-numbered measurement) inches to achieve the correct bra size. Bra sizing 

Don't worry; you're not the first person to read that and get confused. How can it be that the same person would have two completely separate measurements? And herein lies the issue.  

While the plus four methods may have served a key role in the days of stiff bras, with the introduction of elasticity, women no longer need the additional inches for support and comfort. In other words, it is no longer fitting the needs of women, literally or figuratively,  and the afflicted spoke out.

The war on plus four erupted from a UK-based lingerie blogger that protested being charged extra for her DD+ bras. She argued that it was inequitable to charge women more money for something out of their control and that we should make bra sizing an art rather than a system of arbitrary measurements. I agree. It's not like women woke up one day and asked for a specific breast size, so why should they be penalized for it? And one further than that, do we, as chest martyrs, not deserve to be correctly informed about our bodies??

It's not you. It's them. The process of bra fitting is essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy in which women are given the wrong bra size, purchase bras in those sizes, and thus the manufacturers continue to produce bras that don't correctly reflect the population of women who need smaller band sizes. To break that down a little - If they can't offer you the correct bra, why would they tell you your actual size? Bra sizing 

I know this hardship from personal experience. I spent years wearing a size 32 because that's all that I could find at the stores, but I found that when I would put it on the tightest closure, the cups would fill my armpits like they were hungry for more; and I was definitely not the smallest framed individual walking into those stores.

Oftentimes people see big boobs and don't bother to consider what may be holding them up, and the truth is that all boobs are different and should be embraced. Bra sizing is not only an art or a science. It's both! Every girl's boobs are unique and different and deserve to be given the proper attention and care. That's why here at the BRABAR, we emphasize the importance of fit and advocate for the plus zero. So stick with us, and you'll never have to fear wearing the wrong size bra again!

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How to measure Bra Size Bra sizing