Trainer bra for 11yo - where to buy?

[assumedname]

My dd, 11, now wants a trainer bra. Doesn't need it for support, just the embarrassment pov.

She doesn't want to go into a shop to get measured, so where's the best place to buy one 'off the shelf'?

Feel free to point me to any archive threads available.

Cheers.

[Nbg]

The girls section at Etam (is it still tammy girl?), M&S, Avon.

There are a few places.

[Nbg]

BHS and Debenhams too.

[assumedname]

Thanks Nbg.

How do you work out the cup size? She's a 3" difference between the two measurements.

[Nbg]

I don't know tbh. Do trainer bra's have proper sizes or do they go by age or height IYKWIM?

[miam]

this may help you find the correct size for your dd.

[CarolinaMoon]

think you add 5 inches to the rib measurement - if the bust measurement is the same, it's an A cup, one inch less is AA, one inch more is B (I think).

if that's right, then she isn't an AA yet. How about cropped vests? (sorry if that is totally uncool now, don't have an 11yo of my own so prob a bit out of date...)

[assumedname]

Miam - tried the site, and it says she ought to be a 32B, as she's 27" round the ribcage and 30" over the boobs.

Mind you, she has always had a big ribcage (as I do, too) so that may skew the bra fitting a bit. I mean she's got points rather than substance, iyswim.

CarolinaMoon - I've tried the cropped vest thing and she finds having the extra layer a bit much in the heat. Also, I think she wants to feel she's grown-up enough to wear a bra.

Thanks for the responses.

[Tortington]

bhs

[Skribble]

I hate the term trainer bra ahhh, sorry.

[pindy]

M&S are very good, use the changing rooms. Good luck

[assumedname]

Thanks, custardo and pindy. I really think I'll have to take her to one of the big stores. Unfortunately, where I live, we don't have any! Ah well, need bra, must travel.

Skribble - first time I've used the words trainer bra and I'm not keen, either, but thought it was the convention. Is there a good alternative?

[frogs]

Bite the bullet and go to a proper old-fashioned department store to get measured. Rigby and Peller are the very best, if you're anywhere near London. Take her out to lunch and make a day of it.

I've taken my 10yo dd with me to R&P when I've bought bras for myself, so she knows that when her time comes that's where we'll head to. If she doesn't get over the embarrassment at the beginning, she's got a lifetime of ill-fitting bras ahead. And who needs that?

[CarolinaMoon]

frogs, . Have never been - are they v expensive?

assumed name, is this M&S thing any help?

You can buy their 'first bras' online, but hardly has the same rit of passage factor, does it?

[assumedname]

frogs - thanks for that. According to the M&S sizing guide, she's a bit less than a 30AA, which is more in line with what I was thinking.

Unfortunately we are nowhere near London. I'll have a chat with her about going to get fitted for a bra, it does make sense.

Thanks all.

[assumedname]

doh - CarolinaMoon for the M&S thingy.

I think you're both spot on about making a day of it as a rite of passage though - will take her out for lunch. Just the sort of thing she'd enjoy.

[Ailsa]

I took dd1 for a bra fitting about a month ago. We hadn't intended to, but I agreed that if she wanted to she could just wear a bra on PE days. We went to M&S and came out with 2 bras which she has worn constantly since.

Sports Bra and Lace Trimmed Bra You can also buy them off the shelf - best to see if dd will be measured though, and try some on. DD1 was measured at 28AA, but the bras were too tight around the ribs, she ended up with 32AA which she says are really comfy.

[frogs]

Carolina Moon -- Rigby & Peller do a whole range of makes of bra, and yes, if I'm honest, they are on the expensive side. Not pisstakingly so, but still.

But it is so, so worth it. It's a lovely boudoiry atmosphere, very girly, with lots of middle-aged women being down-to-earth about their physical imperfections. Not scary at all, but def. a treat, hence an ideal place to take a youngster for her first bra fitting. And you come away with a bra that really fits, whereas I always come away from M&S with a bra that almost nearly fits. And it's cheaper than a boob job. A bargain, really.

[CarolinaMoon]

oh that does sound lovely! Once I've finished bfing I'll go there and treat myself - gawd knows what state my boobies will be in by then...