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AIBU?

To think that the fashion industry discrimates against big boobed women?

107 replies

JellyDiamond · 02/08/2015 11:47

I'm a 34 HH and it's almost impossible for me to find a decent, pretty and most importantly affordable bras on the high street. Most shops now go up to an E cup, but if your cup size is any bigger than that your stuffed. Debenhams do occasionally stock the bigger cup sizes but you have to riffle through the rails to find one of the larger sizes, and then they are always expensive and dowdy looking.

There is Bravissimo, but they don't have one in my town and when I'm able to get to one that does have a branch as lovely as they are, they are extortianetly expensive.

I know this is not just me, I've spoken to so many women in a similar predicament. None of us are overweight, which actually makes things even more difficult as there seems to be this idea that if you have big boobs your fat. Hence they don't seem to cater for the smaller back sizes. It seems to be a real problem that so many women can't get decen bras these days without breaking the bank.

AIBU to think we are being discrimated against?

OP posts:
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WorraLiberty · 02/08/2015 11:51

I'm not sure discrimination is the right word really.

It's all about supply and demand and I'm guessing there is little demand for bras that size.

Can you buy online from anywhere?

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Trills · 02/08/2015 11:53

A shop not stocking a thing that you want to buy, or a manufacturer not producing a thing that you would like to buy, is not discrimination.

YANBU to think it's annoying and want to have a moan.

YABU to trivialise "discrimination".

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TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 02/08/2015 11:53

Bra stop goes to K I believe

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Lj8893 · 02/08/2015 11:55

As a big chested woman myself, it is not discrimination. I do agree, it is annoying though! I find debenhams do some lovely larger bras.

I recently went to a bra shop in Southampton (I can't remember the name!!) and managed to pick 2 bras up in my size in their 50% off sale, I was super chuffed!

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SinglePringle · 02/08/2015 11:59

There's little demand because most High Street stores (looking at you M&S) incorrectly measure and therefore think women have wider backs / smaller cups, leading them to only make bras in these sizes.

I went into M&S the other day looking to spend a good hundred quid or so restocking my lingerie.

The selection in my size (32F) was woeful. Limited choice and seriously fugly. And padded! I don't need no paddin'! Left without spending a bean. And told the department manager why. I do this frequently - I don't care if they think I'm a loon. The more we can tell them, the more chance we have of them catching up with how to measure for a bra, realise that the majority of women will be a much bigger cup size and start making their bras accordingly.

My branch has a huge huge lingerie department - massive - yet only about 10 styles in DD+. Redic.

John Lewis are better - they stock Freya and Elle McPherson etc.

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Methe · 02/08/2015 12:00

Tbh I find bras easier to buy than clothes that look nice on.

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JellyDiamond · 02/08/2015 12:05

I think there is plenty of demand for larger sizes. I know so many women who struggle to find bras that fit them properly, on the high street.

OP posts:
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WorraLiberty · 02/08/2015 12:10

If there was lots of demand for that size, there would be lots of that size in the shops though.

Companies are always looking to corner untapped markets.

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Athenaviolet · 02/08/2015 12:11

Yes I resent having to make special trips to bra shops, either bravissimo (costs a fortune to park near it) or independent lingerie boutiques.

I spend more on bras than the rest of my wardrobe put together!

I'd be immobile and crippled with back pain if I didn't wear a good bra- they should be available on the NHS!

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Anniesaunt · 02/08/2015 12:12

Not discrimination, but is a pain in the neck. I also agree re the padding. YTF do I want padding? I want smaller boobs not bigger ones.

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PtolemysNeedle · 02/08/2015 12:15

YABU to think it's discrimination. It is not.

It's a supply and demand thing, and while you might have to look a bit harder to find things that fit if you're an unusual size, the right things do exist and are available. It's the same for people that have long narrow feet, or small wide feet, or particularly long legs, or small waist but big bum. Businesses are there to make money, not to do shoppers a favour.

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ShakesBootyFlabWobbles · 02/08/2015 12:15

Ebay is not bad for new large cup bras, if you know a brand that is a good fit for you. I tend to stick with the Fantasie brand as their bras fit me best. You can get them for less than at Bravissimo on Ebay, sometimes around half the price with free postage if you are lucky.

Hard to find a shirt to fit well though. I know Pepperberry have a range but I find they charge top dollar for fabrics that are just not worth the price tag.

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WorraLiberty · 02/08/2015 12:15

I'm not sure the padding is there to make you look bigger?

I think it's there to make you look smoother/seamless.

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Panzee · 02/08/2015 12:17

I get my GG hammocks from Brastop. I like padded, it holds my line a bit better, makes me less droopy and stops nipple show.

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Peshwari · 02/08/2015 12:21

Next do 30f bras now, not sure what they're like as they didn't have any in stock but I'm quite excited by the thought I could buy a bra for twenty quid!

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WorraLiberty · 02/08/2015 12:21

Completely beside the point I know, but I'm curious as to how you know so many women with a 34 HH cup size, and none of them are overweight?

I thought it was quite rare for a slim woman to have breasts that size, unless a lot of them have had boob jobs?

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treaclesoda · 02/08/2015 12:24

It's a vicious circle really. There isn't as much demand for that size as there really should be. Lots and lots of women are that size. But the media, and M&S have brainwashed the nation into thinking that a 'normal' size is a 34B, so women are reluctant to wear a large cup size because psycholgically it feels 'freakish' to need that size. There is a lot of schoolgirl giggling about big cup sizes because people don't understand sizing and think that any letter bigger than D = comedy cartoon boobs. So women force themselves into ill fitting bras, partly because a eg 38DD sounds 'normal' and partly because they struggle to find their 'actual' size. And as a result it looks like there is no demand for smaller back sizes. So the vicious cycle continues.

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Andthenutlookedgood · 02/08/2015 12:24

Agree it is infuriating. It's hard work to find and buy decent bras in small back/large cup sizes. I probably have half as many bras as women who are a 'normal' size. If there was a genuine and attractive choice I'd buy more bras but as there isn't I buy the minimum I need. That's why there is a lack of demand in my size.

I also get cross about tops, shirts and dresses. So often I can either buy them in a size that fits the rest of my body but leaves me with a porn star fit around my boobs or I can buy them to fit my boobs but several sizes too big for my shoulders, waist and hips.

I don't think I am a freakish shape to look at but clothes shopping leaves me feeling a freak.

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treaclesoda · 02/08/2015 12:26

worra it's not unusual at all to be slim with big boobs. I am, all the females in my family are, and about half of my friends are.

When I was a teenager I was a size 8 from the waist down but still wore a 32GG bra. I really needed a 28 back but 20 years ago they simply didn't exist.

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Baddz · 02/08/2015 12:26

Yep.
I'm a 34 ff
All my bras are hideous and don't support me well.

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Peshwari · 02/08/2015 12:27

The strange thing is though, I fit in most normal clothes without having to worry about boobs too much, yet my bra size is treated as totally abnormal

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woowoo22 · 02/08/2015 12:28

.

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WorraLiberty · 02/08/2015 12:28

I don't think I've ever known it treaclesoda, though I expect I just haven't taken much notice Grin

I just Googled the size for the OP though, and most of the models that came up were overweight.

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Sallystyle · 02/08/2015 12:28

It's hard if you are an A cup as well.

I still remember going to a maternity shop and being told they have no nursing bras in my small size Hmm

A lot of shops assume that if you are A cup you have a small back.

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HighFlier · 02/08/2015 12:29

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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