So how do you know what will work best for you? Skinny minnies In the last 90 years, however, there have been many improvements in the construction of bras, and nowadays many companies have ditched the idea of +4 because bras fit much more snugly to your exact size. When bra sizes were first conceived in the 1930s, the materials used for bras were a lot stiffer and less flexible – women were only just out of corsets – so manufacturers used to recommend adding 4 inches to your actual size to get the correct band size. Now you know your ribcage measurement, you could be forgiven for thinking that would relate directly to a band size, but that’s where the problems start. Therefore if you measure 31 inches around the ribcage, you would round it up to 32. Bra band sizes only come in even numbers, so if you measure an odd number you need to round it up.

The reason for getting someone else to do it is so that you can stand perfectly upright while they make sure the tape measure is horizontal – this is how the bra band should sit, so is obviously where your measurement should be taken. It is important not to wear a bra when you are measured to record your natural size.

Get a soft tape measure and ask a friend, partner or bra fitter in store to measure your ribcage straight under your bust. So here we try to unravel the mystery around bra sizing and help you find support to fit like a glove. Add that to the fact that, like every boob, every bra is different, and you can begin to understand why so many women are in bra hell. Well actually, no, it’s more complicated! Some bra shops tell you to add 4 inches to the band size (Simply Yours, Berlei), also known as the +4 method, and some don’t (Bravissimo, Victoria’s Secret). Surely sizing a bra is not rocket science? Approximately 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size, which sounds ridiculous when very few people wear the wrong sized trousers or jumper.

Bali bra size calculator