To expect to actually be measured for a bra fitting?

[CaptainCabinets]

I booked a bra fitting at M&S today as I’ve just finished 13 months of breastfeeding and have also lost a little weight (only about a stone) so my old bras no longer fit properly. For context, I wore a 34G (properly measured and fitted) prior to pregnancy/breastfeeding/weight loss. The band still fits properly but the cup is now too large, so I guesstimated I’d be around a 34E-F these days.

I arrived for my bra fitting, expecting the fitter to have a tape measure to measure me, but she said she ‘just goes by eye’ and that she guessed I would be a 42C based on my shape. She brought a 42C into the fitting room and, predictably, it did not fit me at all. I explained I’d been a 34G previously and she actually laughed at me and said there was no way a 34 band would fit me.

She went to get a 42D and I scarpered from the fitting room while she was out because I had no confidence in her fitting ability and felt completely humiliated after she had laughed at me. Is ‘going by eye’ the norm for M&S bra fitting now?! I could do that my bloody self!

Yes they do this everywhere now, it’s post Covid. They idea is you try different types on and they check for the perfect fit, rather than buying anything in the measured size as brands/ bras vary.

I go to Bravissimo and they never measure, but always provide a good fit.

Yup
ive just been to John Lewis for a bra fitting and she eyeballed me. (Same thing, proper bra after time in a nursing bra)
I was really impressed, she was absolutely spot on with
I’d been a 34b so was quite surprised to be a 32d, particularly as these days my boobs are more like used teabags than anything else

Sorry OP posted too soon- she sounds unpleasant but you might’ve found a good fit after trying a few on.

Best bra I ever had was from Rigby & Peller … no tape measures there

Marks and spencer are notoriously awful at bra fitting. Go to bravissimo. They won't get a tape measure out but they will get it right.

Yes I've been to M&S for a bra fitting and they didn't measure. In fact advised a size that's far too big for me, it's been a total waste of time!

Its years since i had a bra fitting but yes i would expect a tape measure to be used. Are you on Facebook? I am member of a group on Facebook called Boob or Bust they have a calculator that you can use to measure yourself. Its a little out of the ordinary and you may be a little sceptical about the size they give you, bear in mind they do say it's only starting size and you may need to try a few different styles or go up or down a cup size do two but tbh since i found my perfect size on there my boobs have never looked/felt so good.

I had a great ‘by eye’ John Lewis fitting. The woman was right first time, both with sizing and a style that would work. She knew what she was about.

Have never had an M&S fitting after reading so many negative comments on here.

I’ve never quite understood what is all the mystery about bra fitting. You can roughly measure yourself then try bras on, or go by what your existing bra is -what you currently have and then work whether band size and cup size needs to change. Why would a stranger know better than you what want?

I’ve heard so many people say the same things about m&s being crap, but don’t believe it. It’s not possible to be consistently crap across all shop assistants/ branches at something so simple

so the amazing bavissimo (a right con if ever there was one) can measure by eye but when m&s do they’re crap?

they’re supposed to measure with a tape measure and are crap for not doing it- yet you could do this yourself in 30 seconds?

it’s like some weird rivalry sabotage of m&s fitting service 😆

Because I’ve lost all confidence in how I look and how to dress in anything that isn’t a nursing bra or breastfeeding friendly, I thought I’d go to a ‘professional’ to take the guesswork out and make things a little easier. 🤷🏼‍♀️

It's incredibly easy to measure your own bust

However lots of people don't actually know what a good fitting bra looks or feels like.

They just go "oh imma 34 C"
because that's what I always am." When actually they're 32DD or whatever.

Plus it's brand/style/material dependent.

You might be 32 B in a t-shirt bra, and 34 D in a uplift, or 34B in Brand A and 32C in Brand B

so I guesstimated I’d be around a 34E-F
So why not try some on.

I was fitted for a bra in a lingerie shop and the assistant suggested a size and I tried it on. She was right.

The best bra I ever had was fitted at Rigby and Peller, where the fitting lady looked at my boobs, spanned my back with her hands and then brought me a bra that fitted me to perfection. Sadly it was also very expensive, so I wasn’t able to replace it when it wore out.

I asked a bra fitter about this once. She said something like the fabrics vary in stretchiness, the shapes of the bras vary a lot, the shapes of breasts vary a lot, and one 36B is going to be totally different to another 36B.

All my bras fit me and yet they are all different sizes. As long as you come out with bras that fit, why does it matter at how you find the best-fitting bras?

I measure myself and it comes out as a size M&S don’t make (30F). As it is I go to Bravissimo or the excellent Brastop online, but if I ever wanted to buy an M&S bra I would find it difficult to know where to start. M &S say they add 4 or 5 inches to the bra size depending on the measurement (4 in if even number, 5 if odd) so it will be the same size, but this is total nonsense.

Last time I was ‘fitted’ at M&S they gave me a 34 C. I could take it off over my head without undoing it.

I've been bravissimo for 20 years now. I've given m&s a few chances, but they always measure me too wide in the back and small in the cup. I went from 34dd to 30ff in the space of 2 shops! The 30ff never rode up my back; let my boobs droop or relied on the straps to do the work. It also meant shirts fit my boobs better.

I've also taken dd to bravissimo because I want her to know what properly gutted bras feel like.

This. I've spent a fortune in that shop but my god has it been worth it.

They don’t need to measure you if you know what size you’re currently wearing. They can tell if your current bra fits and whether you need to size up or down.

Bravissimo have never measured - they do it all by eye. Always have.

Marks and Spencers are rubbish at fitting. Part of the problem is that they have quite a small range of sizes in store so if you need a larger cup than they stock they'll suggest a smaller cup size that they stock with a larger band size. It sounds like that's what they've done with you today.

The number part of your size is the measurement around your rib cage and the cup size is proportionate to that band measurement so the cup size on a 32C will be bigger than a 36C. If you've lost a stone there's no way you're still a 34 band size. I bet you're more like a 32 or even a 30 and they didn't have much in stock in those smaller sizes.

I'd recommend going to Bravissimo, who tend to ask what size your last bra was and go that and a visual assessment.

I had mine done in fenwicks. No tape measure and she was spot on, fitted me with the best plunge bra I’ve ever had!

I’m a bra maker. I’d never trust m&s bra fitters. This is not the first story I’ve heard about them being rude in the mix too.

while I can understand that size can vary slightly between manufacturers and styles (and even colours) there is no way someone who has previously worn a 34 is going to need a forty fucking two underband!

my weight has fluctuated between 9stone and 13 stone but my underband has only ever changed between a 32 and a 34! The suppprt in the bra comes from the underband so it’s vital that, that part is right.

quick tip if you want to tell whether the underband is right put it on backwards and see how far you can pull it out. It really should be pretty firm but when you have a bra on properly if the cup is too small it can feel like it’s the band, but it’s not.

She was a rubbish fitter. Perfect Fit (Keynsham, independent shop left over from the olden days) has not measured for
years. They listen to your tale of woe, look at you for 4.6 seconds and bring a stack of bras to you in the fitting room. One of them is always perfect and it clearly involves mad levels of skill. Which obviously your rubbish fitter did not have. M&S are worse than Bravissimo, as well; you are optimistic to
think they will sort you out.

Rigby & Peller have never used tape measures. M&S are totally out of touch with reality and still seem to do the +4 measurement from before elastic was elastic.