Why is it so hard to get bras in a smaller back size?

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Out bra shopping for teen daughter. She'd be best in a 28F, can wear a 30E in some designs but definitely not a 32" or bigger, it's just far too loose. I'm a 30E or F. Even less able to go up a back size because I'm old enough to actually need some support.

I usually shop at Rigby & Peller for myself, love it. But it's blooming expensive for a teenager when what she really wants is something cheap and fashionable and doesn't need anything particularly sturdy.

But I've been traipsing around high street shops and there's literally nothing less than a 32" back that goes above a D cup, and nothing at all in a 28" back. It's 30 A - 30D, 32 A - DD and then loads of choice from 34" upwards, right up to 40". This includes specialist lingerie shops like Victoria Secret, and general women's clothes shops.

The thing is, I'm a former teacher and now a youth worker and I also coach a youth sport. I see dozens of teenage girls every day. Obviously I don't stare at their breasts or ask them what size they are, but my daughter doesn't at all stand out as being an odd shape and size compared to the average. In fact, she's got a naturally larger frame than quite a lot of girls her age, she is in no way petite. And the same for me as an adult. I just look normal, size 8-10 in clothes, can shop pretty much anywhere.

I don't understand how we can be such regular sizes but not be catered for in bras.

I know that reportedly a large proportion of women are in the 'wrong' size bra, but I've honestly tried 32" and 34" bras before, and so has my daughter, and they're just no good at all. So what's going on? Are we actually freakishly uncommon sizes? Do a large number of women walk around with a really loose bra and not care? Are there some market forces that make smaller back sizes not profitable?

AIBU in thinking that 30E is not a really unusual bra size to be, and to be baffled that retailers seem to think it is?

As a rough guide your clothes size plus 20 is your bra back size. So a size 8 top is a 28in back, size 10 is a 30 etc.

Belle Lingerie is good and has a couple of hundred styles in 28F https://www.belle-lingerie.co.uk/shop-by-size/28f/ - if you sign up to TopCashBack you get 5% cash back if you go via them.

Yes Belle Lingerie are a very good site to use

28s are tricky but a quick glance at the John Lewis and M&S websites shows literally hundreds of bras in a 30E for example. High street fashion shops that happen to sell some bras rather than having a bona fide lingerie department have much less of a range.

M&S does perfectly good bras - just don't let them near her with the Measuring Tape of Doom.

It's the small back / larger cup that's an issue. I've just looked on the m&s website and the only ones they do in my size (30ff) are panache / Freya / fantasie, and almost all of them seem to be online only. M&S don't appear to stock this size in their own brand, or in store. My boobs are not massive, they fit into normal size 10 non-stretchy tops!

So back to bravissimo where you can actually try them on.

I have had some luck by just searching for the size on Vinted/eBay if that helps.

That's not because they don't do 30FF, it's because they don't do FF at all - M&S go straight from F to G. They have a decent range of own-brand 30Gs.

The whole DD thing is stupid anyway.

I agree OP. I'm a 28F-30E and tend to wear 30Es from M&S and Next. I find non wired styles easier (no wires digging in if the size isn't spot on).
I wear Panache if I want to wear a wired bra.
I do think it's got easier though. There are far more options for small back/bigger cup bras than there were when I was in my teens and 20s.

Once your DD has been fitted and found a brand/style that works for her, you can often find good (new) bras discounted on ebay. Brands like Freya and Panache in previous seasons colours. Cleo by Panache is worth a look.

I'm a 28gg but often have to settle for 30 ff/e It's hard to find them in my actual size and preferred style. I end up having to order from multiple places and mutilple sizes because they all seem to vary. I'm quite petite frame and narrow so trying to find a style that doesn't pinch me in my armpits is difficult. I also can't afford to buy 10 bras to find one that fits bigger cups often mean more expensive. I'm not even looking for particularly nice looking just comfort I don't know why it has to be so difficult.

Has she looked at Brastop.com?

Oh yes, you're right!

Sadly, I want a 30ff though, not a 30g.

This isn't really a solution, it's a compromise, but you could alter the bra if you're handy with a needle and thread. That's what I've done. I just fold the back strap under the reinforced fastening bit and stitch it up. This might also mean she could buy some of the cheaper, more mainstream designs.

Haven't rtft but from experience I can advise that a 32 band in h&m is meant for a size 6. 34 is for a size 8 etc.

I order from m and s and collect the 28s

I’m a 28E and have had a few Panache Cleo bras, definitely found them the best for ‘proper’ bras. I’ve just been wearing bralettes though for a couple of years now, so much easier to find! Or braless (with nipple covers) with some tops, much easier than trying to find a strapless bra in that size.

Buy a few online from M&S, they don't often have a full range in store and send back what you don't want

Go to Bravissimo to get properly fitted (as an aside, both House of Fraser and JL said I was the same size as Bravissimo, so other places do fit using the same approach - just not M&S), and then once you've found a brand/style that suits, you can buy online.

I've been buying the exact same bra for years - I buy last season's colours and they're a fraction of the cost of the current 'on trend' colours.

Bravissimo have the best choice and selection by far, which is why I'd always get fitted there first.

Elomi bras are expensive but come in a range of chest and cup sizes. One of my DDs wears them.

I love Elomi, but unfortunately for the OP they only start at a 32" band.

Bravissimo do a full range of back sizes. Don’t know where they fall on the fashionable rating.