Bra Sizes

Anyone who has been paying attention to their sizes and weights and measures over the last 15 years has noticed that sizing scales are changing for many clothing makers. As Americans get bigger and bigger, so do all of the clothes that are made. There’s a psychological risk in the clothing industry that letting women buy larger and larger sizes will discourage them from buying new clothes, so as women grow, so do the clothes. What was a 10 15 years ago is now still called a size 10, but it fits someone who would have worn a size 12 15 years ago. Conversely, women who are staying the same size over time are having to buy clothing that is in smaller sizes than they used to buy. Is the same thing happening with bras?

Bra Sizes

When it comes to bra size, one would think that bra sizes would be unaffected by all of these changes in the clothing industry. Bra sizes are made up of a measurement in inches, as well as a cup size, so in theory, the number of inches can not change. A size 36 plus size bra should still measure 36 inches around, not 38, otherwise, bra sizes are not going to work anymore. Plus size bras are certainly needed by more and more women, but this is just a fact of life as Americans get bigger and bigger. It doesn’t make sense to change the sizes simply because women’s bodies are changing.

Men Involved

Women seldom wonder about Jessica Simpson's bra size, but there are plenty of men out there who are obsessed with wondering about that very topic. Using a bra size calculator, men try to figure out her bra size from her photos; they do the same thing to figure out what bra size Hilary Duff wears. This way of looking at celebrity bra sizes makes a kind of joke out of determining bra sizes among men. Instead of guessing bra sizes, women should be measuring bra sizes and keeping in mind average bra size statistics and not the statistics of the celebrities.

Further Measurements

Once the circumference around the chest is measured, it is necessary to determine bra cup size. This is especially important for women who are between bra sizes. For large size bras, it is not such a problem since larger size bras seem to have more margin for error in both directions. Super size bras are much easier to fit than for young girls getting their first bras.