It pinches, squeezes, or presses: Women often struggle with poorly fitting bras. The blame lies with the standardized bra size system – but also with the women themselves. They repeatedly reach for the same size.

The process of buying a bra can be a challenging task. How do you find the right fit? And once the perfect one is found, it's worn until it falls apart. "Many women wear ill-fitting bras," says lingerie tailor Stephanie Schneider from Brandenburg. She sews custom bras for desperate women.

"As soon as women have flatter or larger breasts, they completely fall out of the German bra size system," according to her experience. The ill-fitting bra is often a taboo topic. "Many think they are wrong or something is not right with them," says Schneider.

Sometimes, a large bust becomes a problem for the back. One of her customers, an older lady from Saxony-Anhalt, had developed a hunched back due to her large bust, Schneider recounts. With a custom-made bra, they managed to lift her breasts by 20 centimeters, allowing the woman to walk upright again. "She has since lost 20 kilos because she could go for walks again."

Anja Barth from the Gesamtmasche Association, representing lingerie manufacturers in Germany, says: "Approximately 80 percent of women do not know their bra size and often choose the wrong size. This is the root cause of most fit issues." Various studies support this, says Simone Morlock, head of the digital fitting lab at testing service provider Hohenstein. A measurement and survey of 1500 women by Hohenstein in 2001 showed that more than 50 percent of women should actually wear a larger bra size.

"Our size system cannot accurately describe breast volume," explains the expert. The cup size does not indicate how large the volume of the breast is and how it is distributed in the cup. Every woman is unique. Also, the cups of different manufacturers have very different shapes. "Women also forget to adjust their bra size over the years," Morlock adds. "Even if you always stay slim, the breast changes." Unfortunately, women tend not to choose a larger clothing size.

"Every female body is different," says Anja Barth. While the sizing system doesn't offer a perfect fit, it serves as a good guide due to the variety of bra sizes. "Size standards make high-quality mass production of clothing possible."

But what's the story behind the sizes? The trail leads to 1958. At that time, Hohenstein measured thousands of women in West Germany for the first time. Such measurements are the basis for so-called corset tables. "And bra sizes are based on these," explains Simone Morlock. The invention date of the cup size system is unclear. However, what's clear is that the number in the bra size describes the underbust measurement, and the cup size represents the difference between the bust and underbust measurements. It's a science of its own.

Measurement tables aside, lingerie tailor Stephanie Schneider completely forgoes them. However, custom-made bras are not an option for most women. "That is not affordable for the majority," says Barth. "The expensive part of the bra is the pattern construction. It's incredibly complicated. It involves architecture and physics, the derivation of forces," Schneider explains. This doesn't fit into the profit optimization thinking of many manufacturers.

Companies like Triumph now offer customers a 3D scan to facilitate finding the right bra. However, the scan offer is still hesitantly accepted. "Most women 'know' their size and do not measure themselves – contrary to our recommendation – before each purchase," says Claudia Roos, Head of Creative Design at Triumph. She recommends getting advice in a specialty store.

Some manufacturers are increasingly trying to break free from the size corset. "Our collection includes products with a so-called Easy Sizing, which is promoted independently of the cup size and guarantees a secure fit," explains Alexandra Schmid, Head of Product Management at Schiesser.

Soft bustiers that adapt to the individual body are currently trendy, says Barth. "Physical fluctuations are no longer a problem – they adjust." The trend is generally moving towards comfortable lingerie and more naturalness. "Women no longer want to be squeezed into a tight corset," she is convinced. This is also related to the Body-Positivity movement, which aims to fight against unrealistic beauty ideals.