Average bra size?

When I see a statistic about the average bra size, I don’t believe it … not unless the ‘study’ has a sample size of at least a thousand random participants (women who walk into a V.S. or Fredericks in a mall are NOT random participants).  Maybe women visiting their doctor?   It’s a public health issue, so why not?

Also, I would want the measurements taken by people trained to measure women properly … having nothing to do with what size women SAY they are.  Women play all sorts of mind games with their bodies and sizes.  When I was a kid, I used to wish my shoe size was larger … to show I was growing up faster.  Thankfully, I outgrew that.  Some women never seem to outgrow that mindset.  Shoe size, dress size, jeans size, bra size … they are subject to self-loathing, wishful thinking or other mind games.  Sad but true.

The average bra size is probably around 36C or 38C due to the fact that obesity is an epidemic in North America (I’d say 34C was probably the average up until the 60s and 70s).  Hormones in food (meat) might be increasing the average … possibly augmentation as well.  People confuse band size and cup size and something like 34D or 36DD show a very large cup size on a medium-ish frame.  As has been pointed out the following is NOT true:  32D = 34C = 36B = 38A.  If you think so, you are probably doing it wrong as lillyann12 and others pointed out.

I also find it kinda funny that women say they can’t find 34D or other sizes in stores.  That’s a pretty easy size to find but even ‘unusual’ sizes are easier to find if you go internet/mail order.  I’ve bought lingerie for lady friends from VS, Fredericks, One Haynes Place and probably some other e-tailers over the years and have no problems …  and am often able to buy on sale.  You can’t get everything you want in every size … but you should be able to get by OK.  Yes, I know you can’t try them on, but at a discount, you can afford to toss every 3rd or 4th out as unsuitable for one reason or another.

And, of course, I see that many flat-chested women here want to be buxom … and the buxom women often think their boobs are gross and make them look fat.   Some things never change.

 For 34D to be the average bra size I have found it extremely hard to find bras in my size(which is 34D). Walmart doesn't even carry them. And when I do luck up on one, they are designed for wearing under turtlenecks.I need my bust to feel young again and also to find a swimsuit that caters to them.HELP......

I've got a 34D. Nice. *Admires perfect proportions* :P

Yeah, and brsolelady, I totally agree. I cannot find this size ANYWHERE! ARGH!

Hmmm ... not sure what is so difficult.  I'll admit I have never shopped for gifts in that particular size but it seems to be one of the more common ones.

A quick search turned up these options on just one site:

http://www.onehanesplace.com/webapp/commerce/ command/ExecMacro/BraFinderResult.d2w/report? Bra_Size=34D&tqty=30&feature1=&fe ature2=&feature3=

Also, V.S. is currently having a sale ... and there are still other re/e-tailers.  Should be plenty to choose from out there.

thats funny because most guys i know prefer a c/b cup which would mean they technically prefer smaller than average boobies. that does seem like an unlikely size to be average considering it is a hard size to find. i know those kind of proportions to strap/cup are difficult from experience, im a 32C and its impossible to find, even specialty stores like VS only carries some brands in that size.

Because of these "average" bra size numbers, my issue is finding tops that fit! I am 5'1" but I have never been petite. I have a curvy/muscular build. Finding tops was never an issue until the last 4 years. I was 34B when I started college (1990). I remember when I hit 36C in 1994. I was like I am finally "average" hahaha

I am now a 44DD! They don't bother me and they do make my tummy look slimmer. I don't have any problems finding bras but I am willing to spend a little more for a bra that fits correctly. Jill Scott's new bra line at Ashley Stewart is nice (Ashley Stewart is nice period, Lane Bryant needs to step up their game big time before I would ever shop there). Back to the bras; all the major department stores have my size (Macy's, Belk's, JCPenneys, etc.) and if you have been properly measured, you can shop online  I just need tops that cover my casaba melons with sleeves that are not too long for my arms LOL

People automatically assume that I have back problems but I apparently was built for this "shelf". I had someone that I had not seen since college ask if I had a boob job...LOL I'd happily do a transplant to my less busty girlfriends but I think my fiancee would have a problem with that.

"that’s funny because most guys I know prefer a C/B cup …"

darkylinky, I’m not sure if most guys really understand cup sizes when they say things like that.  Regardless, in general (nice) guys will say they like a smaller/slimmer bust when in the company of smaller women.  It’s just simple politeness … and slimmer/slender is more healthy so it’s not a complete fabrication, but likely a one-sided comment biased towards the current audience.

Want to know what guys really like best? This coming fall, take a look at the 2010 Playboy calendar.  Calendars usually have small pictures of all the months on their back cover.  I predict at least 9 or 10 of the women featured will be a C or D cup … or larger.  The company has been in business as long as it has because it knows what most men like (ideally, of course).

The truth is, big boobs are wonderful.  They are wonderful in the way chocolate is wonderful … or sports cars are wonderful.  While neither is 100% practical or beneficial, their overwhelming appeal to the opposite sex is undeniable.  And, if you are overweight, large boobs are the silver lining around what can be a depressing cloud.  As change_in_sc said above, they can hide a modest tummy bulge and other weight-related imperfections.  Not everyone can be an itsy-bitsy ballerina or emaciated runway model  … and that’s OK because that is not what most men like best, anyway.

But, just like I wouldn’t want to subsist solely on a diet of chocolate ... or try to take 3 or 4 friends out to dinner in a Porsche 911 … I would never insist on a partner with large boobs.

Speaking of which, the woman I love most in this world is as flat-chested as an ironing board.  I do push-ups (I max out around 40 at one time) and my pectoral muscles practically dwarf her breasts.  If she were single (she’s not) I would marry her in a caffeine heartbeat.  Suffice it to say that what draws me to her is what a wonderful person she is, not any physical attribute(s) she has.

I'm a former Certified Bra Fitter at Jockey.  I worked there for over a year, and from my vast experience fitting all shapes and sizes, I'd say the average is about a 38B-C. Also, the band size up-cup size down rule does apply.  I used it many, many times to appropriately fit someone who was not wearing the correct size.  That would be 8 out of 10, ladies.  GET FITTED!  I'm a 36B myself.

36B and the VS biofit rox!

I don't give a funk what men prefer! ;) I want B/Cs damn it!!

Well, as far as myself, on a good day I'm a 34D, post monthly visitor (wink, wink) or even a 32 is more suited to what I've been measured for recently. Pre...I'm more like a 32/34DD, at least for 3 weeks out of the month. I think I'm pretty "average", definitely NOT a supermodel by any means. 5'6" and between 125-130 pounds. And yes, as many have posted before, it's so HARD to find bras in my size...sigh! Victoria's Secret doesn't even carry them! They're DD's start at 36, no fair for us girls with smaller rib cages. I've shopped at Fredrick's and seemed to find what I'm looking for...they have a WAY better selection than anywhere else I've been.

As far as being average, I have to say more and more frequently I'm noticing women that tend to have larger "bubbies" these days. But mostly you can only notice cup size without asking. And who's really gunna do that anyway LOL!?

Basically I think as God's creations we all come in different shapes and sizes, be bigger boobs or bigger butts, I have no idea if what "they" say is average is true, but I'm one here for sure

34D seems awfully big, though from reading this conversation i guess majority of you are US based?

I thought a C cup was average, certainely not a D, that seems at the lower end of the "large" scale

Im way above average wherever you are lol at a G cup

 I have been properly fitted for my bra size. I feel every lady should have it done. Once I did, I went from a 36C to a 34D. At that time I was able to find my size most anywhere. VS sales them for around 75.00 in the style I'm looking for. Can't afford that right now. I'm scared to shop online too much due to I.D.Theft. Sometimes (once in a blue moon) AVON will carry my size in a sexy style. But not often enough. I need plunge,Up-lift and also a strapless that can hold them up all day.

I just checked out the site you posted. Thanks for doing that. The bras they are showing is a good example of my shopping issue. Out of all those bras,There are only 2 to choose from. If you look at them closely,you will find almost to no clevege. No strapless. The reason I do know this is because I have bought most all these bras  except 3. Beware....before you order.....make sure it can be returned or you will have a bunch of bras that can only be worn during the winter and nothing to wear under cute sexy summer tops.Like even regular tank tops and sun dresses.

Original Post by brsolelady:

I just checked out the site you posted. Thanks for doing that. The bras they are showing is a good example of my shopping issue. Out of all those bras,There are only 2 to choose from. If you look at them closely,you will find almost to no clevege. No strapless. The reason I do know this is because I have bought most all these bras  except 3. Beware....before you order.....make sure it can be returned or you will have a bunch of bras that can only be worn during the winter and nothing to wear under cute sexy summer tops.Like even regular tank tops and sun dresses.

 Have you ever tried Fredrick's...?

BTW, believe it or not, Target sometimes has bras in my size. One's with good support even

Just read about a shop called Hips and Curves www.hipsandcurves.com

I can't pull them up because I am at work but some of you might want to check it out.

I'm 5'9 148 lbs, a between a size 6/8 depending on styles and cut, and I'm a 36A.  I wish they were bigger.  My upper body is small frame but my lower body is med/large.  My fingers overlap a little on my wrist but at my ankles my thumb and middle finger only make it half way around. I like to say that god spent so much time on my butt that he didn't leave much for my chest.  I feel that my body would look better proportioned if my boobs where a little bigger, maybe a low C.  I have thought about getting implants but I don't know.

I have to say I do not agree with that "new average".... I remember my mother telling me that a 34B was average, I could understand a 36C or so with our weight issues.  I have always been blessed, depending on my weight I go from a 36DDD to a 42EE.  I am also 5'9" but way over weight right now.  I have my moments that I love it, and my moments that I hate it, but either way it is what I was born with and I live with it.  Of course I look so much HOTTER when I am the 36DDD because that is when the rest of my body is more proportioned and I have a good hour glass figure.  Not now... but I hope to get back to that body again, and gsh bless it I will be happy with it!!! LOL

cptbunny: “I don't give a funk what men prefer!  I want B/Cs damn it!!”

Yeah … what guys prefer is “for entertainment purposes only.”  They don’t care about living with these things 24/7. Figure that what men desire is a full cup size more than what most women want to live with ... maybe two.   Of course, you don't always get what you want ... and sometimes you shouldn't.

mamachula220: “But mostly you can only notice cup size without asking.”

When the circumstances permit, I’ve told women that I can guess their bra size … and two out of three times I get it right with the first guess.  The trick to getting the band size right is to ask them to turn around so you can see their back.  Figuring out cup size is pretty easy after that.

Brsolelady: “I have been properly fitted for my bra size.  I feel every lady should have it done.”

Absolutely!  You will look and feel better … especially as you get older.   It’s not just style and glamour … but a basic health issue as well.  It’s like wearing the wrong size shoe.  After a while, you will pay a high price! 

Angelaimes: “I feel that my body would look better proportioned if my boobs where a little bigger … I have thought about getting implants but I don't know.”

It's a big decision … any surgery is a big decision.  The key is to want them for yourself and not let a boyfriend, husband, etc … pressure you into getting them.  Then, think of them as permanent … and not something you will have removed in 10 or 15 years after you’ve ‘had your fun.’  After considering all that for a few months, do you still want them?  What if you don't like the result?  That would be my biggest fear.

Pattskis, there are plenty of guys out there that like thin women … and it’s probably the healthiest body type when it comes to longevity.  As I noted above, I love curvy women but THE ONE woman I love more than all the rest is slim and completely flat chested.  Enjoy your petite proportions.  In addition to being the envy of most other women, you should remember that there's a lid for every pot. 

For everyone complaining about poor availability of a given size (and it's almost every-third poster, lately), I would write to the various manufacturers/retailers.  In this age of computer-controlled inventories, they should be adjusting for demand ... but I'm sure they would want to hear from dissatisfied potential customers.  Just be polite/professional when writing.  All have websites, many with built-in ways to send a quick note or comment, not even a full e-mail.