oh my measure
by pebbly
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90K bra size

A 90K bra is cut for an underbust of 87.5–92.5 cm and a bust of 122–124 cm. Below it is the same size as every other system prints it, and the sister sizes that hold the same cup.

90K in every system

EU
90K
RU
90K
US
40K
UK
40H
FR
105K
IT
5K
JP
90K

A starred letter continues that system’s published table rather than being taken from it — European charts stop at H, British ones run further, and the same breast is published in one and extrapolated in the other.

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 87.5–92.5 cm all round to 90. The cup is how far the bust exceeds that band’s nominal value: 32–34 cm gives this letter, at two centimeters per letter starting at ten. Add them and you get a bust of 122–124 cm.

The cup is measured against the nominal 90, 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, 90K is an underbust of 34.4–36.4" and a bust of 48–48.8". Note that the UK and US band number is not that measurement: 90 cm is 34.4–36.4", and the band is called 40H because the English notation adds four inches.

Same cup as 90K, different band

One band up is one letter down, because the cup is measured over the band — which makes 95J the same volume as 90K. 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

90J, 85K, 95K — a letter either side of 90K on this band, and this letter on the neighbouring bands.