There is a question that comes up constantly and has no good answer online: what bra size is a man?
The question assumes a sizing system that was designed around a different body, which is why it doesn't apply to you.
How bra sizing works
A size like 36C is two separate measurements pretending to be one.
The number is the band: your ribcage circumference just under the chest, rounded to the nearest even number in inches. The letter is the cup, and it measures a difference rather than a size. You measure around the fullest part of the bust, subtract the band measurement, and each inch of difference moves you one letter up. One inch is an A, two inches a B, three a C, and so on.
That's the whole system: the cup letter tells you how much volume sits in front of your ribcage.
Why bra sizing breaks on a male chest
On most male bodies the difference between the chest measurement and the underbust measurement is somewhere between zero and two inches. Run that through the formula and you land at AA or A.
That causes two problems. The small one is that almost nobody stocks AA outside teen ranges. The bigger one is that even an A cup is a moulded three-dimensional shape built to hold something. With nothing filling it, the cup collapses into a horizontal crease across your chest. Going down a letter doesn't help, because a smaller cup is still the same shape.
The band has its own mismatch. Band sizing assumes a ribcage that is narrower front to back and rounder in cross-section. A male ribcage is typically wider and flatter across the front. So a band that matches your measurement on paper often grips hard at the sides while gaping at the centre front. You end up loosening it, at which point the whole thing rides up.
So the formula gives you a correct number that won't help you buy anything that fits. That's why we don't size anything by it.
What to measure instead
You need a soft tape and three numbers. Measure over bare skin or thin underwear, keep the tape flat and level, and don't pull it tight: it should sit against you without compressing anything.
- Chest - around the fullest part, tape level under the arms, arms relaxed at your sides.
- Waist - around the narrowest part of your torso, usually just above the navel. Don't hold your breath in.
- Hips - around the fullest part of your hips and glutes, feet together.
Write them down in centimetres and inches both, because half the internet uses one and half the other.
Then buy by those numbers rather than converting from a shirt size. Shirt sizing has its own ease built in and will send you a size too big most of the time.
| Size | Chest | Waist | Hips |
|---|---|---|---|
| XS | 82-88 cm (32-34") | 66-70 cm (26-27") | 86-90 cm (34-35") |
| S | 89-94 cm (35-37") | 71-76 cm (28-30") | 91-96 cm (36-38") |
| M | 95-102 cm (38-40") | 77-82 cm (30-32") | 97-102 cm (39-40") |
| L | 103-109 cm (41-43") | 83-89 cm (33-35") | 103-108 cm (41-42") |
| XL | 110-117 cm (44-46") | 90-98 cm (36-38") | 109-114 cm (43-45") |
| 2XL | 118-124 cm (47-49") | 99-104 cm (39-41") | 115-120 cm (45-47") |
| 3XL | 125-130 cm (50-52") | 105-110 cm (42-44") | 121-126 cm (48-50") |
| 4XL | 131-138 cm (52-54") | 111-118 cm (44-46") | 127-134 cm (50-53") |
| 5XL | 139-146 cm (55-57") | 119-126 cm (47-50") | 135-142 cm (53-56") |
Full measurements, including mask and jewelry sizing, are on our size guide.
If your three numbers land in different sizes, which is common, go by chest for anything with a band or straps, and by hips for anything with a brief or thong attached. If a set includes both, take the larger of the two. Garters and straps can always be shortened, but the fabric can't get any bigger.
Four bra shapes that work on a male chest
Whether a bra fits a male chest depends less on size than on whether the design needs volume to hold its shape. These four don't.
Soft-cup and bralette. With no foam and no moulding, there is nothing to collapse. The fabric follows your chest instead of imposing a shape on it. This is the closest thing to a conventional bra that crosses over cleanly, and it's where most people should start. The sissy sheer lace bra and panty set at $61 is about as simple as this gets, and the pink lace bra and panty set at $66 is the most-visited piece we make.
Shelf and cupless. You get the band and the frame without the cup, so there is nothing to fill or crease, and the structure reads as deliberate rather than as a bra that doesn't fit. The pink lace shelf bra is $44 bought on its own, which is the cheapest way to find out whether you like the shape; the same page sells it with matching panties for $76, or as a full four-piece with garter belt for $116. Two more four-piece sets work the same way, both at $116: the emerald green four-piece with a lace shelf bra and the black lace open-cup bra with garter belt and thong.
Harness-style. Straps and hardware take the place of cups. This gives you structure and line across the chest without pretending to contain anything, which is why it tends to look most at home on a broad frame. The black eyelash lace set with choker and garter at $76 sits in this category. So does the chain nipple harness bra at $44, which is closer to jewelry than to lingerie and has no sizing problem at all because the chains adjust.
Corset vest. It's longer through the body and structured at the waist and ribcage rather than at the bust, so the fit depends on a part of you that a pattern can predict. The blue satin cupless corset vest at $116 is our version.
What almost never works
Moulded and push-up cups. The foam holds a shape your chest won't fill, and the empty cup creases. This is the usual reason a set looks wrong in photos.
Balconette. The same problem, plus a wire positioned for a different ribcage.
Underwire drafted for a narrow ribcage. The wire is a fixed curve. If it doesn't match your ribcage it will sit on it, and after an hour you'll know exactly where.
Anything sized only by cup letter with no garment size. If a listing only says "C cup" and gives no chest or band measurement in centimetres, you have no way of knowing what you're buying.
Two fixes worth knowing
If you already own something that nearly works:
A bra extender adds 3-5 cm to the band. Extenders cost almost nothing, every haberdashery sells them, and they fix the usual complaint: a band that grips at the sides. Get one that matches the number of hooks on your bra.
Reposition or replace the straps. Women's bra straps are set closer together because the pattern assumes narrower shoulders. On a broader frame they slide outward all evening. Moving them wider where the design allows, or swapping in a longer pair, fixes most of it.
Neither fix will rescue a moulded cup, and nothing else will either.
If you wear forms or padding
Forms change the answer in your favour. With forms there is volume for the cup to hold, so conventional cup sizing starts working again. Measure over the forms you intend to wear, not bare, and use the standard band-plus-difference calculation from the top of this article. What we make is drafted for a flat chest, so in this case a moulded women's bra in your calculated size may serve you better. We'd rather tell you that than sell you the wrong thing.
The short version
The standard formula will usually give you a bra size of A or AA, in a moulded shape that needs volume you don't have. Measure chest, waist and hips instead, and buy by those three numbers. Soft cups, shelf and cupless designs, harness styles and corset vests fit a male chest. Moulded cups, push-ups and balconettes do not. Between sizes, take the larger one.
If you're at the start of all this, our complete guide to femboy lingerie covers styles and terminology, and the guide to women's lingerie for men covers what else does and doesn't cross over from the women's side.
Everything in the lingerie sets and lace collection is drafted for a male torso from the start and made to order in Kyiv. Shipping is free worldwide.