G cup?
 

Didn't know where else to put this..

Like many of you, I've been spending a lot of time at home. Once the little things are done, I tend to watch a lot of TV. Along with the program material, there are a lot of commercials on. If I see one more ad for Medicare advantage plans, I'm going to look up Joe Namath and punch him. :)

Another thing advertised a lot is women's clothing, especially ... uh ... intimate items. One of the advertisers is Knix, who I had never heard of before:

1. There are women over 50 (no kidding, I married one)
2. Period panties (I think I've figured this one out)
3. Bras

Now, as very young adolescent males, we were fascinated with bras. We knew the number meant the circumference (still not sure how that's done) and the letter(s) meant the cup size. As far as we all knew, cup sizes were A, B, C, and D, with double-D (DD) and maybe triple-D (DDD). That seemed to cover everything.

But Knix advertises their bras "up to cup size G". G !? What does that stand for, Gigantic? Is there an E and F, or did they just skip over them?

Is this a real thing and could someone explain (in whatever detail you find appropriate) just what this is all about?

OK - did a little research.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bra_size

It turns out:

D = D
DD = E
DDD = F
DDDD = G

And the table goes all the way up to R!

Over the bust/band measurement difference and cup size [67][68]
Difference (inches) <1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Cupsize U.S. AA A B C D DD/E DDD/F DDDD/G H I J K L M N O P Q R
Cupsize Austr. AA A B C D DD E F G H I J K L M N O P
Cupsize UK AA A B C D DD E F FF G GG H HH J JJ K KK L LL M

The things you learn these days. :)

How about on a site dedicated to lingerie instead of one dedicated to Women Travelers?

Or Omni, if you really had to put it on FlyerTalk.

There are two starter things to know about bras
1. People often buy and suffer wearing the wrong size or shape bra. There's a rather useful subreddit for "A bra that fits". The letter is a differential between under the chest measurement to the fuller part so a 28D might look different than a 34D to a person (ahem, esp adolescent males who like "stats") who doesn't understand the sizing chart, proportion, breast shape, gravity, and bra designs.
2. WFH life often means comfy clothes and that extends to more comfortable bras (or none). If someone's chest looks different it might just be a different bra.

I guess I put this here in case of future searches because #1 shouldn't be tribal knowledge.

Young bra wearers shouldn't feel pressured into really uncomfortable and/or poorly fitting bras. Sizing also changes over time and a "good bra" won't last forever. For FT Women Travelers on topic - wear the comfy one on long haul travel.

For the curious non-bra wearers - having some numbers and letters is a reference point for sizing within a brand, hopefully translating to other brands. Just like shoes or jeans, women's underwear sizing & fit can be different between brands or within brand models. It is really just a reference point and not something be in awe over. If anything, larger cup to band proportions mostly get sympathy from experienced bra wearers because larger cup size bras can be really expensive & specialty items. There's also often back pain associated with it. Women's clothing sizing often has wide variation or liberal interpretation while men's sizing tends to be a bit more standardized.

Menstrual cups are a thing nowadays, too.

What freecia writes is correct. Many years ago, Oprah dedicated an entire episode of her show to the issue. Women have been wearing the wrong bra size for years, mostly because stores (whether, back in the day, the then-ubiquitous Victoria's Secret that every college student and twenty-something professional shopped at or the department store lingerie department) tends to stock a limited selection of sizes. For those of us who are built outside the norm in some way, this presents a challenge.

BTW, it's not just a sizing issue, but the construction of bras themselves, and our body types. I have a protruding sternum and clavicle, which makes a lot of bras, with their wiring hitting me right where I am boniest. quite uncomfortable.

I appreciate the input.

I was watching TV over the weekend, and in about one hour I saw at least a half-dozen repetitions of the Knix ad, and several more from the Lively folks. A few other manufacturers were in there, too. I suppose they figure lots of women are doing WFH, so that's their target audience.

As I said, I've seen bra ads for decades - TV, newspapers, various catalogs, as well as while shopping. I had never noticed anything beyond, say, DDD, and I guess I thought that was enough of a range. Beyond that, they were probably custom sizes.

When I saw these ads, I asked my wife and adult daughter, and they had never heard of anything beyond a couple of D's. It just struck me as odd so, FT being the SOAK, I thought I'd ask.

I can't imagine what a size R is. What goes through my mind is an airport wind sock. :)

Depends on the band size and breast shape. A smaller band measure and high cup letter has a smaller volume in the cup than a larger band measurement and same cup letter. If you filled the cups with rice or something like that, the volume would differ. The shape and protrusion could also be quite different so it'd carry a lot differently.

DD (=E) for a small band size isn't that unusual and straight men probably wouldn't consider them large on first glance. Plenty of women would also think the same because of those misinformed fittings. Some department stores like Nordstroms carry a wider array of sizes but once people think they know their size, people don't stray beyond their sizes by a few increments in each direction. Most probably don't pull out a 30D and a 36D to compare cup volume.

Clothing pattern fitters have some challenges & work making a single design fit a range of proportions. The cuts for a size 0 vs size 10 aren't simply re-scaling it by a certain percentage. This also applies to bras and some of these new-to-bras companies selling pull overhead bras with built in cups probably haven't perfected the larger sizes, yet, to be honest. Larger band and cup sizes need to support more weight. It would be great if they can/do. Comfy clothes are a huge perk of WFH life for those not on a lot of video calls & more formal attire job.

I'm a G cup. Not ginormous, but as my happy boyfriend (who has large hands ;) ) puts it "a happy overflowing handful" - Is that TMI for a travel board?? :blush:

Seriously though, it is so nice that companies are finally making bras that fit more of us. Victoria's Secret is terrible and tried to stuff everyone into their definition of the right size - leaving many with poorly supportive bras of the wrong size. I'm curious to try Knix since underwires are evil.

^ This right here.

I also spent many years not knowing that Bras came in larger than DD. My first trip to the Nordstrom fit specialist was a revelation, an expensive revelation, but still worth it.
Now I pretty much stick to the 2 or 3 styles that I know will fit and provide adequate coverage without poking me in the sternum. barenecessities . com has a good selection for the DD+ ladies and does a good job comparing brand sizing (if you wear <size> in Brand A, try <size> in Brand B)

Haven't had the nerve to try under-wireless. Even my swimwear is underwired.

OK - I'm going back to OMNI. :D

Was watching something and a new commercial for Knix came on.

They are now offering sizes up to H (DDDDD)!

Maybe just to make Redhead feel "inadequate?

I gotta get out more often. :(

Ah, I'm old enough that I had to go to a specialty "bra lady" at that little store in the big city - the one the lucky larger ladies used to hear about in whispers from older aunties & grandmas ;-) The only bra options were ....not great! It truly sucked being a teen wearing grandma's bra when my friends got to wear cuter things. Never ever shopped VS (probably for my own good there ;-) their stuff is crap anyway). I had a reduction in 1992 and was smaller for a while but then I gained weight so at 48 I'm big again (not as big as I would have been had I never had a reduction). But now it's much easier to find nice bras that fit! Though I admit I have barely worn a bra in 2 years and when I do - it's slouchy underwire-free options. I never thought I'd be there, but after the quarantine and peri-menopause - I don't give a fig if my boobs hand a little lower than they would with an underwire. I haven't gotten rid of the bras yet - maybe if I do have to go back to my office I'll start using them again - but they're definitely not in use now.....

I haven't tried any of the advertised/direct to consumer bras - I've been buying stretch with closure bras on Amazon ;-) Bali, Just My Size, Hanes. I have a couple pullover options too, but the ones with hooks are easier to get on and less mono-boob.

[honestly, how could 2 adult women not be aware that bras come in cups larger than D? Do they not have ANY larger friends? Do they not shop for bras? I realize there's not a ton of standardization on sizing/cups, but you should know they at least exist!]

I'm old enough to have shopped the original VS boutique, and still have a few of the luxury silk items that came from there (they were gifts, I swear ;)! ).

Mid '80's when they got bought out, expanded to every mall and went to mass produced synthetics that look like Fredrick's of Hollywood knock-offs, I gave up on them.

YouTube's also been running ads for smaller bras sizes with better sized/shaped cups. They talk about gaping a lot. I'm fairly sure that vigorous exercise is no fun for flatter chested girls, especially after a certain age, so it is good there are options.

I will say it is amazing what some people do and don't know about general health and body of others, especially as we age. I, for one, have not figured out where the girls with bubble booty or pear shape with thigh shop for their jeans. I feel like they must have a holy grail or excellent tailor because I can barely find straight cut jeans as a short person where knee breaks don't end up at my shin and don't flash people when I bend over.

Posted twice, delete dup