Thread: USA vs europesn bra letter sizes....

So I noticing everyone has a different idea of what an A, B, C, D, and up cup converts to with measurements. I saw a post where a dancer posted that 5" vertical, digonal, and horizontal, meant a C cup....???? Is there one concise please where a measurement range is in order to accurately name cup sizes? Also I noticed that 34C cup for me ex: minimum of 6" vertical and 8" diag and horiz (or 7" on all sides) is the same as a european size 34D. Hmmm....any thoughts?

Maybe I should post ranges that go off of my experience with costume making?

IMO it doesn't seem like there is a concensus. Hence why I always ask for cup measurements (but that's sometimes tricky too depending on where exactly folks are measuring from).

There's no way I can fit into 5" vertical as I'm a large C / small D. usually 6" V x 7" D / H 8" tops works.

pm'ing you about something else.

Originally Posted by SaNoorah

IMO it doesn't seem like there is a concensus. Hence why I always ask for cup measurements (but that's sometimes tricky too depending on where exactly folks are measuring from).

There's no way I can fit into 5" vertical as I'm a large C / small D. usually 6" V x 7" D / H 8" tops works.

pm'ing you about something else.

exactly! As a C cup 5" vertically is impossible. I consider 5" vertical to be a B cup. if the sides are 6 and 7. I wish there was a chart I guess.

I found this Bra Size Calculator, but I don't know how precise is it since every brand seems to have its own sizing.

Originally Posted by Indotari

I found this Bra Size Calculator, but I don't know how precise is it since every brand seems to have its own sizing.

thanks so much! The bra size calculator was way off (said i was a AA hahaahha) but the bra converter was cool. it shows what i was hinting about...that an american 34c/32d is in fact a 34D in european sizes. My body double would always say shes a 34D but we have the same measurements and i am 34c. cool to know thanks!

Now onto finding an accurate bra size calculator!

Here is some info that I have used on figleaves.com that might help. Scroll down to the bottom for the euro sizes.

http://www.figleaves.com/us/fitting_...a6_size_charts

Originally Posted by Jennifer Bellydance

thanks so much! The bra size calculator was way off (said i was a AA hahaahha) but the bra converter was cool. it shows what i was hinting about...that an american 34c/32d is in fact a 34D in european sizes. My body double would always say shes a 34D but we have the same measurements and i am 34c. cool to know thanks!

Now onto finding an accurate bra size calculator!

wow i'm cup bigger in Europe than here- I'm also a 34C

Okay, this style of measuring - in inches horizontally, vertically and diagonally - had me interested, so I pulled out a bra pattern that I have.

Now, as a caveat, I'm not wholely impressed with this pattern - i don't think they've graded it quite correctly, but as an exercise, it's proving quite interesting.

(Please note, I'm an Aussie, so these are all in centimetres and Aussie sizes, although I've tried to convert into inches. Also, I only have my size 16 and up pattern in front of me, I'll try and do my size 10-14 in the next week or so, and do a more informative chart.)

The band-to-bra cup measurements are:



So, I measured the pattern horizontally and vertically (minus seam allowances) and the measurements I've come up with are:



What this means (if my measurements are correct and the pattern was good) is that if you have, for example, a band measurement of 38 inches, a horizontal measurement of 10 inches and a vertical measurement of 9 inches, it's likely that it will fit a 16DD.

Now, of course, please take this with a pinch of salt, and I'm quite happy to be contradicted, but I'm hoping that this will be helpful.

Hmm, sorry if it sounds like I'm speaking gobbledegook in that last bit! I have a tendancy to get carried away with these things, especially when it's something that I'm greatly interested in.
Is anybody interested in seeing the smaller size measurements? Otherwise I won't worry about it.

Jennifer, consider that most don't realize that cup size is relative to band size. So someone quoting a B cup could be quoting 32B, 34B, 36B, etc. and these are all different sizes of actual cups.

I created a post some time ago in which I tried to highlight the differences: How do you determine if a costume bra will fit?

The summary came from several years of buying bras that didn't fit

MirahmarArati's bra guide somewhat demonstrates this, but it doesn't quite match what I read about bra manufacturers: that they use the same cup (volume and shape) on different band sizes. So bra cup on a 32D is the same bra cup on a 34C (for the same manufacturer) - they are just slightly further apart.

As for bra calculators, I have found that if your cup size is >D and/or your ribcage size is 30 or less they absolutely don't work. They calculate that I'm a 34B. That would be VERY family unfriendly and I'd be afraid to breathe!

Hope this helps somewhat...

@Tatiana; this is totally why i started this thread. I want to see if i can find any sort of mathematical correlation that I can use to make some sort of chart that has true ranges in vert,horiz,diag, measurements in inches/cm for each U.S. letter size. Then take that and convert it to true european size. whew! thats a mouth full aint it. When I make costumes for people it is always funny when i hear "oh i'm a c cup" and then they come to me and really they are off. I think If i am lucky to find the right chart out there or formulate my own that is truly universal...that would be AWESOME!

Originally Posted by Jennifer Bellydance

@Tatiana; this is totally why i started this thread. I want to see if i can find any sort of mathematical correlation that I can use to make some sort of chart that has true ranges in vert,horiz,diag, measurements in inches/cm for each U.S. letter size. Then take that and convert it to true european size. whew! thats a mouth full aint it. When I make costumes for people it is always funny when i hear "oh i'm a c cup" and then they come to me and really they are off. I think If i am lucky to find the right chart out there or formulate my own that is truly universal...that would be AWESOME!

I certainly hope you can come up with something - that would be awesome.

I have many bras and they are all different sizes and shapes, yet they still fit (good thing I'm...um...malleable!). I've developed a formula in a spreadsheet that works for me. I'd be happy to send it to you, but I have no idea if it would work for anyone else. PM me if you're interested... :-)