Belly Dance Bra Sizes - A Guide to the Proper Fit

When looking for a bra suitable for belly dancing, many dancers find sizes such as "30-38 A-C" or "B-cup" or worse still "medium". One size does not fit all. Here are some tips to help find the proper fit that will be gefortable as well as appropriate for use in belly dancing.
Know your lingerie bra size
Studies show that 3 out of 4 women wear the wrong bra size. Are you one of them? Tell-tale signs include band riding up or digging in ungefortably, cup overflow, and/or back pain. Also, there are several factors that can cause your size to change, including weight gain\loss, fluid retention, and general wear and tear on your bra. There are several measurement methods on the internet and elsewhere for finding the right size, all with varying rates of accuracy. Some people find a professional fitting at a lingerie boutique or department store to be helpful.
A few notes about cup sizes
If you gee across a belly dance bra marked only "B-cup", you are missing some crucial information. For example, someone wearing a 32B is not going to have the same bust as a person wearing a 42B. There is, however, somewhat of a pattern to band\cup sizes: a 34B, for example, has approximately the same capacity cup as a 32C (-1 band size, 1 cup size) and a 36A ( 1 band size, -1 cup size). This can be helpful to know when choosing a costume bra. For example, if a costume bra is marked "34 B-C" but you wear a 32C, the bra may very likely fit fine with a few adjustments to the circumference. If you wear an in-between size, you will want to err on the side of a bigger cup; unlike a lingerie bra, a belly dance bra should provide ample coverage.
Base Bras
A base bra is the sturdy, plain bra to which all the sequins, beads, and decorations are attached to create your finished costume bra. The process of sewing these decorations onto the bra usually takes up some of the band size. Therefore, a costume made from a base bra in your lingerie bra size will not usually fit properly. I use the following formula: your lingerie bra size up one band size = the base bra used (e.g. 34B would need a 36B base bra). This also adds an allowance for the cup which provided for belly-dancing appropriate coverage.
Professional Costume Bras

With all the beads and sequins on your average cabaret-style professional costume, you are going to want "gravity-defying" support. That means no elastic, and therefore, a non-adjustable bra. The size can only be made smaller; by takingup slack in either the band or the shoulder straps. This is why I leave one edge of the straps unsewn, so you can place it where your body type needs it, saving you the step of ripping out the seams and reattaching them.
Semiprofessional and Student Costume Bras
With pro costumes in the 3-digit price range, students and semiprofessional dancers may want to look into other types of bras. There are many benefits to these types: lighter weight, accessible prices, many more styles and dance personas, greater range of sizes and adjustability.

Our corset-style bras offer adjustable lacing to properly fit more than one band size while the criss-cross style of the straps provides excellent support because it more evenly distributes weight. To size our bras, I use the base bra formula and then have the models try them on to find the "best fit" sizes. By having real women test these bras out as opposed to plastic torsos, we can ensure that real women will find a proper fit and have plenty of happy, "accident-free" dancing.
I hope you have found this article helpful. Please visit theJewel of Dreams Me Pageto learn more about our costumes. For your convenience, search okay for belly dance bra