to be a bit [shock] when Theo on dragons den said any thing over a DD bra

[delightfullyfragrant]

was not profitable because "it becomes a completely different bra" and costs would be too high.

Am I right in thinking he wouldn't invest in the woman's lingerie company for bigger breasted women because the bras cost too much to make when they get to an E cup?

The woman said that high street shops don't stock bra's above a DD and she wanted to specialise in bigger cup sizes. He just said that's because anything over a DD would need to be a completely different shape/mould and therefore companies find it too expensive.

AIBU to think with attitudes like this no wonder so many women are in the wrong size bras.

I believe that a contributing factor to the obesity problem is actually lack of money.

Its expensive to eat well. Vegetables are more expensive than going to iceland and filling your freezer with shit.

There are a lot of reasons for obesity. The availability of larger bras isnt one of them.

No one says "I want to pile on the pounds to get bigger breasts."

Moving away from this idea that humiliating women with bigger breasts will reduce obesity, there is clearly a market for a budget range for bigger bras. So maybe this is something for Dragon's Den - develop a bra type that is suitable for bigger breasts but doesn't cost a fortune.

If anyone is stuck for a business idea, you may borrow it.

I think my point is

I don't think over DD is a niche market

I do think by not having more structured bras available on the high street leads to more women wearing the wrong size

By saying over DD is niche it makes normal sized women think they can't be over DD and wear the wrong size.

Unlike clothes, bra's are important to be correctly fitted to avoid long term back problems.

Agreed. I seem to have derailed your thread somewhat OP - apologies for that.

My point is that making things in larger sizes is not the answer to then obesity crisis and can, IMO make things worse.

I will leave it at that.

I also think that high street retailer like La Senza can get away with selling wrong size bras to younger girls who a0 haven't reach their full size yet and b) fundamentally don't need much support so the wrong size isn't going to notice so much.

This however, doesn't make it right.

I find asda and Primark big size bras are rubbish, after a few weeks they have gone out of shape and so uncomfortable( i hand wash my bras and air dry them) so i know it's not me.

i prefer to pay more for decent bra, i have big breasts and they need alot more support.

cake

I don't think anyone thinks making bigger sizes is the "answer to the obesity crisis" Just as not making clothes in bigger sizes is also not the solution.

If you were talking about super sizing food portions then fair enough but you're not.

Nobody's denying 'fatties' with decent sized clothes

A TV show has pointed out that larger bra sizes cost more to make and are unprofitable. That's all this is about.

If they are unprofitable, then they are unprofitable. It's that simple. Until we have bra making as a pubic service paid for by the tax payer, we just have to put up with it.

Like the fact that people who need glasses have to pay for them, or people who need certain footwear have to pay for it.

"Nobody's denying 'fatties' with decent sized clothes"

The replies are in answer to Cake's post Fredo!

I know it's been said, but your cup size is likely to go down if you gain weight, because your back size gets bigger. I've been 30E and I'm now 36C cos I'm fatter. Much easier to get.

I am happier with Theo knowing and saying that bigger bras need different manufacturing, than with him not saying it and pretending it's ok to churn out crappy-quality big bras.

I can see that, but they are extreme responses.

It was an extreme post.

I put the entire blame at M&S with their crap measuring, crap stock and their status as the nation's bra stockers. If their bra assistants were better trained they would realise they were stuffing people into the wrong sizes and the effect would trickle down and everyone would recognise that sizes DD and above are statistically the norm. I still smile with pleasure at the memory of the first bra I got that fitted me properly and what a massive difference it made to my posture and outfit.

freddos - I take your point about needing to pay for things if you're unlucky enough to need them, but I do sometimes find it a bit strange that you can get a reduction on the NHS if they're big enough to damage your back, but not 'prescription bras' or something which might be cheaper. But then I guess prescription bras would probably be hideous so we wouldn't want them!

With regards to Theo's comments, he's probably right that it costs more to make bigger bras. However, he is wrong about the following:

• That over DD is a niche market, as that would imply DD+ is a very unusual body shape held by a small number of women, which is simply not true.

• That it's not profitable to produce them, as there are companies (Bravissimo being the prime example) who are already running succesfully on this business model.

He might say the market is saturated, or that it would be difficult to compete with the likes of Bravissimo as it's a strong brand, but the notion that it's not profitable shows that he doesn't understand the market. Maybe he's trying to protect La Senza's reputation by justifying why they don't stock a wider variety of sizes?

I think cake has a point. Should we all start having to pay more for flights because some people don't fit in the seats? Should we all start paying more for shoes because some people have specific footwear requirements? Should we all start paying more for bras because some people need bigger sizes?

If he's using the LaSenza DD+ range as a proof that the market isn't big then it's flawed logic as their bras are as expensive as the branded DD+ bras (panache, Freya, Fantasie etc) but badly made and badly fitting so I'd be surprised if they were a money spinner for him!

I'm a G cup (not overweight by the way, just large of nork) and spend a fortune on bras! but not in LaSenza M&S or Next, (my high street options for own brand bras.) I have bought a few from debenhams but have compromised on quality and comfort for pretty colours

I buy brands from Debenhams House of Fraser and John Lewis and from Bravissimo when I can get to a shop (I usually buy online only when I know the bra as I can't be doing with returns!)

From what I've seen over the last couple DD+ bras ARE an expanding market and there is lots more choice (I thank Bravissimo for making other chains see there is a market for them and for teaching me that I was not a 38C!!!) 10 years ago I was wearing a C cup and apart from Bravissimo (only in London then I think) there was nothing available above a DD. (apart from white granny bras with straps about a mile wide from M&S) Things have changed a lot already and that's because there IS a market for pretty bras in DD+ sizes.

What worries me is the choice beyond G cups is still VERY limited. My mum is a J cup and really struggles to find anything that fits her. (and they are hideous!!)

I'm a size 12-14 and a 32f or 34e depending on where i buy my bras - cake I find your argument extraordinary. I'm not obese, very few of the women I know are obese - yet nearly all of them have boobs bigger than a d cup! I don't think we are unusual. Look at how women's body shapes have changed over the last 60 years - about the time of the war women were smaller with more pronounced waistlines. With improvements in healthcare and diet for the whole of the population the body shape of women has changed - look at the proportions of vintage clothing compared to those of today. The size of your boobs is not solely dependent on diet - it's not only obese women with big boobs.

X posted LRD.

In most cases though women had defined waists because their cast iron underwear held it all in.

cake.... I've never been larger than a 10/12 in my life but have ranged from 34C to 34F over the last 10 years. Now that I'm not breastfeeding my boobs are decreasing in size again... I'm back down to a 34D. But trying to find bras that I could afford over the last few years has been a nightmare. And completely unrelated to obesity.

Larger women tend to have larger back sizes by definition, a far more likely explanation for the increased number of 30/32/34 DD+ sizes is a mixture of women being fitted properly and an increasing number of women opting for surgical enhancement.

Everyone knows the largest component of breast size is genetics , obesity is a variable.

I have larger breasts due to genetics , but they have gotten larger due to weight.
There are thousands of obese women with small breasts but I think back size is a bigger issue their and the assumption large chested women want to hide their breasts infuriates me

What cake is saying isn't totally wrong

obesity will affect bra sizes but making a decent bra's shouldn't really be that hard if they made moulded rather than stuffed with padding.

I think cake has a point. Should we all start having to pay more for flights because some people don't fit in the seats? Should we all start paying more for shoes because some people have specific footwear requirements? Should we all start paying more for bras because some people need bigger sizes?

Following Cake's logic, we should stop creating shoes for bigger feet to discourage people from having big feet, and they should walk barefeet until they feel humiliated enough to squeeze into smaller shoes.

CakeMe, what people on this thread are saying in particular is that it is very hard to find bras in small back sizes and large cup sizes. If you could point us at all these women who are apparently obese and yet are a size 28-32 back that would be very interesting. Or could it be that stocking bras in a 28E isn't actually going to "normalise obesity" because women that size are, pretty much by definition, not obese?