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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think mothercare bra fitters need proper training

35 replies

CaffeineBomb · 01/04/2016 20:04

I was sorting through my dresser and found one of my pregnancy bras from last year after going to a lovely lady at m and s, 34GG really comfy, fit well and was like a dream after wearing underwire until
35 weeks. The only reason I went there is because mothercare didn't have the size they claimed I was in stock, anyone want to guess what mothercare thought I should be wearing? It was shockingly out and looking back I really should have complained

OP posts:
DoesAnyoneReadTheseThings · 01/04/2016 20:04

44B

RubbleBubble00 · 01/04/2016 20:07

Guessing 38d

BloodyHell33 · 01/04/2016 20:08

32a

NeedsAsockamnesty · 01/04/2016 20:09

They are shocking in there and sram to tell everybody they are a 44c

dementedpixie · 01/04/2016 20:09

You're just lucky M&S got it right as they normally add inches to the back size too

Original poster
CaffeineBomb · 01/04/2016 20:10

They told me I was a 36j! If I had a bra that big my boobs would now be swinging around by my knees! Confused

OP posts:
StatisticallyChallenged · 01/04/2016 20:11

A lot of nursing bras are on American cup sizes so they skip lots of the double letters - but YANBU as mothercare (and M&S 99% of the time) are shite at fitting

Original poster
CaffeineBomb · 01/04/2016 20:11

dementedpixie I've had good and bad experiences with m and s. I prefer bravissimo but that was another 40 minutes away and I remember needing nothing more than to get out of my underworld bra immediately Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
CaffeineBomb · 01/04/2016 20:12

Underwired!! Not underworld

OP posts:
StatisticallyChallenged · 01/04/2016 20:14

this for example where the J would be roughly equal to a GG as they're missing ff, gg and hh

Glitterkitten24 · 01/04/2016 20:18

Immediately prior to this pregnancy I was measured as 32e in bravissimo.

The maternity bras I have from mothercare from last pregnancy are 38b!
I dug them out this time around but they are fit for nothing except perhaps to sleep in. Dreadful fit!

unimaginative1979 · 01/04/2016 20:18

It's not that far out!

Your 34GG would have been comfy it may not of fitted correctly.

Original poster
CaffeineBomb · 01/04/2016 20:18

I didn't think double letters were the equivalent of a whole cup size? Learn something new each day!

The back measurement was still too big though meaning that I had no support and the J came from her measuring my bust as they had no bras in that size to try

The woman in m and s looked at me like I was a loon when I asked for a 36 J Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
CaffeineBomb · 01/04/2016 20:20

It fit fine, I checked it the way they do in bravissimo. I just don't rate mothercare bras much anyway and don't see how you can do a bra fitting without giving someone a bra to try on

OP posts:
StatisticallyChallenged · 01/04/2016 20:24

Yup, double letter are whole cup sizes and basically mean an inch difference from the previous size - they're not a half way house. Americans tend to do D, DD, DDD, F, G, H and so on. You don't get that many US sized bigger cup bras ( as they hardly make any!) but nursing bras seem to be the exception.

I suspect the Mothercare woman thought it went like the normal alphabet, some of them get lost at DD...

Heirhelp · 01/04/2016 20:27

Double cup sizes are half sizes. So DD is half way between a D and an E.

I have never been fitted correctly in M and S. I need to go and get fiited for a feeding bra and I would rather go to M and S or mothercare as they are closer but I think I will make the effort to go to Bravissimo so I know it fits properly and I know how to feeding bra should fit.

Mousefinkle · 01/04/2016 20:29

Yanbu. I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I was a 38 FF in my first pregnancy, she measured me as a 34 DD Confused.

StatisticallyChallenged · 01/04/2016 20:29

No, they're not heirhelp. They're full sizes. It's half way between a DD and an D, but the difference between a D and a D is the same as the difference between a D and a DD.

dementedpixie · 01/04/2016 20:35

Each cup size is a difference of 1 inch including the double cup sizes so the double cup sizes are a full cup size bigger not a half cup

Heirhelp · 01/04/2016 20:40

statically do you mean that the distance between A and a B is the same between DD and an E?

StatisticallyChallenged · 01/04/2016 20:42

That was meant to sad C and D, fat fingers, but yes - each cup size is 1" bigger than the one before. The exception is AA, which means

Heirhelp · 01/04/2016 20:46

Every day is a school day. Thanks. My boobs are much bigger than I thought!

Original poster
CaffeineBomb · 01/04/2016 20:47

Shouldn't they make it clearer that's the sizing system they're using? Would mean vastly different sizes in different brands/shops I would never think to assume I'd been measured in US sizes Confused

OP posts:
Heirhelp · 01/04/2016 20:51

Statically I am really confused about how to measure myself now. I might have to ask the bra ladies on the style board.

StatisticallyChallenged · 01/04/2016 20:52

I think it's more a lack of knowledge with mothercare rather than deliberately using a different system. They tend to have very limited stock in stores so they rarely properly fit a bra. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if the woman went "Hmm, 10" difference, that's A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J"

Thankfully the US sizing is fairly unusual. We tend to run in to it on the bra threads either with nursing bras or when we're trying to help people find quite big cup sizes (L/M/N type territory) as they come up in internet searches but of course are too bloody small!

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