What does the bra size 32D mean?

Question

What does the 32 mean, and what does the D mean? And what's the smallest size? What's the largest, or one of the largest sizes? And how high or low does it to in the alphabet, and can you explain please?

Answer 1

Just to add to the confusion for you: bra sizes are based on ratios and not direct measurement. That is, the cup is a ratio of the difference between underbust + 4" or 5" and full bust measurement.

In this way, a "D" is the same as a "C" and a "B" when considering different bands. It's not that D is big and A is small, it all depends upon what body that cup is on.

The cup on a 38A is the same as the one on a 36B which is the same as a 34C which is the same as a 32D which is the same as a 30DD which is the same as a 40AA.

In this way - in all of those examples, the breasts are the same size - the underbust size differs.

Each cup size represents a 1" differential in band-chest measurement.

Let x = cup size:

x = full bust in inches - (underbust + 4" rounded up even)

we can use U for underbust and F for full bust and get:

x = F - (U+4" rounded even)

This means that as U increases, x decreases and as U decreases, x increases.

What is generally perceived as "average" is:
30AA, 32A, 34B, 36C, 38D, 40DD, etc.. These tend to give a perception of "well proportioned" but keep in mind that there is a huge range of what is "normal".

We can say then that anything smaller than these (34A or 36B) might be called "small" while anything larger (36D) might be called "large" -- the more extreme the deviation, the more noticeable will be the perception. 32D would be perceived as "large" whereas the same cup size on a 38 frame would be a 38A which we'd call "small". It's all about the ratio of difference between frame and full bust.

As for the largest size. Women who wear a size of about 52FF tend to need to have their bras made. Playtex makes a stock 56DDD and Goddess makes a stock 56J. A 56J would fit a woman who measures somewhere around 66" (more than 5.5') around the fullest bust.

Answer 2

32 is the added measurement from underneath the bust. So the torso or ribcage would measure either 27 or 28 for a woman to have a 32" ribcage.

The D cup is the difference between the full bust measurement and the under bust measurement. The full bust would measure 36". You subtract the band measurement, 32 from 36 to give you 4. 4" in difference is a D cup.

As for the smallest bra size...26 for a band size and AAA for a cup size. 32 is small but not super small. I wear a 30...I wish 32 would fit me. (And no I'm not anorexic...my boobs are an E...all real) AAA is considered just a training bra in most stores, or they won't even include a cup size at all...it may just have the size of the band. I've noticed this in Target in the girls department. They have 30, 32 and 34 bras with no cup size, but the cups are very shallow, indication they're for someone with very little to no breasts. An AA cup would be a 1/2-less than 1" of a difference between the bust and underbust. An AAA cup would be 0-less than 1/2" difference between the two. 1-less than 1.5" would be an A cup, 1.5-less than 2.5" would be a B cup, and so on. When the measurement falls on a 1/2 mark this would put you at the next cup size up, that's why I'm saying if the measurement is less than 1/2".


Also to clarify...I think some of the men, and women as well, are getting a bit confused as to how big this size is. The D cup in a 32 is the equivalent of a C cup in a 34. This is average, but I don't consider it very big at all. As I stated my size up above...I'm one cup size larger than this said size...and I still don't look very big.

Answer 3

I'll try to explain a little...
The numbers in a bra size are the measurements of the woman under her bust. 32 means 32 inches in width in the part right under her breasts.
this number varies from woman to woman - the number on average is from 32-40, although it can be more or less that.

The letters in a bra size are considered the cup size... this is calculated by taking the above mentioned measurement - under the bust - and taking a second measurement of the largest part of the woman's bust - usually the center part. The difference in inches corresponds to the cup size.

For example if under the bust is 36 and the second measurement is 39 - than her bra size would be 36C.

The letter measurements begin with A and increase for every inch...thus the larger the letter, the fuller the breasts of the woman.

I hope that helped - I know it's kinda confusing at first but really simple in the end.

Answer 4

Bra Size 32d

Answer 5

The number is the number of inches around the rib cage.

Then you measure the bust and see how many inches of difference there is. If there is one inch of difference, the cup is an "A". If there are two inches of difference the cup is a "B" and so on.

A girl with a 32D has a 32 inch ribcage and there are four inches of difference between her bust and her ribcage.

What is the smallest size? They make AA cups for females with 1/2 an inch of bust. Smaller than that, and you do not have a cup size. You may wear a bra to cover your nipples, but it will not have a cup size. These are sometimes called "training bras".

The largest size you will find in a mainstream store is a DD. This means there are 5 inches of difference. The largest rib cage measurement in a mainstream store will be about 42. (A large rib cage doesn't mean that she is busty. She could be a 42A)

There are larger ladies out there, of course, but they have to shop in special stores. Some ladies are so large they have bras specially made.

Answer 6

The 32 is the measurement of the ribcage just under the bust and the D is the cup size. I don't know what the smallest number size is but the highest I've seen is a 48. As far as the highest cup size, there are freaks of nature out there or women obsessed with plastic surgery and I think the highest I remember hearing is a HHH. But manufacturers don't make sizes that big, they would have to be specially made.

Answer 7

Although you are not the first, I cannot believe young ladies are asking whether a certain bra size is good, too big, OK, not enough, etc. And what really gets me is if we straight fellows were to pay more than one nanosecond to any lady's breasts or bra size, we're considered neanderthal pigs for doing so. Nevertheless, my answer to you is as follows: How do you feel about them? I should hope that they do not hurt your posture, and that no one touches them without your permission. Aside from that, I really cannot, or at least better not, say more.

Answer 8

The first link will show you how you determine a bra size.
The second link shows examples of sizes AA up through DD.

Answer 9

Haha this is such a guy question. Well ok the 32 is the band size. That is the measurement around your torso. The D is the cup size. The smallest is a 28 A and it goes all the way up to like 52 J or something huge like that.

Answer 10

32D s a very nice, large chest. (It is the size of many Victoria's Secret models!)

32 is the band width. It means that there are 32 inches around the woman's ribcage near her breasts. Band widths on average women range from 32-38.

D is the cup size. The higher the letter, the bigger the breasts. A is the smallest cup size. Most stores carry sizes A-DD. Sizes larger than a DD usually have to be custom ordered and are generally found on heavier women. The "average" cup size of a woman in the United States is a B.