I've said it before and I'll say it again ( sorry!!)...
1) There is a difference in body structure between guys and gals ( wot, reeely??) so the 'add 4 or 5 to the measured under size' doesn't work for men ( actually it doesn't work for women either but that's a different matter).
2) Men generally have broader chests than women i.e. forgetting fat coverage and musculature, the rib cage is bigger for men.
3)That means that starting from a flat male chest, the nipples are farther apart so when boobs start developing they are farther apart as well..hence why we nearly all have a gap in the middle.
4) Men generally have bigger chest muscles and that tends to cause a 'bulge' towards the sternum, which is why, in addition to the gap, ours also tend to point a bit sideways.
5) Following 2-4 above, the bra cups are positioned wrongly on the band to properly fit a male with breasts.
6) Now coming to 'standard' bra sizing...the old 'add 4 or 5' was developed way back before the 2nd WW when there was no such thing as stretch fabric and that was a way of allowing for breathing! That is no longer the case and although it is still quoted it is irrelevant with modern bra's. I can squeeze into a 32 band, 34 is Ok but a bit tight and 36 is fine ( except I have one 36 that I can barely do up!) but the add 4 or 5 method would put me in a 40 or even 42!!
7) Cup size is based on the difference between the two measurements as we all know, so in theory a 42AA= 40A= 38B= 36C= 34D= 32DD but if ( in theory) the VOLUME of the cup is the same in each case then simple common sense says that although a 32DD is huge, a 42AA is very small if not actually unnoticeable.
Bottom line? The bra size is totally irrelevant, the only thing two things that matter are, Is it comfortable? and Does it look OK?
Oh, and one other curved ball to throw in...these days very many bra's from both major brand names and chain stores are actually made in the Far East... just think of the body shape and relative size of many (most?) oriental women...and we wonder why their bra's don't fit us??
1) There is a difference in body structure between guys and gals ( wot, reeely??) so the 'add 4 or 5 to the measured under size' doesn't work for men ( actually it doesn't work for women either but that's a different matter).
2) Men generally have broader chests than women i.e. forgetting fat coverage and musculature, the rib cage is bigger for men.
3)That means that starting from a flat male chest, the nipples are farther apart so when boobs start developing they are farther apart as well..hence why we nearly all have a gap in the middle.
4) Men generally have bigger chest muscles and that tends to cause a 'bulge' towards the sternum, which is why, in addition to the gap, ours also tend to point a bit sideways.
5) Following 2-4 above, the bra cups are positioned wrongly on the band to properly fit a male with breasts.
6) Now coming to 'standard' bra sizing...the old 'add 4 or 5' was developed way back before the 2nd WW when there was no such thing as stretch fabric and that was a way of allowing for breathing! That is no longer the case and although it is still quoted it is irrelevant with modern bra's. I can squeeze into a 32 band, 34 is Ok but a bit tight and 36 is fine ( except I have one 36 that I can barely do up!) but the add 4 or 5 method would put me in a 40 or even 42!!
7) Cup size is based on the difference between the two measurements as we all know, so in theory a 42AA= 40A= 38B= 36C= 34D= 32DD but if ( in theory) the VOLUME of the cup is the same in each case then simple common sense says that although a 32DD is huge, a 42AA is very small if not actually unnoticeable.
Bottom line? The bra size is totally irrelevant, the only thing two things that matter are, Is it comfortable? and Does it look OK?
Oh, and one other curved ball to throw in...these days very many bra's from both major brand names and chain stores are actually made in the Far East... just think of the body shape and relative size of many (most?) oriental women...and we wonder why their bra's don't fit us??