Daughters bra measurements - I'm sure this can't be right......

[sweetheart]

I measured my dd for a new bra this weekend - her measurements were 28" around her rib cage and 34" across her boobs - whilst bending over.

Does that really make her a 28E???? She's only 13!

[sweetheart]

And if that is the case where on earth am I going to get her a bra that size? All the shops I looked in this weekend only started at a 34"

[GlaikitFizzog]

What you need yo remember is we have had years of badly fitted bras. Stores were full of AA cups but rarely went above a DD, anything bigger was page 3 huge or soft cup boulder holders.

Some stores are still like this, but they are getting better. Take her into bravissimo or similar and let her try on a range of sizes but what you've measured sounds like a good starting point. She may need a smaller cup, or a larger back or vis versa. Trial and error.

And she isn't freakishly huge, please don't let her think that (I'm sure you don't :) ). I spent my teenage years in baggy sweatshirts because I felt like that about my bust.

[GlaikitFizzog]

plain and simple I'd get her a nude one because they are less noticeable under clothes

[GlaikitFizzog]

I've always found it's worth spending a bit more on a bra and have it fit properly.

[Ladyface]

John Lewis - I would also get her fitted properly while you are there.

[sweetheart]

Ok thanks for confirming that - will have to see if I can find something non underwired!

I hate to say but I am a little sceptical about this new bra measurement thing...... a very cynical part of me thinks manufacturers may have come up with it to get us all out there spending money on new bras. And how do we know in a few years we won't be told this way of measuring is also wrong and there is another totally new way so we'll all need to go and buy new bras again.

[SorrelForbes]

sweetheart Underwires are absolutely fine as long as the bra fits correctly so that the wires don't sit on any breast tissue.

I'm pretty sure this method isn't being promoted by manufacturers as it's not financially viable for many of them to stock a proper range of sizes!

I've cut and pasted this from another blog but can't remember which one!


Why don't more stores measure and fit properly and stock a corresponding range of sizes?

It's because of costs for the manufacturer.

If you carry 32-40 A-DD, that's a grand total of 25 sizes. So, you only have to have your designers come up with bras for 25 sizes, in maybe 3-4 styles. Then, using this, you can make all of your bras, swapping over moulded cups and under wires from sister sizes (e.g. 30G/32FF) to save even more money. Then shove the majority of the population into these sizes, and presto, you're making huge profits. Plus, it's easy for the fitters (everyone knows "A is tiny, DD is enormous").

But, if you were to be a super-awesome, carry everything store (like Ewa Michalak, who will custom size pretty much anything), and carried (for example) 24-50 A-LL, you're looking at 14 band sizes and 18 cup sizes, or a massive 252 sizes, and with the same 3-4 styles per size, you're making a literal metric shit tonne more bras than your competitor. And you know what? Your designers (who are being paid by the hour) are working a lot more than theirs (so you're losing money there), and you have to spend more on supplies (so you're losing money there), and not all of those sizes even sell well (and get recycled every season, so you're losing more money there). Plus, you have to actually educate your fitters, to figure out how to tell which bras fit, rather than just "supporting and giving cleavage" (which is even more man-hours wasted, and anytime you have a fitter who doesn't know their stuff, you have to do damage control because you hold your staff to a much higher standard). Not to mention a lot of properly fit bras don't give anywhere near the level of cleavage a massive band/tiny cups would - so girls are going to want the huge cleavage-y look, leaving you with - nothing.


Which is quite likely why Ewa is their own brand and store - if they tried mass-manufacturing, it probably would bankrupt them. A=tiny, DD=huge, 32 band = less than 115 pounds, 34-38=normal, and 40+ = big tits or fat. We know this isn't true here, but how do you convince millions of women that their information is wrong?

Bras are an intimate thing - like one guy I saw put it, can you imagine trying to tell a man he's wearing the wrong underwear, because his balls sag, and he gets a flap of skin pushed to the side? Why would you expect to have women respond better to a perfect stranger telling them all that they know about bras is wrong, and that they now magically have "H cups", which is a size only (badly fit) pornstars use?

[Raxacoricofallapatorius]

Same size as me. My breasts aren't huge at all. I am just slim. Good luck shopping. It's not easy.

[BikeRunSki]

I'm a 30 or 32 E. John Lewis is your friend!

Cup fittings are proportional to back size, so the E on a 28 is much smaller than on a 36.

[LadyPeterWimsey]

Have literally just measured DD so we can go shopping for a first bra - I think it comes out as a 26D. Is anywhere on the high street going to stock one this size? We have an M&S, a John Lewis, and a Debenhams - but where else should we look?

[GlaikitFizzog]

Lady you might struggle on the high street. I've heard people in her talk about getting a 28 back altered to fit. Have a google, you might have to buy online.

[Nocomet]

£26 for a teens bra!
I wouldn't spend that on a bra for myself, ever.
I'm certainly not spending it on a growing teen who'll change her mind about whether it fits and whether she likes it after 2days!

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Dd has just had her first bra and us a 28b ( she measures more like 26c but that's a compromise as we can't get that size

Try m& s for teen bras but don't let their fitters near her (they'd have my dd in 32AA if I let them.

[LadyPeterWimsey]

Thanks for the tips - we're heading off now. No danger of a fitter getting near her, as she is very unhappy at the thought of anyone but me measuring her boobs. May be for the best!

[GlaikitFizzog]

Sometimes that's all you can get that fits nocomet. If my mum had bought me a bra that fitted rather than just what was the cheapest available in the supermarket maybe my self esteem and body image attitude would have been much better in my teenage years.

[Nocomet]

Also I have tried DD1, who isn't growing so fast with a biger cup smaller band bra (which I think fits better), but she moans the shoulder straps are in the wrong place.

Me I just hate the styles of big cup size bras.

The intervention ladies try and put me in an E/F. I feel ridiculous, hot and covered up.

Sorry I'm way happier in the styles A-D bras come in.

[dexter73]

I spend a small fortune on my dd'd bras. She is a 32F so I am happy to spend the money to buy her well-fitting and supportive bras. (You would possibly explode if you knew her bikini cost £60!!)

[SorrelForbes]

I'm a 30GG and own a drawerful of very pretty bras (mostly Cleos and EMs). For example:

Cleo Bella

Cleo Melissa

CHP Cappucino

[Nocomet]

The black one is odd and the other two need chopping off where the pattern changes, they just have too much cup.

Which on me is both too hot and on a molded cup empty. Without chicken fillets I don't have that much boob, what ever the MN rules say.

[SorrelForbes]

Odd? How, it's a black balconette with cappuccino coloured lace. The Cleo ones don't have too much cup for me but that's because I have breasts that are fairly full on the top (as opposed to being bottom heavy). None of them are moulded cups.

Anyway, I was just trying to demonstrate that they're are a lot of pretty bras out there in bigger sizes (Curvy Kate, Tutti Rouge and Bravissimo also do some gorgeous styles). But as ever, it comes down to personal taste and, of course, the shape of your breasts.

It sounds to me like you might have shallow breasts which are better in something like a Cleo Lucy or a Curvy Kate showgirl range half cup.

[StatisticallyChallenged]

If it was chopped off where the fabric changes then I suspect sorrel would find her nipples popping out regularly to say hello!

[AnythingNotEverything]

I really don't think it's a conspiracy. Most people who are re-sized find they feel more supported, look slimmer and feel safer in their new bras.

This isn't a gimic, but the high street doesn't want to keep up.

[SaveTheMockingBird]

I'm a 28F and I wear this for 15.
www.amazon.co.uk/Panache-Womens-Tango-Plunge-Black/dp/B000O54UOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395064121&sr=8-1&keywords=panache%20tango%20plunge&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21