Now, five-step 'best fit' approach to get perfect bra size

London, Mar 7 (ANI): Researchers have come up with five-step approach that may help women ditch measuring tape for a perfectly fitting bra.

Experts have claimed that the traditional method of measuring bust size does not work, as women's bodies have changed dramatically since it was invented in the 1930s.

Thus, researchers at the University of Portsmouth have insisted that women should head for the fitting room with the same bra in a range of sizes.

Once in there, they say, they should assess each one according to five criteria - the length of the straps, the shape of the underwire, how well the back fits, how well the cup fits and whether the front band is in contact with the breastbone, the Daily Mail reported.

The conventional method of bra fitting, still used by many retailers, involves taking two measurements - one from under the bust and around the ribcage, and the other from around the fullest part of the bust.

The first measurement tells about the back size, in inches, and the difference between the two measurements determines cup size.

In the University of Portsmouth study, 45 women were measured using both the traditional method and the best-fit approach.

The researchers found that using the traditional means led to overestimating the back size in 76 per cent of cases and underestimating the cup size in 84 per cent.

The also discovered that buying a number of bras in one size and eliminating the ones that don't fit will lead to the best fit

Typically, the traditional approach yielded a result that was one cup size smaller and one back size larger than the best-fit method.

And the bigger the bust, the greater the ambiguity between sizes given by the two techniques.

Jenny White, a sports scientist at the university, revealed that in three quarters of cases, women depending on the traditional measurements ended up wearing ill-fitting bras.

This contributes to the approximate 85 per cent of women in the UK who wear the wrong size bra.

"Wearing a well-fitting bra is crucial to helping women look and feel their best," she said.

The academics also asserted that the right bra size for each woman might differ between different shops, just as clothes sizes do, and can also fluctuate at different times of the month. (ANI)