Wide-set to north-facing: How your boob shape impacts your bra size

Spoiler, its about more than your cup and band size.

A little while ago, I wrote about my love-hate relationship with going braless as a B-cup. In all honesty, I didn’t even know what my size was when writing it, I just guessed.

I have both A and B-cup bras and even more bralets, which fluctuate in size depending on the label. The band size? Who knows. The whole thing is a mess. And while it’s something that could be solved with a quick trip to a local shopping centre and bra fitting, I’m also guilty of doing one hundred per cent of my shopping online.

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I’d heard of the Australian lingerie label Nala before but I only recently discovered their bare-chest bra guide. The label first made headlines after its launch in 2022 for a marketing campaign that involved dropping g-strings on car windscreens all over Sydney with a note that read, ‘Hey Wild Thing! You left these at my place last night’. Shortly after, Nala released a one-of-a-kind fit guide featuring a library of images of real people’s bare chests.

The idea, co-founder Chloe de Winter explains, was to showcase what real boobs looked like and change the way people shopped for bras online. “The only challenge was finding willing people to bare their chests for the camera and for a brand that was yet to launch. But somehow, we found 35 people who were happy to strip off,” she says.

The guide was photographed by Liane Hurvitz and put together by Nala’s design team. Though it mentions bra sizes, the photos are labelled with headings like ‘Perky athletic, wide-set’, ‘Low round full bottom’ and ‘Relaxed south facing’.

The aim of the project was to capture breasts in every stage of life, something Chloe believes is important to normalise. The images feature a breastfeeding mum, a double mastectomy survivor who had a breast reconstruction with nipples tattooed on, a trans woman and plenty of others chests from all walks of life. Just a heads up, the actual guide will give you a countdown before loading, but it’s not exactly NSFW.

How it works

Although two people might technically be a 12E bra size, they could still wear completely different bras. This, Chlose says, is because of the variability in breast shape, which impacts not only your bra size but what styles might suit you best.

“For example, someone with perky and athletic breasts might not want or need so much coverage and support,” she tells me. “However, someone with south-facing, relaxed breasts might prefer a style with more support. Everyone is so different.”

“So many people wear the wrong bra size. But when you find that perfect fit, it fully transforms the way you feel. It’s totally worth it.”

Once you click through to Nala’s bra guide, you can view their gallery of images and click on the set that best matches you. Once you’ve chosen, the guide will suggest a couple of styles that might best fit your shape.

“We offer so many different options, from wire-free, plunge and balconette to bras with underwire or a flossy mesh, so you can choose something that works for your body,” she says. You can also measure your bust and band size using Nala’s guide to gain an even more accurate idea of your size.

Nala’s size curve caters for A to J cups, with K cups coming soon, as well as gender-neutral styles that have been designed specifically for the gender-diverse community. The label also has a new fit guide on the cards for 2025, with even more options and a wider representation of bodies.

Head here to find your size.