They are the measurements that many American women (and not a few American men) know so well: 32A, 34B, 36C.

On they go, the canonical brassiere sizes, up to at least a 50N. They have been around since the 1930s, maddeningly unconventional standards, varying from brand to brand, from demi-cup to strapless — a kaleidoscopic vision, in lace and elastic, of fashion, culture and the enduring power of marketing.

But is anyone ready for measurements like 1-30, 7-36 and 9-42?

Those are just three of 55 new sizes that a major American manufacturer has devised to address a lament as old as the bra itself: many don’t fit.

The undergarment industry, eager to sell its wares, has seized on the complaint, offering an ever-growing assortment of sizes and shapes — often at ever-growing prices — to entice women to buy that next bra.