To pay £32 for a bra for my 13 year old!

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I don't actually have much choice as my large chested 13 year old is now a 28F! It's hereditary we all are large chested in our family. But she is still growing at Xmas she was a dd and bras on the high street don't go that size so off to bravissimo and 2 bras purchased. This week I noticed she is bursting out of them back to bravissimo and now a 28F! 2 bras purchased at £32 each! And they aren't attractive when you are 13 and want pretty bras your flat chested friends buy in primark! I wish I could pay primark prices.

And now getting upset about bikinis for summer as she realises all the ones she likes that her friends wear are not going to fit. She is going to have to get a (her words) horrible old lady one like you have to wear!

wouldn't advise anyone to buy a bra without proper fitting, especially in the larger sizes. You can get away with sport bras, but the poor girl should be comfortable and have underwear that fit perfectly.

Totally agree for years I listened to the m and s lady who told me I was a 34dd!

I'm large chested as is my mum and sisters. I know how uncomfortable it is not having the right support. I discovered bravissimo eventually and found out I was a 30F a bit different to what I was wearing! I didn't know that if you are a size 8 you are unlikely to need a 34back. I only ever get measured there now and know which sizes I need in different brands.

I was also 13 once and know how you want to be the same as your friends.

She hates getting changed for PE her friends wear crop tops and pretty little bras she has industrial sized bras with wider bands and straps! She also doesn't want anything to grown up i.e. Lacy and see through.

I envy smaller boobed women so much!

PS bikini issue solved thanks to some earlier advice she tried my 32 back one and it's fine. Bikini top purchased from new look with the bottoms of a similar teen one.

M&S do bigger sizes but I do understand what she means. They're not pretty are they? It's very annoying really.
Do La Senza go to her size?

You are not unreasonable to pay that, good bra that supports boobs well is important

I have always been big chested and I haven't yet found a cheap bra that supports my boobs well and I feel confident wearing.

I would also second others that a bra fitting for your dd may be in order too

Pour Moi do lingerie and swimwear starting at size 30 back band (goes up to 44) and go from a size A to size J cup - www.shoppourmoi.co.uk
They have loads and loads of choice - there is a sale on right now and so you can get well fitting bras and swimwear for excellent prices. You can order several styles and sizes and pay one delivery charge of £3.50 and returns/exchanges are free.
They have a shop in Chester and also supply bra stockists so you can get their products from Swimwear365, asos, Next, Brastop, Lipsy, Littlewoods, Figleaves etc. However it pays to use their website as they always have offers on.
The swimwear is a mixture of suits, tankinis and bikinis with matching sarongs and cover ups. Each design of bikini generally comes in different styles e.g. Plunge and balconette or padded and non padded with different styles on the matching briefs e.g. Tie sided or high waisted or high leg cut.
I buy my bikinis from them every year and got a lovely one in 34F with matching briefs for this summer in he sale for £10.50 - should have been £42.

I second eBay and Brastop. It's absolutely great tbh that she's already properly sized - I wore 34Bs () through most of my teen years when I should have been in 28FFs. That she knows what a proper fitting bra looks and feels like already is great!

Miss Mary of Sweden?

Same as pinksky said for bikinis. Buy separates, so buy her size 8/10 bottoms and 16 or 18 top. I have had the clip up tops alteted by being taken in at the back (cups fit but back was too big) so don't always have to be limited to tie up styles although these are usually the easiest. You just have to shop around but Primark, Matalan, New Look and Next have been good.

I wish my flat-chested mother had understood about bras when I was a teen. Was never properly fitted and money never spent.

When I was finally measured came up as a 30F/G . I'd been wearing 36D as that was the biggest that M&S did. Hated myself .

My own DD - as soon as she started to develop - I made sure she was properly fitted and I spent the money. It is so, so important to how you feel about yourself later.

So if you can afford it, prioritise it. And Bravissimo are brilliant - they changed my whole view of how my body looked.

A decent bra is priceless. As a GG cup I've been round them all and M&S/primark/Asda etc are a waste of time. She needs the support of the high end brands like Fantasie/Freya/Berlei. They build panels into the sides of the bras to support the weight of your breasts so that the shoulder straps aren't trying to do everything. Debenhams are good for reductions so if you get her size in one brand you can keep an eye out in the sales.
Getting her into the way of buying quality ones is saving her a lifetime of looking bigger than she actually is and giving her decent support. The complaints about not being nice and 'old lady' ones are probably more to do with her not being able to just saunter into Primark like her mates and pick up 3 or 4 for a tenner i.e not the actual bras but just being different in any way to her peers.
The bras available now are lovely and light years away from the actual old lady ones I had to buy in my teens.

And proper fittings should be something she does regularly. A good fitting also makes you feel good about who you are.

Don't skimp. She will thank you for this.

Try eBay and Amazon. Sometimes the bras I buy at bravissimo are a lot cheaper on there, but it's a bit random!
My dd is a 30 E but can get away with a larger back size in primark, as they come up teeny, so when she goes up a back size you can go back to primark.

I'm sorry but £32 really isn't that much for something so important that you wear all the time.

Takeaways, coffees, snacks, cinema tickets - I know people who spend more on those than £32 a month, ( c £8 a week) and yet won't spend money on decent shoes , bras, food for their kids because you can get them cheaper.

I've just ordered from Poinsetta. Similar range to Bravissimo, but a bit cheaper. Ebay is good for last year's styles of branded bikinis - I like Fantasie and Freya, but a few others that are nice have been mentioned on this thread

Sadly, she's never going to be able to wear a itsy triangle bikini and feel comfortable and supported. So the best thing would be something well fitted in a pretty/funky design that she feels comfortable in.

There is also a little clip thing available called something like a rippy clip? that can reduce the band size. Unfortunately supermarkets, Primark and even M&S are hopeless for small band/large cup, which is ridiculous because when properly fitted, it isn't that uncommon at all.

Just out of interest, checked the primark website - I don't see anything that particularly pretty that she can't find in for example Cleo, Panache or Freya brands.

I also wish I had known my correct size when I was a teenager and wearing a 36D, while assuming it's inevitable that my bra back climbs to my neck, straps dig in and I have constant wobby 4-boobs..

Definitely look online. Brastop and Curvy Kate do some cheaper ones. Also check the sale section on Bravissimo's site, especially with such a narrow back, probably a few available in her size.

If she doesn't want lacy, Panache do good plain, only very slightly padded t-shirt bras, but they are £27 even from Poinsetta as linked above.

Look very similar to those widely available everywhere else, but properly designed and fitted for larger sizes.

Its not that they arent aware, its that they know there's not a huge market for those sizes out there - same as for any of the more niche size combinations (long, thin feet fe).

Have a look for some independent shops, there are still some around, bricks, not Web.

I'm sorry but £32 really isn't that much for something so important that you wear all the time.

Takeaways, coffees, snacks, cinema tickets - I know people who spend more on those than £32 a month, ( c £8 a week) and yet won't spend money on decent shoes , bras, food for their kids because you can get them cheaper.

I buy her kickers for school at £85 a go and until they were no longer cool she always had clarks. I generally cook from scratch and plenty of fruit and food always available. I'm a single mum on an average wage so don't do takeaways coffees cinema etc as I don't have that money to waste.

I know I have to spend it on her bras but I can feel a bit at the cost!! Especially when she is still growing and chances are I will need to replace them sooner rather than later.

If she wants a particular bra, she could look for sister cup sizes and take in the band or wear a rixie clip.

I feel your pain! Post DC when my boobs were settling back down it seemed any spare money each month was spent on yet more bras.
With a teen, its not as if you can just have "one on & one in the wash" as she will need to wear really plain white (or nude?) ones under school shirts & will no doubt want something a bit prettier or different for weekends.

I'm 34G and my best bra purchase was a 2 pack, full cup Tshirt bra from next. I'm sure I was under £30 for both and I hope when I go back in they still do them.

Those next ones are better than my bravissimo purchases.

Bravissimo do excellent best/halterneck tops with built in bras that your DD might like for summer.

I'm 28 and I still at the cost of bra's! They're expensive and they don't last as long as they should. You've every right to be shocked.

Please please please but her them. When I was 14 and a 30G my flat chested mother insisted I could "just get a bigger back size" and bought me 34Ds from M&S.

I got a paper round at 15, started buying Bravissimo and it's worth every penny. I have not felt self conscious, uncomfortable or unsupported ever since. Also wear pretty bikinis! I'm now a 28 and it's the back size that really makes it awkward but still worth the money. As a teenager you stand out and get attention for big boobs, I think a well fitted bra can make all the difference.