The tag #abrathatfits racked up 32.4 million views on TikTok as of Thursday, and the online calculator received so much traffic that it crashed for two days.Ī Bra That Fits is now on TikTok! from ABraThatFits Most, like Charisse, found that they've been wearing a larger band than they need to, with a smaller cup, so bras never quite fit comfortably. Since Charisse posted her video, thousands of other people have used the calculator to figure out their updated bra size. While the community has been around since 2010, it's now receiving a new wave of attention thanks to TikTok. The subreddit r/ABraThatFits is a longtime advocate for leaving the 'plus four' method in the past. Retailer Curvy Kate, which specializes in extended sizing, describes this as a 'vicious circle' in which brands aren't motivated to manufacture more sizes, and customers are sized incorrectly to fit into whatever retailers have in stock. With few options for extended sizing, customers often buy bras based on what they can fit into, rather than what fits them. That prevents uncomfortable underwire digging, and ensures the wearer 'fills' the cup.īecause most people don't know their true size, there's little demand for extended sizing, and retailers continue to stock a limited scale of sizes. In addition to wearing the wrong size, most bra wearers don't 'swoop and scoop' their breasts into the bra's cups, which molds the breast tissue into shape rather than allowing the bra to 'sit' on top of it. That provides support via the band, rather than the straps, which can alleviate some of the neck and shoulder pain people experience while wearing bras.

Without using the 'plus four' method, that person could be a 32D, which has a similar cup volume but much more tightly fitting band. And while the cup size may fit, they'd receive support from the bra's straps, rather than the band, which can put additional strain on their shoulders and make wearing bras uncomfortable.

Under these sizing guidelines, someone with a 32-inch underbust and a 36-inch bust measurement would be sized as a 36A. Even though today's bras are made with elastic fabric to account for breathing room, most retailers still size bras using the 'plus four' method. A one-inch difference is an A cup, two inches is a B cup, three is a C cup, four is a D cup, and so on.īut that 'plus four' method - an antiquated practice tracing back to the 1950s when bras were manufactured with fabric like silk and satin that didn't stretch, doesn't make sense with modern day textiles. The measurement around your underbust - the area around your ribcage where your breast tissue ends - and the additional four inches is supposedly your band size, and the difference between that number and the measurement around where your breasts are the most projected from your body is your cup size. Most American retailers and lingerie brands size bras by measuring the underbust, adding four inches (five if the underbust measurement is an odd number) and subtracting the total from the bust measurement. She demonstrated this using a sock filled with rice even though the amount of rice in the sock didn't change, reshaping it to be wider and flatter made it appear vastly different from when it was more narrow. Though they may be the same size, the wider-set breasts will appear to be more shallow. In other words, breasts that take up less lateral space can appear larger than breasts that are spread across a wider space. A breast that is rooted to the chest wall over a smaller surface area, the creator explained, is going to seem more projected from the torso than breast tissue rooted over a larger one. That's because cup size is measured by volume, not visual projection. People began discovering they'd been wearing the wrong bra size in early April, when lingerie model turned lingerie educator Madison Alexandra posted a video showing viewers how two very differently shaped breasts could actually be the same size. This viral breast size calculator that blew up on TikTok may change the way you think about bra sizes entirely. Stay updated with the latest in Tech, Science, Culture, Entertainment, and more by following our Telegram channel here.

Tiktok bra size calculator