Bra Size 48: The 48 Band

The band number is a ribcage measurement. Wrap a tape snugly around the torso directly under the breasts, level all the way round, on a normal exhale, and read it: 47 or 48 inches is a 48 band. Nothing is added. Charts that add four or five inches would call the same ribcage a 52, which is why so many people have worn a 52 band that rides up and a cup two letters too small; the methodology page explains why this site never adds inches.

A snug tape reading of 47 rounds up to the 48; a reading of 49 rounds up to the 50. When the tape lands on the odd number it is worth trying both neighboring bands with the cup adjusted a letter, which is what sister sizes are for. Bands are cut in two-inch steps because the elastic covers the inch between; a 48 on the loosest hook fits 47 and 48, and the tighter hooks are there for when the elastic relaxes.

A sister size holds the same cup volume on a different band: one band down and one cup up, or one band up and one cup down. The table shows two steps in each direction from every 48 size, which is as far as sister sizing is useful; beyond that the band is four inches from your ribcage and no cup letter fixes it. Use the first step when a brand runs tight or loose, or when the cups fit and the band does not. Use the second only to understand why a 52 with a small cup never fitted.

The sister size calculator explains which direction to step from any symptom; the bra too big and bra too small pages read the signs.

The 48 band is stocked by a handful of specialists in the middle cups. It is not cut by mass-market ranges and only some full-bust houses reach it; the brands that do are plus-size specialists who draft the band, wire and wing for the size rather than grading a 34 upward. That matters more here than anywhere else on the ladder, because a graded-up band stretches and a drafted one holds. Cup ranges narrow at this band: C to H is well served, A and B rarely exist, and above an H the choice is a handful of styles. The biggest bra size page lists who cuts what at the top of the ladder; every brand named here has a dossier on this site with its charted span.

Brands whose charts cut the 48: Elomi, Cacique, Playtex and Hanes. Each brand page on this site lists the exact band and cup range and notes how that brand’s 48 runs; the best bras by size hub groups them by the cup you need.