120E bra size
A 120E bra is cut for an underbust of 117.5–122.5 cm and a bust of 140–142 cm. Below it is the same size as every other system prints it, and the sister sizes that hold the same cup.
120E in every system
- EU
- 120E
- RU
- 120E
- US
- 52DD
- UK
- 52DD
- FR
- 135E
- IT
- 11E
- JP
- 120E
Where each notation comes from
What each notation means — why the British band reads 34 and the Italian reads 2 — is set out system by system on the bra size page.
Sources
Nothing here is looked up in a table of equivalents: band and cup are computed once from the metric ladder, then printed in each system’s own letters (formula version 2).
- en.wikipedia.org the underbust ladder in 5 cm steps and the AA–H cup table
- en.wikipedia.org the British and American cup runs, the French +15 shift, the Italian numbering
- en.wikipedia.org the "+0" and "+4" methods, sister sizes, measuring upright and leaning forward
- ru.wikipedia.org the Russian table: the same intervals, the same letters
Checked: no date on record
Where these numbers come from
The band is the underbust rounded to the nearest five centimeters, so 117.5–122.5 cm all round to 120. The cup is how far the bust exceeds that band’s nominal value: 20–22 cm gives this letter, at two centimeters per letter starting at ten. Add them and you get a bust of 140–142 cm.
The cup is measured against the nominal 120, not against the tape. That is what every published chart does, and it is why an underbust at the bottom of this band and one at the top get the same letter despite five centimeters between them. Near a band edge, try the sister size too.
In inches, 120E is an underbust of 46.3–48.2" and a bust of 55.1–55.9". Note that the UK and US band number is not that measurement: 120 cm is 46.3–48.2", and the band is called 52DD because the English notation adds four inches.
Same cup as 120E, different band
One band up is one letter down, because the cup is measured over the band — which makes 115F, 125D the same volume as 120E. In a shop the printed size that fits is routinely not the one the tape said, so these are worth trying on.
One step away
120D, 120F, 115E — a letter either side of 120E on this band, and this letter on the neighbouring bands.