How to measure your bra size?

Did you know that most women are wearing the wrong sized bra? There is nothing worse than the discomfort of wearing an ill-fitting bra! Say goodbye to your bra woes – B Free is here to make your bra fitting experience easier. As a premium online retailer of bras and underwear, the B Free experts know how to get you the perfect fit without an in-store fitting. That’s right, just a few easy steps will give you your perfect size from the comfort of your own home. We will get you on the road to go bra shopping online with confidence – so grab your measuring tape and let’s get started! 

Step 1. Get a measuring tape
The only tool you need for this process is a basic measuring tape. Note that as B Free is an Australian brand, we use the metric system and our size chart is based on centimetres. Therefore, a measuring tape with centimetres will make it easiest to find your corresponding size on our chart.

Step 2. Wear an unpadded underwire bra
The key here is that your breasts need to be well supported and in the right place to get the correct measurement. A minimiser bra or sports bra will reduce the size of your bust so is not suitable. On the other hand your push-up padded bra is going to give you a false reading for your cup size. If you are young or a small cup size, a light bralette or no bra, may work fine if your breasts are naturally sitting in the correct position – for most ladies this isn’t the case so make sure you have the right bra for the right measurement.

Step 3. Measure your underbust
Breathe out, and use your measuring tape to measure snugly underneath your breasts. You are aiming to get the smallest measurement for your body, without squeezing uncomfortably. Make sure that you don’t have any layers of clothing underneath when measuring – you should be measuring directly onto your skin or bra band.

✘ Don’t breathe in and expand your ribs. Too much air in your lungs is going to increase your underbust measurement, and give you the incorrect band size.

✘ Don’t let the measuring tape fall loosely at the back. Measure in front of a mirror so you can turn around and check that the tape measure is parallel to the floor.

Step 4. Measure your overbust
Breathing normally, stand straight and tall, and measure the circumference around the fullest point of your bust. This measurement is why wearing a supportive bra is essential – if your breasts are sitting too low, your fullest measurement will not be reading accurately and you will think that your cup size is smaller than it is.

✘ Don’t measure too high at the front. For most ladies the fullest point of their bust is around their nipples – but every body is different! Check in front of a mirror to ensure that you are measuring at the right spot.

✘ Don’t measure too high or low at the back. This measurement is a little tricky, as it is essential to keep the measuring tape parallel to the floor. You don’t want the tape to be sitting up too high or dropping low at the back. If you are finding it difficult to keep the measuring tape parallel to the floor, you can always ask a friend to help you out. The easiest way for someone to help you measure, is for you to align the measuring tape at the front around your bust, and for them to measure you from the back.

Step 5. Check your measurements on the B Free size chart
Refer to our size chart at bfreeaustralia.com/sizechart.
To guide you on how to use the chart, we will use our model Alice’s measurements as an example:

• Underbust: 72cm
• Overbust: 87cm

To find your Australian band size, look along the first column to see where your underbust measurement lies, and read across to the next column to find the corresponding band size. In this case, Alice’s measurement of 72cm is equivalent to an AU band size 10.

For our full bra size chart click here  

To find your cup size, read along the row of your band size until you find where your underbust measurement sits. For Alice, reading along the row of AU size 10, we can see that her measurement of 88cm sits at cup C.
Therefore, Alice’s bra size is 10C.

For our full bra size chart click here

Some extra tips for getting the right size

• A common misconception is that a Cup C in one band size is the same as a Cup C in another band size. It is crucial to know your band size first, and then the your cup size, because a 10C and an 18C breast are extremely different. In fact, a 10C, 12B and 14A are all the same underwire and a similar cup size. This is why you need the full picture of your band and cup size together to find your perfect fit.
• The most common measuring error we see, is women measuring their under bust incorrectly and coming up with a measurement that is too large. As a general rule, if you are borderline and in doubt about which band size you fall into – go for the smaller band.

Once you know your perfect size, how do you find your perfect bra? The truth is that many bra companies have different cuts and shapes across the same size that can give a completely different fit. A balconette bra is often suited to a small bust, whilst a full coverage style is more flattering on a large bust.
 
Our little secret at B Free, to ensure the perfect fit for all our customers, is that we knit our bras on seamless and wirefree Italian machinery for easy fit flexi-sizing. One thing to keep in mind is that our bra sizes can fluctuate within a matter of months and we can’t always be buying new bras to accommodate these changes. That’s why at B Free, our bras have flexible cup sizing that stretches and shrinks to flatter and support your breast. B Free bras also feature seamless wide bra bands that are stretchy and comfortable. This means no digging in, no discomfort and bras that adapt to fit and flatter your unique body.
 
As an experienced bra fitter, below are my top recommendations for the most popular wirefree bras based on bust size and shape:
 
Smaller Busts: Cup A-C
Padded Wirefree Bra
A scoop neckline with triangular shaped padded cups in a classic microfibre fabric – your everyday go-to T-shirt bra for a beautiful subtle shape.

Medium Busts: Cup B-D
Padded Bamboo Bra
A little more coverage with fuller rounded cups in our ultra soft bamboo fabric that feels like sheer bliss against your skin.

Full Busts: Cup C-F
Venus Widestrap Double Support Bra
A double layer supportive microfibre bra featuring wide adjustable bra straps, full cup coverage and a wide back closure.

Now that you are armed with all the knowledge of an experienced bra fitter, it’s your turn to measure your size and getting shopping with confidence!