Lingerie experts believe that 80% of us are wearing the wrong size bra, with most of us wearing a band size that's too big and a cup size that's too small. Not only does this mean that we aren't supporting our breasts in the right way, it also means that we aren't showing off our figures to their best potential; wearing a correctly fitting bra can totally transform your figure, putting the curves back in the right places, changing your silhouette dramatically and has a way of making you look like you magically lost that "extra 10 pounds".
It is interesting how many women at first refuse to believe they are wearing the wrong size. We hear it over and over again how they were measured in the department store, or at the famous mall lingerie store and were told the bra they currently are wearing is the perfect fit for them. "They told me I'm a 36 B cup or I'm a C cup so how can you be putting me into a F or G cup?" How? Because specialty stores a carry larger selection of band and cup sizes starting at 30 to 42 A to JJ cups, it is usually the first time a woman has been introduced to these sizes.
Most professional bra fitter can usually look at woman without her taking her blouse off and know she is wearing the wrong band size and cup size.
When being professionally fit at a specialty store, the woman will experience what customer service really means. The fitter will bring bras into the room, staying with the client helping her with the bras, making adjustments and recommendations, while evaluating bra with the client for comfort and support.
So we would strongly recommend getting yourself fitted professionally. Most of you will be pleasantly surprised, it's a real confidence boost to learn that you're actually slimmer round your rib cage and bigger in the bust that you actually thought.
In addition, we would never recommend that you try to fit yourself - it's very difficult & to do so, you could still end up buying the wrong size, which obviously is what we want to avoid. The Professionals at LilyAnn's Lingerie are specially trained to provide you with an accurate fit and we will always be discreet, professional and will work hard to put you at ease.
However, this isn't a one time activity - we recommend that you go back for a fitting every 6 months or so. Our bodies are constantly changing so it's important that we keep monitoring our bra size on an ongoing basis.
Another fact about most women is about 90% of most women in America don't know the proper way to actually put a bra on? We watch women twist and struggle; fighting their way into their bras only to repeat the same struggle as the remove their bras. Why? Because they were never shown the correct way which is quick and easy.
The bra fitter will usually ask the lady how she normally puts her bra on and educate her in the proper way to put one on. Did you know that hooking a bra in the front and then twiating it around to your back is extra wear and tear on your bra that it doesn't need to go through. By learning the proper way to put on your bra, it will keep your bra newer longer.
Throughout Europe, mothers take their daughters for their first bra to a professional fitter in small lingerie shoppe where they are not only fitted but taught the proper way to wear and care for their first bra. The experience of having a proper fitting will stay with you for life and you'll pass the lessons learned on to your daughters and friends.
MEASURING
Finding your size: Measuring yourself at home isn't usually as accurate as getting fitted professionally, but it's certainly better than nothing! All you'll need is a mirror, a tape measure, and your best-fitting unpadded bra.
To get your band size, measure around your ribcage directly beneath your bust. Make sure the tape measure is evenly horizontal the entire length around. Take the measurement and round up or down to the nearest whole number. (For example, "31 and 1/4" rounds down to "31", while "31 and 1/2" rounds up to "32".) Take the new whole number, and if it's an even number, add 4 inches. If it's odd, add 5. This number is your band size.
To get your cup size, take the tape measure around the fullest part of your bust, again making sure that the tape is horizontal all the way around, and that it's snug against your body without digging in. Round to the nearest whole number again, and then take this whole number and subtract your band size. How many inches difference are there? To find your cup size, count up one cup for every inch difference, A for 1", B for 2", C for 3", etc.
Why get professionally fitted? Although this measuring method has been used for decades, every woman is built differently, and many may need a professional eye rather than a one-way-fits-all system. It's not always easy to measure yourself, either, and even when we do we tend to resist changing our bra size if we don't like the direction the numbers are going! A professional fitter can take accurate measurements, offer advice, and make an impartial decision. Mnay Professional fitters can look at a women and know what bra size to put her in with out even measuring. That is what is called experience
De-Mystifying D, E, F Cups and Beyond As we learned above, each additional inch in difference denotes another cup size upwards. American brands tend to use a standard cup system, with the cup sizes progressing as D (4 inch difference), DD (5 inch difference), DDD (6 inch difference), F (7 inch difference) and so on. But what about our imported bras? European bra makers (and even some American ones) don’t use the same system as most US manufacturers, or even the same system as each other! One brand will have cups progressing as D, E, F and so on, while another has cups D, DD, E, EE, and then F. How do you know what size you actually are?
It’s not about the letters, it’s about the number of cup size increments. Each size upwards should represent 1 inch difference, no matter what letters the brand assigns to that cup size.
In larger cup sizes the conversion from American to English to European can be very confusing.
For example a DDD in the USA is a E cup in England but a F cup in France.
PRODUCT CARE
Bras
You have invested time and money into buying high quality correctly fitting bras and you want to keep them looking good and doing their job for as long as possible. Here are our product care instructions to help you do this:
Hand wash only – with a quality lingerie wash. We know its tempting to put your bras into the washing machine but we strongly recommend that you don’t: machine washing causes Lycra to degrade quicker and Lycra is important for keeping that firm support; our delicate laces and embroideries will last longer if washed gently by hand and very importantly, wires, hooks and eyes may cause damage to your washing machine.
We recommend Le Blanc Silk & Lingerie Wash
Do not tumble dry – for the same reasons as above Do not dry clean – again, to stop that Lycra degrading Do not bleach – this will damage the delicate fabrics and affect the colours Do not iron – it will ruin the embroideries and lace
We appreciate this is a little more time-consuming, but we guarantee you, it’ll be worth it
Lingerie
Please follow the manufactures product care label. In most cases lingerie should be gently washed by hand with lingerie wash.
We recommend Le Blanc Silk & Lingerie Wash.
It is interesting how many women at first refuse to believe they are wearing the wrong size. We hear it over and over again how they were measured in the department store, or at the famous mall lingerie store and were told the bra they currently are wearing is the perfect fit for them. "They told me I'm a 36 B cup or I'm a C cup so how can you be putting me into a F or G cup?" How? Because specialty stores a carry larger selection of band and cup sizes starting at 30 to 42 A to JJ cups, it is usually the first time a woman has been introduced to these sizes.
Most professional bra fitter can usually look at woman without her taking her blouse off and know she is wearing the wrong band size and cup size.
When being professionally fit at a specialty store, the woman will experience what customer service really means. The fitter will bring bras into the room, staying with the client helping her with the bras, making adjustments and recommendations, while evaluating bra with the client for comfort and support.
So we would strongly recommend getting yourself fitted professionally. Most of you will be pleasantly surprised, it's a real confidence boost to learn that you're actually slimmer round your rib cage and bigger in the bust that you actually thought.
In addition, we would never recommend that you try to fit yourself - it's very difficult & to do so, you could still end up buying the wrong size, which obviously is what we want to avoid. The Professionals at LilyAnn's Lingerie are specially trained to provide you with an accurate fit and we will always be discreet, professional and will work hard to put you at ease.
However, this isn't a one time activity - we recommend that you go back for a fitting every 6 months or so. Our bodies are constantly changing so it's important that we keep monitoring our bra size on an ongoing basis.
Another fact about most women is about 90% of most women in America don't know the proper way to actually put a bra on? We watch women twist and struggle; fighting their way into their bras only to repeat the same struggle as the remove their bras. Why? Because they were never shown the correct way which is quick and easy.
The bra fitter will usually ask the lady how she normally puts her bra on and educate her in the proper way to put one on. Did you know that hooking a bra in the front and then twiating it around to your back is extra wear and tear on your bra that it doesn't need to go through. By learning the proper way to put on your bra, it will keep your bra newer longer.
Throughout Europe, mothers take their daughters for their first bra to a professional fitter in small lingerie shoppe where they are not only fitted but taught the proper way to wear and care for their first bra. The experience of having a proper fitting will stay with you for life and you'll pass the lessons learned on to your daughters and friends.
MEASURING
Finding your size: Measuring yourself at home isn't usually as accurate as getting fitted professionally, but it's certainly better than nothing! All you'll need is a mirror, a tape measure, and your best-fitting unpadded bra.
To get your band size, measure around your ribcage directly beneath your bust. Make sure the tape measure is evenly horizontal the entire length around. Take the measurement and round up or down to the nearest whole number. (For example, "31 and 1/4" rounds down to "31", while "31 and 1/2" rounds up to "32".) Take the new whole number, and if it's an even number, add 4 inches. If it's odd, add 5. This number is your band size.
To get your cup size, take the tape measure around the fullest part of your bust, again making sure that the tape is horizontal all the way around, and that it's snug against your body without digging in. Round to the nearest whole number again, and then take this whole number and subtract your band size. How many inches difference are there? To find your cup size, count up one cup for every inch difference, A for 1", B for 2", C for 3", etc.
Why get professionally fitted? Although this measuring method has been used for decades, every woman is built differently, and many may need a professional eye rather than a one-way-fits-all system. It's not always easy to measure yourself, either, and even when we do we tend to resist changing our bra size if we don't like the direction the numbers are going! A professional fitter can take accurate measurements, offer advice, and make an impartial decision. Mnay Professional fitters can look at a women and know what bra size to put her in with out even measuring. That is what is called experience
De-Mystifying D, E, F Cups and Beyond As we learned above, each additional inch in difference denotes another cup size upwards. American brands tend to use a standard cup system, with the cup sizes progressing as D (4 inch difference), DD (5 inch difference), DDD (6 inch difference), F (7 inch difference) and so on. But what about our imported bras? European bra makers (and even some American ones) don’t use the same system as most US manufacturers, or even the same system as each other! One brand will have cups progressing as D, E, F and so on, while another has cups D, DD, E, EE, and then F. How do you know what size you actually are?
It’s not about the letters, it’s about the number of cup size increments. Each size upwards should represent 1 inch difference, no matter what letters the brand assigns to that cup size.
In larger cup sizes the conversion from American to English to European can be very confusing.
For example a DDD in the USA is a E cup in England but a F cup in France.
PRODUCT CARE
Bras
You have invested time and money into buying high quality correctly fitting bras and you want to keep them looking good and doing their job for as long as possible. Here are our product care instructions to help you do this:
Hand wash only – with a quality lingerie wash. We know its tempting to put your bras into the washing machine but we strongly recommend that you don’t: machine washing causes Lycra to degrade quicker and Lycra is important for keeping that firm support; our delicate laces and embroideries will last longer if washed gently by hand and very importantly, wires, hooks and eyes may cause damage to your washing machine.
We recommend Le Blanc Silk & Lingerie Wash
Do not tumble dry – for the same reasons as above Do not dry clean – again, to stop that Lycra degrading Do not bleach – this will damage the delicate fabrics and affect the colours Do not iron – it will ruin the embroideries and lace
We appreciate this is a little more time-consuming, but we guarantee you, it’ll be worth it
Lingerie
Please follow the manufactures product care label. In most cases lingerie should be gently washed by hand with lingerie wash.
We recommend Le Blanc Silk & Lingerie Wash.
