Tales From the BRABAR Studio: Finding Good Everyday Bras for Preteens
Bra shopping can be difficult even for adult women, but especially for tweens/preteens, teens, and young women. It is an overwhelming experience for mother and daughter alike and have the resources to figure out what good teenage bralettes are available and how to measure bust size and band size to find your bra size. BRABAR strives to be that resource for a wide variety of ages and body types.
Finding the right teen bra and teen bralette is a comforting thing. It shouldn’t be uncomfortable but fit snugly and comfortably around your ribcage and over your bust.
As the right of passage for preteens, tweens, and teens looking for good teen bras and teen bralettes, a mother, a grandmother or an aunt takes them shopping for the first time to get fitted and find a bra. At the BRABAR Studio, this was common to see a mother bring in their daughter for a proper measurement.
I had a mother bring in her preteen daughter, no more than eleven years old, who was very shy and didn’t want to be in the bra store. The first step is to be fitted, so as usual, my tactic to make the tween girl comfortable is to measure her mother as well to show her how quick, easy, and simple bra fitting is.
Here’s the cheat sheet on how to find the correct band and how to measure bust sizes:
- Measure Underbust: Wrap a soft measuring tape around your body, right below your breasts. The number you read on the tape is your band size. Round to the nearest even whole number.
- Measure Overbust: Wrap a soft measuring tape around your body, over the fullest part of your breasts. The number you read on the tape is your bust size; round to the nearest whole number.
- Calculate Cup Size: Subtract your band size from your bust size. This number is your cup size or the volume of your breast tissue. Your cup size in inches is represented by an alphabet (sizes AAA to DDD/F). 1 inch = A cup, 2 inches = B cup, 3 inches = C cup, etc.
- Your bra size is your band size + your cup size alphabet. BUST - BAND = Cup Size in inches
- This is converted to bra size as Band Size and Cup Size
I measured the mother first. The mother had a 34-inch ribcage measurement and therefore a 34 Band. Her overbust was 40 inches. A 34 Band from a 40 overbust is a difference of 6 inches. A 6-inch difference between the overbust and the band is a DDD-Cup. Therefore, the mother’s size was a 34DDD.
Once the mother was measured, the preteen daughter allowed me to measure her. The preteen girl had a 27-inch underbust measurement and a 32-inch overbust measurement. The 27-inch ribcage measurement meant her band size was 28. A 28 Band from a 32-inch overbust is a difference of 4 inches. Each inch is a cup size, so a 4-inch difference is a D-Cup. The preteen girl’s size was 28D. To find a 28D bra is a struggle like no other as a bra for 32 breast size with a 28 band.
With the sizes in hand, I suggested for the preteen daughter the following options teen bralettes, cami bras, halter bralettes, and cotton bralettes:
- The Everyday Bra is a versatile, all-day supportive bra with a back closure featuring a smooth design and removable cups for comfort and style. This bra comes in three everyday colors: Black, Mushroom, and Natural Gray. Natural Gray and Mushroom are good neutrals to use under white and light-colored tops. Black is a great all-around bra. The everyday bra has adjustable straps.
- The Soft Cami is a fan-favorite, comfortable, versatile, and supportive bra top. The Soft Cami Bra is a seamless, unlined double-layer wire-free bra top. Cami bras are a great starter teen bralette. It is super soft and comes in great colors as an option as a bralette for teens. The soft cami bra has adjustable straps.
- The Soft Crop/Convertible Multiway Bra is ultra-versatile and comfortable, our soft multiway convertible bra offers endless styling options. Wear it as a backless halter bralette, create a criss-cross style, or use the fully adjustable cami straps to perfect your fit. It's the ideal bra or top for any outfit. The Soft Crop Multiway Convertible Bra Top is a great multipurpose bralette for teens option where you can change the straps to become a thin halter bralette, a criss-cross back teen bralette, or a one-shoulder bralette. With some adjustment, it would also make for a casual strapless bra. The soft crop bra has adjustable straps.
- HUG Backless Halter is a stylish backless halter bralette that provides both style and support. It is ideal for backless and open-back outfits.
- The Everyday Longline Cami is a sophisticated longline cami bra, ideal for layering, featuring a keyhole back closure and removable cups. The sister cami-bra to the everyday bra. It comes in two colors: Black and Mushroom. Both are great options for teen bralettes. The everyday longline cami-bra bra has adjustable straps.
- The Cotton Stretch Racerback is a seamless, supportive racerback bra designed for comfort and medium-impact activities as a medium-impact sports bra.
For the mother, I suggested the following bras:
- The trendy and best-selling Soft Day Bra with back closure combines the everyday ease of a bralette with a surprisingly supportive bra.
- The Soft V Laceback Bralette is a reversible and comfortable bralette that adds a pretty touch to your daily wardrobe V-neck lace back bra top. The Soft V Lace Bralette is perfect for everyday lace with a supersoft touch, providing both support and style.
The preteen girl tried all the suggested styles and settled on the longline cami-bra, everyday bra, and backless halter bralette. The teen bralettes and bras chosen are perfect fits for a preteen girl with a 28D bra size. The good-fitting preteen bralettes and teenage bralettes made her more confident and comfortable in her body. They would grow with her until she needed the next size. They were all great choices–two good everyday bras and a fashion bra.
The mother also picked the soft day bra for herself.
It had been a successful trip for both mother and daughter.
