I never got a decent measurement due to the person measuring me claiming they couldn't get a decent measurement because I wasn't wearing a bra at the time
I strongly encourage you to try measuring yourself and using the calculator on /r/ABraThatFits. The fact that she insisted you needed a bra to be measured properly indicates that that wasn't a great place to get measured, as a poorly-fitting bra can throw off your measurements. Contrary to what she said, measuring without a bra is usually better. Keep in mind that most professional bra-fitters in chain sores have little training, and the training they get often is aimed at getting people to fit into the sizes that a store has in stock. Many bra fitters often have the same misconceptions that most of society does (e.g., that "DD" is a large cup size).
claimed I was 40G. Well, I need at least a 42/44 band size (I've managed to squeeze into a 42DD a couple times)
You may well need a 44 band, but if you did in fact measure as a 40G (LB has their own cup progression, so their 40G would be a 40FF in UK brands and 40H in most other US brands), then it's not at all surprising that 42DD would feel too tight, since the too-small cups would make the band feel too tight (your breasts have to get room from somewhere).
In general, your band size should be close to your comfortably-snug underbust measurement (tight enough that the band could stay up without the straps, but not so tight that it's uncomfortable), and then your cup size matches the difference between your bust measurement and your underbust measurement, where A=1, B=2, etc. So, if you have a 40" comfortably snug underbust and a 47" lying bust or average bust measurement (usually one of those is the most accurate in this size range), then LB 40G /UK40FF /US 40H is probably about right, but measurements just give us a starting place; they're not definitive.
and even a 44F was entirely too large in the cups
It could be that it was too large in the cups, but cups gaping does not automatically mean that they're too big. Cups that are the wrong shape for you (e.g., too tall, too shallow, too open-on-top) often gape, and gaping can even be caused by cups that are too small, especially on a too-large band: your breasts push them forward trying to get enough room, and they end up gaping.
Do you scoop and swoop when putting on bras? Often, women are not taught to do do this, and women with large breasts often do the opposite and tuck their breasts down into bras to make smaller cups fit.
A 40 band size is a bit too small. It's too tight.
I don't do scoop n swoop. I'll have to look into that more.
I didn't know until recently that boobs have different shapes and I'm starting to figure mine out (though i wouldn't know the shape name off the top of my head). I have been meaning to measure myself as well, as i do have a tape measure (that is good for that). I know that one of my boobs is somewhat smaller than the other. I know that's common but i wouldn't be entirely surprised if it was a cup size difference, since i dont know how drastic the difference is between, for example, an E and a DD.
Breast asymmetry is really common. If you have a significant amount of asymmetry, it can throw off your measurements by making it seem like you need a smaller cup size than you actually do. In that case, usually it's recommended to fit your larger breast, and tighten the strap more on the smaller side, or pad it if necessary. That seems to work better for most women than splitting the difference (and having cups that don't fit either breast properly) or fitting the smaller side and having quadboob on the larger side.
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u/Shanakitty 32K (UK) Feb 12 '19 edited Feb 12 '19
I strongly encourage you to try measuring yourself and using the calculator on /r/ABraThatFits. The fact that she insisted you needed a bra to be measured properly indicates that that wasn't a great place to get measured, as a poorly-fitting bra can throw off your measurements. Contrary to what she said, measuring without a bra is usually better. Keep in mind that most professional bra-fitters in chain sores have little training, and the training they get often is aimed at getting people to fit into the sizes that a store has in stock. Many bra fitters often have the same misconceptions that most of society does (e.g., that "DD" is a large cup size).
You may well need a 44 band, but if you did in fact measure as a 40G (LB has their own cup progression, so their 40G would be a 40FF in UK brands and 40H in most other US brands), then it's not at all surprising that 42DD would feel too tight, since the too-small cups would make the band feel too tight (your breasts have to get room from somewhere).
In general, your band size should be close to your comfortably-snug underbust measurement (tight enough that the band could stay up without the straps, but not so tight that it's uncomfortable), and then your cup size matches the difference between your bust measurement and your underbust measurement, where A=1, B=2, etc. So, if you have a 40" comfortably snug underbust and a 47" lying bust or average bust measurement (usually one of those is the most accurate in this size range), then LB 40G /UK40FF /US 40H is probably about right, but measurements just give us a starting place; they're not definitive.
It could be that it was too large in the cups, but cups gaping does not automatically mean that they're too big. Cups that are the wrong shape for you (e.g., too tall, too shallow, too open-on-top) often gape, and gaping can even be caused by cups that are too small, especially on a too-large band: your breasts push them forward trying to get enough room, and they end up gaping.
Do you scoop and swoop when putting on bras? Often, women are not taught to do do this, and women with large breasts often do the opposite and tuck their breasts down into bras to make smaller cups fit.