One community on Reddit called A Bra That Fits believes it has designed a system to finally find your actual bra size, all from the comfort of your own home. What’s more, they’ve crowdsourced recommendations for every size, including some of the toughest sizes to shop for—the DD and up range. Below, find r/ABraThatFits’ guidelines for measuring yourself at home, plus the best-fitting, most comfortable bras for big boobs.
How to find your bra size
With a soft measuring tape, measure your underbust three times directly at the point where your breast tissue attaches to your torso—first measure loosely without allowing the tape to indent your flesh, then measure with the tape “comfortably snug” so that it indents the flesh slightly, and lastly measure as tightly as possible while exhaling completely. Now, measure your bust three times as well. Start by measuring your bust (without wearing a bra or shirt) while standing. Then, measure while bending over at a 90º angle, and finally, measure while lying down on your back. Now, enter the above six measurements into this bra size calculator.
How to find your bra shape
As much as we wish that’s all it took to find a perfectly fitted bra, we all know bodies are unique and bras are complicated, so there is one more step. To find your breast shape (and in turn, the proper bra you should be wearing) you’ll need to figure out your projection and your fullness. To determine whether your breast shape is more projected or more shallow, try holding up a pencil with the underside of your boob. Projected breasts have more of a fold on their bottom half and should be able to keep the pencil in place, whereas shallow breasts have less of a fold or no fold at all. Shallow breasts should pay close attention to that characteristic when selecting bras. Projected breasts should refer to their fullness level specifically. To determine your fullness, without wearing a bra, bend over 90º from the hips and assess your profile in a mirror. If you have more tissue above your nipple, your breasts are full on top, if you have more flesh below the nipple, your breasts are full on the bottom. If the flesh seems evenly distributed above and below the nipple, your breasts have even fullness. To buy: $12–131; amazon.com. Parfait Charlotte Padded PlungeReddit user u/SaltyBlackBroad has heard great feedback from customers at her lingerie boutique. “One of my customers came in today and said she loves how high it is on the sides and the support she’s getting. She fits one of their bras in a 38E, but the 38F in Charlotte is working for her. One of her friends got the bra, and she said she likes how her ‘girls’ walk in the room before she does.” To buy: $11–103; amazon.com. b.tempt’d by Wacoal Women’s Ciao Bella Balconette Bra“The colors are beautiful. The Cappuccino has a soft blue base with cappuccino (light brown) lace overlaid. The straps are also light brown and adjustable only half the length of the entire strap. The Tile Blue has a bright green base with turquoise lace overlaid,” says Reddit user u/fwootbat. “The straps are also blue. The band runs true to size and so do the cups. While it could be considered a lightly molded cup, I don’t have any problems with filling them out with my shallow ladies. These are two of my favorite bras now.” To buy: $10–68; amazon.com. Cleo Women’s Neve Plunge Bra“I got a Cleo Neve and I finally feel like I have a bra that fits. My new Cleo is a 32F. Band size is comfortably tight on the largest hook. Great lift and no gaping at the top,” says Redditor u/m1chellec. To buy: $17–79; amazon.com. Cleo Women’s Juna Balconnet Bra“I wear a 34H. I’ve tried Panache Jasmine, Minnie, and Juna,” says user u/Aben907. “They all fit reasonably well but the Juna was the best, most comfortable of the three.” To buy: $27; amazon.com. To buy: $25–74; amazon.com. Elomi Women’s Caitlyn Underwire Side-Support BraRedditor u/lottebagpipe loves this style. “I’ve FINALLY found the bra of my dreams, the Elomi Caitlyn in a 34H. It’s the best fitting bra I’ve ever owned.” To buy: $18–55; amazon.com. Panache Women’s Envy Stretch Lace Full-Cup Bra“Absolutely perfect in every way,” according to Reddit user u/Ciovala. To buy: $9–73; amazon.com. To buy: $13–92; amazon.com. Cleo Women’s Lucy Balconette BraReddit user u/lubbadubdub093 says, “I actually feel supported for the first time — even as my breasts are small, the tissues are really soft and move around my ribcage uncomfortably just from walking in ill-fitting bras. This is the first bra that doesn’t do that.” To buy: $27; amazon.com. To buy: $18–55; amazon.com. Panache Women’s Andorra Full Cup Bra“A suggestion here lead me to the Andorra Plunge, which I’m very happy to say works!” says Redditor u/KexinZhao. To buy: $22–63; amazon.com. Panache Women’s Envy Stretch Lace Full-Cup BraAnother style that suits multiple shapes, this bra fits full-on-top, even fullness, and full-on-bottom breasts. Reddit user u/Ciovala says it’s “Absolutely perfect in every way.” To buy: $9–73; amazon.com. Panache Women’s Clara Balconette“The best fit out of the bras I tried on was surprisingly the 30FF Clara bra. I was surprised because …. 30 bands pretty much never work out for me,” says user u/LateNightLattes01. “The straps were great. The stretch lace was perfect. 👌 I never seem to fill out the top of any bra cup no matter the size so that was a great feature.” To buy: $32–67; amazon.com. Panache Women’s Jasmine Balconnet BraIn u/ButTheBoobies’ experience, “The underwires on this bra feel perfect. I mean it. Perfect for me. And the top lace is perfect. And the lift is perfect. And the firm band feels perfect.” To buy: $33–92; amazon.com. To buy: $50 (was $60); amazon.com. Panache Women’s Envy Stretch Lace Full-Cup Bra“Absolutely perfect in every way,” according to Reddit user u/Ciovala. To buy: $9–73; amazon.com. Cleo Marcie Balconnet Bra “Marcie is pretty much perfect and I only get one small wrinkle at the inner cup by the gore on my bigger boob, which is awesome for me!” says Redditor u/xarelus. To buy: $32–56; amazon.com. Panache Women’s Jasmine Balconnet BraEverything about this bra just works, according to Reddit user u/ButTheBoobies. “The underwires on this bra feel perfect. I mean it. Perfect for me. And the top lace is perfect. And the lift is perfect. And the firm band feels perfect.” To buy: $33–92; amazon.com. Curvy Kate Women’s Dreamcatcher Balcony Bra“My best fitting bra is a Curvy Kate Dreamcatcher — it’s a smiiiiiiidge too wide in the wires (it’s less than an inch from the end of my breast tissue in my armpits),” says u/amarprestar. “It’s very comfortable, and I own it in two colors now (beige and teal). I wear it whenever possible.” To buy: $15–53; amazon.com.
