A 42 or a 44 bra size is a band measurement. A 42 band fits an underbust of 37 to 38 inches, and a 44 fits 39 to 40. Neither number says anything about the bust until a cup letter joins it. Both bands sit just past the point where most Indian shops stop stocking, so this page covers what the sizes measure and where to go when the rail ends at 40.
Not sure which size is yours? The bra size calculator turns two measurements into an answer, sister sizes included.
What do 42 and 44 mean?
On Indian sizing the band is your underbust rounded up to an even number, plus four inches. An underbust of 37 or 38 inches (94 to 97 cm) gives a 42. An underbust of 39 or 40 inches (99 to 102 cm) gives a 44. The cup letter then records how much bigger the bust is than the band: A for nothing up to an inch, and one letter for each inch after that.
UK and US charts leave out the plus four, so an Indian 42 is a 38 band there and an Indian 44 is a 40. In EU sizing they are about 85 and 90. The bra size converter gives the cup letters for each system.
The cups on a 42 band
| Size | Underbust (inches) | Bust (inches) | Bust (cm) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42A | 37 to 38 | 42 to 43 | 107 to 109 | 0 to 1 |
| 42B | 37 to 38 | 43 to 44 | 109 to 112 | 1 to 2 |
| 42C | 37 to 38 | 44 to 45 | 112 to 114 | 2 to 3 |
| 42D | 37 to 38 | 45 to 46 | 114 to 117 | 3 to 4 |
The cups on a 44 band
| Size | Underbust (inches) | Bust (inches) | Bust (cm) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44A | 39 to 40 | 44 to 45 | 112 to 114 | 0 to 1 |
| 44B | 39 to 40 | 45 to 46 | 114 to 117 | 1 to 2 |
| 44C | 39 to 40 | 46 to 47 | 117 to 119 | 2 to 3 |
| 44D | 39 to 40 | 47 to 48 | 119 to 122 | 3 to 4 |
A measurement that lands exactly on a line takes the larger letter. A 46 inch bust on a 44 band is a C.
Is a 42 bra size the same as a 42 inch bust?
No. The 42 is the band, built from a ribcage of 37 to 38 inches. The bust of someone wearing a 42 band starts at 42 inches for an A cup and goes up from there. A woman with a 42 inch bust could be a 42A, a 40C or a 38E, depending on her underbust. What bust size means works through the same confusion at 36.
The letters also mean more on a wider band. A cup letter is a difference measured against its own band, so a 44B holds more than a 36B, though both are B cups.
Why do shops stop at 40?
Stocking, mostly. The sizing system carries on past 40 with no change in the arithmetic, and the bra size chart for India lists 42 and 44 beside every other band. Production is what thins out. Most Indian rails end around a 40 band and a D cup, which leaves the bodies past that point with fewer shops to try and says nothing unusual about the bodies themselves.
Which 42 and 44 sizes have a sister size you can buy?
A sister size moves the band one step and the letter one step the other way, keeping the cup volume about the same. From a 42, the band-down sister lands on a 40, which is stocked:
The cost is the band. A 40 is cut for a ribcage two inches smaller, so on an ordinary bra it will feel tight. A band extender can close some of that gap.
From a 44 there is no such route. Its band-down sisters are all on the 42 band, which is the one the shops do not carry. Two steps down would be a band four inches too small, and that is not a fit. Bra sister sizes has the full mechanics.
What fits from our range?
The strapless adhesive bra is sized from 30A to 40D, so it stops one band short of this page. For a 42A, 42B or 42C, the sister on the 40 band has about the same cup volume. This bra has no back band, so the cups are what you are matching, and the tighter band that spoils the swap on an ordinary bra does not come into it in the same way. Treat it as the nearest stocked size. It is not an exact fit, and at this end of the grid the adhesive is working hard, so clean dry skin and firm pressure on every edge matter. The 40 bra size guide covers that in more detail.
Several pieces ignore the band altogether and go by cup letter alone, which makes them the simpler choice here. The butterfly stick-on bra comes in A-B, C and D-D++. The fabric uplift cups are Small for an A cup, Medium for B to C and Large for D and above. Reusable nipple covers are sized by diameter.
Boob tape has no size at all, since you cut it to the body in front of you. For a full bust on a wide band it usually holds better than any cup, and boob tape for a heavy bust shows the placements.
The short version
A 42 band fits a 37 to 38 inch underbust and a 44 fits 39 to 40, with each cup letter adding an inch of bust from A. In UK and US sizing they are 38 and 40 bands. Most Indian shops stop at 40, so a 42A, 42B or 42C can borrow the 40B, 40C or 40D with a tighter band, and a 44 has no stocked sister. Pieces sized by cup letter, and tape, do not depend on the band at all. Two measurements in the bra size calculator will confirm which size you are starting from.
