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Well-Fitting Foundation Garments


Mlle. Zabzie

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1 hour ago, mormont said:

I don't think this is meant to come off as badly as it does but when a cishet guy comments on a woman's statement about average bra sizes, that's a context in which it's easy to appear a bit... crass.

Anyway, so far as I know in the UK, US and many northern European countries the average cup size is a 34D or 36D so 34DD is only one size up from there. Which is basically an average size, I'd say?

Apologies, I meant that to be a light hearted joke because I had always read and heard that a C cup is considered average. Point taken.

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Something to keep in mind about undergarments. We always hear that most women are wearing the incorrect size bra, but a few years ago I also read that many women wear the incorrect size of underwear. Maybe because they are in denial about the weight they've put on, maybe for another reason. But the person who wrote the article pointed out that by wearing underwear a size too small we are putting pressure on the lymph nodes located at the top of the leg, interfering with their flushing function. This can cause problems.

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11 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Apologies, I meant that to be a light hearted joke because I had always read and heard that a C cup is considered average. Point taken.

The thing is that C cup isn't the same size so that's somewhat meaningless. For example, I wear a 32C but sometimes a 34B. I've worn 36A without problems, and have one odd bra that's a 32D. So it doesn't really mean anything for me to say I'm a C cup vs an A cup.

(And I'm definitely on the smaller side of average.)

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A 36A, 34B, and 32C are all technically supposed to have the same cup volume. The letter isn't a constant - it's the difference between the band size and the actual cup size in inches. (I only figured this out after I lost weight but gained a cup size. It's all weirdly obscure.) In practice there's a lot of variety between brands and I have no idea how much producers actually stick to the system, much less who thought it would be a good system, but I guess if we say C/D/whatever is average, that tells us nothing about average breast volume per se, but about average breast to body ratio. (A stretch, I know. It's early.)

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19 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Apologies, I meant that to be a light hearted joke because I had always read and heard that a C cup is considered average. Point taken.

I wasn't fussed by it, speaking for myself.

D is only one inch larger than a C though (within the same back size). I was just basing my comment off my own personal experience as a bra buying lady of 20+ years - a D cup is pretty common. The whole 'OMG DOUBLE D WOWSERS!!' type comment is a bit outdated* now because everyone is getting bigger. See also average shoe sizes.

*and when anyone says 'and she was a DD!!!11' you know that person's views are a little dated too :)

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10 hours ago, Starkess said:

The thing is that C cup isn't the same size so that's somewhat meaningless. For example, I wear a 32C but sometimes a 34B. I've worn 36A without problems, and have one odd bra that's a 32D. So it doesn't really mean anything for me to say I'm a C cup vs an A cup.

(And I'm definitely on the smaller side of average.)

 

3 hours ago, Isis said:

I wasn't fussed by it, speaking for myself.

D is only one inch larger than a C though (within the same back size). I was just basing my comment off my own personal experience as a bra buying lady of 20+ years - a D cup is pretty common. The whole 'OMG DOUBLE D WOWSERS!!' type comment is a bit outdated* now because everyone is getting bigger. See also average shoe sizes.

*and when anyone says 'and she was a DD!!!11' you know that person's views are a little dated too :)

I meant to say 34C. I was going off of the last thing I read which was a study that concluded that the average cup size had risen from a 34B at the beginning of the twentieth century to a 34C at the beginning of the twenty first century and just general conversations I’ve had with women who basically reinforced the view that a 34C was about average. But after doing a little googling last night it seems fairly obvious that the methodology in the study was off because a lot has changed in the last decade. So it would appear that I was wrong. You learn something new every day.

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3 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

 

I meant to say 34C. I was going off of the last thing I read which was a study that concluded that the average cup size had risen from a 34B at the beginning of the twentieth century to a 34C at the beginning of the twenty first century and just general conversations I’ve had with women who basically reinforced the view that a 34C was about average. But after doing a little googling last night it seems fairly obvious that the methodology in the study was off because a lot has changed in the last decade. So it would appear that I was wrong. You learn something new every day.

I have been sort of surprised at the idea the average bra size is 34C, based soley on my own personal experience as I've gained weight over the years. I just idly searched some numbers, and the average woman in the US now weighs 166.5 lbs, what the average man weighed in the 1980s. That has to be a lot more than what the average woman weighed in 1900, wouldn't you think?

It's hard to judge by what is in shops, though, since most stores seem to simply ignore larger sized women, a constant complaint about all clothing.

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Re: what are average sizes:

Are you all sure you are using the same sizing system? I was surprised to read that a D was an average cup, because I used to think I was about average-sized in that department, and I wear a B (European). Right now I found a definition that says a B is considered the standard cup and a C already means bigger breasts. Bra sizes are a weird and mysterious science. Anyway, here is a converter table. European sizing does not use these double-lettered thingies, which makes the thing even more confusing.

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4 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I have been sort of surprised at the idea the average bra size is 34C, based soley on my own personal experience as I've gained weight over the years. I just idly searched some numbers, and the average woman in the US now weighs 166.5 lbs, what the average man weighed in the 1980s. That has to be a lot more than what the average woman weighed in 1900, wouldn't you think?

It's hard to judge by what is in shops, though, since most stores seem to simply ignore larger sized women, a constant complaint about all clothing.

Yeah, that's one thing I didn't really consider until I did a little research last night. In my defense, the only women I've ever talked to about bra sizes have been exs and friends, and all of them are still under 30 and almost none of them have kids, which probably affects my perception.

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9 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Yeah, that's one thing I didn't really consider until I did a little research last night. In my defense, the only women I've ever talked to about bra sizes have been exs and friends, and all of them are still under 30 and almost none of them have kids, which probably affects my perception.

I wasn't directly referring to you with when I said that the 'OMG DD' thing indicates the person has outdated views btw. It is a fairly common for that to be thrown around. It's just a bit old-fashioned is all.

Anyways - on a different note - I've just got some wicked thermal shorts for wearing under short dresses in winter if anyone wants the info. I spend a fair bit of time outside - working behind an otudoor bar, drinking at outdoor bars, drinking in breweries and beer festivals. And I don't always want to wear jeans for the entire winter. But often your backside gets cold if it's only covered by a pair of tights and a dress. Et voila! Thermal shorts are the answer. :)

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3 hours ago, Isis said:

I wasn't directly referring to you with when I said that the 'OMG DD' thing indicates the person has outdated views btw. It is a fairly common for that to be thrown around. It's just a bit old-fashioned is all.

Anyways - on a different note - I've just got some wicked thermal shorts for wearing under short dresses in winter if anyone wants the info. I spend a fair bit of time outside - working behind an otudoor bar, drinking at outdoor bars, drinking in breweries and beer festivals. And I don't always want to wear jeans for the entire winter. But often your backside gets cold if it's only covered by a pair of tights and a dress. Et voila! Thermal shorts are the answer. :)

I go with full leggings for most of the winter with boots.  I have really skinny calves so I go with legwarmers or long loose knit socks to fill the gap.  A thermal short would seriously expand my wardrobe!  Please post the info!  Our fall break is over the coldest time of the year and I also spend a great deal of time outside trying to look cute during the holiday.  I think my carrolling group would be really keen on them too.  We attack bring Christmas cheer to about 10-12 bars on a walking tour the Friday before Christmas every year.  It's always really cold and whisky sometimes isn't enough to keep us warm in our dresses.

Edit:  Thanks for the assurance on the whole D /DD thing.  I'll admit to getting a bit bigger all over in the last year or 2, but I'm certainly still on the small side for a Southern woman.

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Jesus Christ.  It's not even 8am.

More on socks:  Has anyone tried those little socks you wear with ballet flats?  I like a ballet flat for the summer / spring, but with my long workday they get rank pretty fast if I wear them with bare feet.  

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5 hours ago, Isis said:

I wasn't directly referring to you with when I said that the 'OMG DD' thing indicates the person has outdated views btw. It is a fairly common for that to be thrown around. It's just a bit old-fashioned is all.

Last thing I’ll say in this thread if the fellas need to bow out. I wasn’t actually going for the “ZOMG, look at how big her breasts are” line. It was more like, “Really, you think that’s average?” It reminded me of an instance in high school when a good friend of mine said that 10 inches was average for a guy, and then when she held her hands up they were basically 4 inches apart.

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1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

Last thing I’ll say in this thread if the fellas need to bow out. I wasn’t actually going for the “ZOMG, look at how big her breasts are” line. It was more like, “Really, you think that’s average?” It reminded me of an instance in high school when a good friend of mine said that 10 inches was average for a guy, and then when she held her hands up they were basically 4 inches apart.

Fellas wear foundation garments too and IMO are welcome here to discuss them, and their experiences with brands, fit, and style.  It's just that this thread is about the clothes, not what goes in them.  It's shallow that way :P

Wholly separately, I need these thermal shorts which are being spoken of.  NYC is freaking cold in the winter.  I actually have a couple of sets of ski silks that I wear as long underwear.  Very warm, but not overbearing and useful for days when one is going to be in and out.  

Separately, I also want to understand how socks and legwarmers help with the skinny ankle problem.  I have wide feet and skinny ankles and anemic calves.  How do you fit your feet in the boot with the socks?  How do the legwarmers not bunch up as you walk around?  I have QUESTIONS and demand ANSWERS :):)

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4 hours ago, Lily Valley said:

Jesus Christ.  It's not even 8am.

More on socks:  Has anyone tried those little socks you wear with ballet flats?  I like a ballet flat for the summer / spring, but with my long workday they get rank pretty fast if I wear them with bare feet.  

I've worn the ankle sports sock equivalent, but they do not work for me. I believe my sister loves them though, buying the nylon variety.

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2 hours ago, Mlle. Zabzie said:

Separately, I also want to understand how socks and legwarmers help with the skinny ankle problem.  I have wide feet and skinny ankles and anemic calves.  How do you fit your feet in the boot with the socks?  How do the legwarmers not bunch up as you walk around?  I have QUESTIONS and demand ANSWERS :):)

Zabz for winter boots I always choose a size I can wear with a thicker sock.  For mid-calf and knee high boots, I do sock and then legwarmer, put on the boots and then tuck the extra legwarmer into the top of the boot.  I usually wear these with leggings, so if they bunch a bit it still blends.  If they ALMOST fit my calf, I can go with the thick knitted socks.  I have also cut the bottom of the legwarmer off for boots that fit the ankle and not the calf.  Mostly I'm just closing the gap and creating an illusion that my boots fit.  Works with any of the boots on this page.

https://www.zappos.com/women-boots/CK_XARCz1wE6BM4TzxPAAQHiAgQBAgcY.zso

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Wool work socks are the way to go. I wear steel toed work boots at work and have done so as a requirement for over 40 years. They absorb sweat much better than any cotton or synthetic fiber can and are quite comfy. Fashionwise they may not stand out but comfort is everything for me.

As for underwear,  cotton is all I can take close to my skin. Synthetics tend to give me a rash when I sweat. 

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