Bra intervention - How has it affected you?

[boogiewoogie]

So with more of use being remeasured and swapping old bras for our real sized bras, I wonder whether whether it's made much of a difference overall. Please feel free to share your experience, your old and new bra size and whether bra intervention has made a difference to you.

Okay, so for me, I was already quite small at 32A but my problems were mainly that the straps would fall down, the band would ride up when I lifted my arms and there would be gaping between the cups. I've tried several 28Ds and am currently wearing a Cleo Marcie 28DD. No more falling straps, band staying put and no flashing nipples when I lean over. However, they seem rather uncomfortable with the first few wears. I

It does mean however that to buy 28 back bras, I would have to rely doing it mostly online or wait till I get to a big city.

[OneLittleLady]

It's been great for me. I was measured originally as an A cup then as a C cup but I'm actually a G. I don't understand how the instore bra fitters could get it so wrong. I have bad shoulders anyway because of a medical condition but having a badly fitting bra caused me even more pain that I needn't have been in. A bra intervention for me has lessened the pain in my shoulders, improved my posture, dropped me a dress size on top, overall improved the fit of my clothes and just generally made me feel good

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Made a huge difference. I'd been walking around in 36 bs for years. When I actually got properly fitted I turned out to be a 36 D

No more straps digging in and I don't look like a man any more :)

[WaitingForMe]

DH and I had a lengthy conversation and he supported me in saving for a reduction and lift because my breasts depressed me. So we saved in the region of £6k and he is absolutely delighted because he loves my boobs.

On the flip side I'm currently working up a list of desired clients and rejected a lingerie shop because they insist on M&S measuring. I simply cannot work with someone who purports that! I'm also in a slightly silly argument with a friend who claims to be a 32A. I wear a 32/34F and she is a size 8 to my 10-12. No way do we have the same ribcage - I'd beat her in a fight just by sitting on her! I find I'm quite militant and far too interested in peoples breasts!

[EdwiniasRevenge]

I was wearing 38AA.

I'm now wearing 32EE/F.

My whole torso has definition. I have shapely breasts and a waist. People have asked if I've lost weight.

I'm a size 14/16 BTW.

[turkeyboots]

Huge difference here to. I was always a 38b and a 40b when pregnant. Except I am really a 36E.

[pinkflaming0]

32C to 30DD. With the right bra I now don't find the cups are too close together and the band doesn't ride up at the back - looks much better. Wish more mainstream shops would stock 30 and 28 backs. Don't they realise that most/many of the size 10, 8 & 6 or smaller ladies they sell clothes to are probably a size 30 back or smaller??!?!?

Oh and the specialist DD+ manufacturers need to realise that 30DD doesn't mean big boobs that require thick straps etc. to be supportive.

This is my absolute favourite bra just wish there was a smooth 't-shirt' style version.

[HazleNutt]

I intervened myself some years ago, but I can tell what difference a well fitting bra makes. I used to be in 36DD - I'm about 30/32FF normally. I thought that

• in my size, you can't wear anything but full cup styles, as boobs kept escaping from anything else.
  
• If you do wear a plunge or balconnet bra, it's normal that you have to keep stuffing the boobs back every now and then. Normal to wobble when you walk.
  
• you can't get the central gore to lie flat.
  
• normal that straps leave dents in your shoulders - sure, boobs are heavy and hang with all their weight on the straps.
  

-normal that you have to keep pulling the band back down throughout the day.

• it's not possible to run or do any intensive sports, sports bras don't work.
  

Guess what - all wrong!

[LoveVintage]

I went from being measured a 36GG in Debenhams (and spending a lot of money on bras that size!) to a 32H, which I have just started buying bras in. Not a massive difference, but makes a huge difference to my overall shape.

I hope one of the big differences is that the high street retailers will see a shift in the sizes people are buying, and cater better for us.

[InMySpareTime]

Intervention plus massive weight loss moved me from 38F to 26G.
It's no easier to buy bras, but the ones I do get fit properly (I used to be able to keep keys/wallet etc down my bra!)

[JabberJabberJay]

I don't think I've found the right bra yet.

I was wearing a 36B or C. Pretty uncomfortable but I suppose I was used to it.

Intervention put me at at a 32F or a 34E. Bravissimo assistant put me in a 32F. I bought a few in that size but they were hideously uncomfortable- so tight in the band I felt I couldn't breathe properly. Cup size felt right though.

Tried a 34E instead but TBH it was no better. Band too tight and overspill in cups. Tried some 34Fs next but they were too large in the band and rubbed...

Feeling quite downhearted as I've spent about 100 quid on bras this month and still don't have one that fits.

Might go back to my 36Bs

[Chopsypie]

Went from 38 dd to 36ff.

My figure is better, my posture is better, my clothes fit better.

I am also evangelical about it. I've been known to whip my tape measure out at work and send people off to the toilets to measure. Including one person who was wearing a 36a and is now wearing a 28e!

[StatisticallyChallenged]

Jabber it sounds like the original sizing was right but you haven't found the right bras for you - there's a huge range. Also, you've gone from a 36 to a 32 which is a big size change and will take a while to get used to - I wouldn't suggest immediately wearing bras that much tighter for a full day tbh. New bras generally need a little breaking in IMO, plus you've had a considerable size change so the new bras will have entirely different pressure points.

[HumphreyCobbler]

scooping! no more bulges out the back.

[Soyoureallythinkso]

Well I am now wearing the right band size (28 or 30 instead of 32) BUT according to Mumsnet my cup size should be C or D. I have tried these sizes and the cups are empty! And yes I have scooped.

I am a skinny size 6 with very little boobs.
Was previously wearing a 32A

[Badvoc]

Well....I have been wearing 36ff for ages now.
Have lost some weight and knew I had gone down in size...so got some 36 d bras. Didn't fit either!
Got measured today and am....a 32ff!!!!
The difference is incredible - it will take some time to get used to the tighter fit but the shape is soooo much better!l

[StatisticallyChallenged]

Soyoureallythinkso - the cup measurement is much harder tbf. However - moulded bras (especiall plunge ones) are dire for gaping on lots of people, especially if you have lost fullness towards the top of your breasts (or never had fullness there to begin with.)

It could be a shape issue in which case try something balconette or half cup - a wider but squarer cup rather than one which is higher at the sides

[bigkidsdidit]

My new ones look better but they dig in between my breasts. I can't wait to get home and undo them! I am quite slim on my top half. Have I got the size wrong or will it get better?

[StatisticallyChallenged]

Which bras did you buy bigkids?

[bigkidsdidit]

Which brand? They are Elle McPherson. I've gone from 36a to 32d.

[WowserBowser]

I wish i had never been bra intervened as i now RAGE at the lack of decent sizes in shops. So many people must wear the wrong size for the shops to have such a pitiful selection.

I went from a 34c to a 30f. I was stunned as my boobs are fairly small. I got a 30f and cups are perfect I'm just not used to my bras being tight.

I tried on a 32dd bra in Next as it was the biggest they did in that band - 30c biggest in 30s. The band was too big and now my 34c bras feel ridiculous.

I will shop around for a perfect fit.

What i discovered most from the bra intervention threads was that my shoulders hurt as the band was too loose. The band should take some of the support.

[ProjectGainsborough]

My boobs are getting bigger! One of the bra ladies said that it might happen because of the scooping and it's true. My armpit boob is now boob-boob.

I have tiny tits and I am delighted.

[BirthdayMuppet]

I now take a tape measure out with me when I go to the pub with female friends I've intervened three girlfriends during drunken nights out

[RosegoldRuby]

I went from a 38 c or d to a 34ff.
Apart from looking perkier , the pain I'd had in one breast for about 7 years has completely gone.

[boogiewoogie]

Hmm, had a look at my bra drawer just now and tried some of my old favourites. I realise that looking at the mirror that they look ridiculous! The cups seem to just "sit" on the end of my boobs and they're tiny! My new ones seem to fit where my breasts are without being too close together iyswim.

Soyoureally It does take a while to find decent fitting bras, especially with the right shape as well as the size. I ordered the Panache Tango ii Plunge in 28D and 28DD and neither of them fitted because I'm not pointy enough.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

I was an M&s 38b. My boobs were squashed sideways in a middle aged spread type way. I used to put my nads to the sides and underneath and be able to push my boobs at lesst 2 inches in and up. Couldn't understand why underwired bras didn't support them but seemed to just sit over them.
The wires sat at least half an inch from my rib cage, and the bra constantly rode up, sometimes half my boobs would be escaping out under the wires.

I didn't even know that tha middle bit was supposed to sit flat to the chest!! On reading a bra intervention thread last June I pushed the bit against my chest and was stunned at the way my boobs immediately bulged over the top of the cup.

I now wear Freya's in a 34e. I am a different shape. My belly looks smaller because my boobs stick up and out. Last summer all my dresses looked better. I Bought a cup sized swimsuit and felt fab on holiday.

I discovered that my boob shape is totally unsuited to moulded cups yet I'd been wearing those for years, but they weren't like bras on me, more like some kind of bandage that squashed my boobs and made my top half look a dress size bigger.

My only regret is that I didn't keep one of the 38b, it would have acted as a nice reminder how far I've come!

Oh and nothing in marks and spencer fits me, not in any size. I don't know who they think they are making bras for but I suspect it's not humans.