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 seems to be the case now. I had one fitter who was spot on. When I went back another time they didn't have my size in stock. I asked the fitter which round it is for the equivalent fit-cup up and band down or the other way- she said you can't do that. What? ????? It's always been like that. The same woman also queried the size I was going to try saying it wouldn't fit. She came in after I tried it on and she was surprised that it was a perfect fit.
Best to take a handful of styles and sizes OP and try yourself or take a friend whose opinion you trust. Don't be put off. Think it's pot luck if you get a good fitter. I can't say John Lewis was any better.

Edited for a spelling.

It's not so much the not being measured, but not even asking you what size you've been wearing/think you might be and laughing at your suggestion doesn't strike me as great, so I can understand why you left.

M&S are terrible for bra fitting. I’d try bravissimo (they do virtual ones), or use boob or bust calculator online and order a few from bravissimo to try

Never been measured, only fitted.

I went to an independent bra fitter near where I live. She measured me then suggested some bras for me to buy online. I went back with those and now know the best size to wear in a range of brand. It was really good, and no eyeballing! Lots of measuring and adjusting the fit.

@CaptainCabinets YABU to go and get measured by M and S. The "bra fitter" clearly has no idea how to measure women for bras.

A very basic way to measure is to measure under your bust then over your bust. The underbust measurement is your band size and your cup size is the difference between your underbust and overbust measurement. This is just a starting point.

A professional bra fitter doesn't use a tape measure. We have a brilliant independent lingerie shop in the local market town. When I went to a fitting she asked what size I was wearing and what dress size I was then came back with a selection of bras that all fitted me properly.

As a rough guide, adding 20 onto your dress size is usually your band size, so unless you are a size 22 then a 42 inch band size is completely the wrong size for you.

Stay clear of marks and spencer. Terrible measuring. Try john lrwis bravissimo or and independent lingerie shop

Exactly the same thing happened to me at m&s!, (can't remember if she measured or not- it was pre covid) but following bf, feeling low in my body and they offered when I walked in with bras. When I said what size I thought I was from boob and bust (and I'd already picked up those so had them with me in the fitting room) she looked me up&down and laughed saying I don't think so dear. I felt so humiliated and patronisd. I tried them on and hey surprise, they fitted and the ones she'd brought in didn't!

The problem is M&S. they have no skilled bra fitters. I am a 34 KK. They tried to squish me into a 40DD… my boobs were in 4 parts, squished up and looked horrific, the woman said “there you are a properly fitting bra” I laughed at her and refused to go back. They are all incompetent.

M&S guesstimated me at 42B which I dutifully wore for a few years until I went to bravissimo who measured me at 36DD! The difference was amazing!

When you get a properly fitting bra you don’t spend half your day pulling the strap down at the back it just stays in place. Some bras are a lot more forgiving than others (stretchy lace compared to something with more solid cups for example).

i’ve used bravissimo since before there were shops but as I’ve got older I find it easier to order online & try at home as the shop fitters aren’t all the same & I think they fit you well if you are slim, but once you have “back fat” or an older body they’re not consistently good at fittings unfortunately.

it’s a pain sending things back & forth but worth it to get a good fit & often you can find the same styles for less on other websites too.

I also find the ladies on the phone at bravissimo better than some of the shop fitters

it’s harder work than it should be really when you think about how much bigger bras cost! X

M&S are notoriously bad at bra fitting - and have been for some years.

When I was last measured at marks and Spencer the bra was so tight I couldn't breathe!!!

Manufacturers need to invent an all-size bra tryer-on-er. For each of their ranges.

You know how opticians swap lenses in and out of the weird specs during an eye test? Some kind of endlessly adaptable bra version of that so you can figure out the size without trying on hundreds of different bras.

If that ever appears on Dragon's Den, I am claiming invention rights.

I have Rigby and Peller training as a fitter and have never used a tape measure, just eyeballed it.

The difference is in the level of training, I wasn't allowed to fit unsupervised for 3 months. Not sure if it's true but I was told by someone that M&S staff get half a days training before being let loose on the customers.

Tape measures are unnecessary if you actually know what you are doing.

My petite daughter, size 8 and a 30/32 inch bust went to M&S for a fitting recently. Was ‘measured’ as a 36!! Needless to say she left without buying.

A 42 band is a pretty big size. If you were a 34 before, no way have you gone up to a 42 without significant weight gain. So many people wear too big a band size without realising, and you can see why if this is what fitters are suggesting.

I had an M&S fitter tell me a new bra should fit on the tightest hooks, the opposite of what I've been told at bravissimo which is they fit you to the loosest and then as the bra stretches over time you can move to the tighter hooks. I have zero confidence in m&s for bra fitting.

I have bought but always returned bras from bravissimo - when you return them and can show them the red whelps from the wrong size they refund immediately.

I haven’t had a bra fitting for ages, but m&s always measured me the wrong size. Victoria secrets and Boux avenue were much better.

But it’s the same as buying jeans. You have an idea of your size and you grab a few at that size and one up and one down.

you don’t need professionals to help you buy jeans or fitted dresses or blazers.

That’s the rule I’ve always followed whenever I’ve bought bras, the dress size + 20. I’m a size 14 so there is no way I’m a 42 underbust. I’m going to dig out my tape measure later and measure myself!

My nursing bras were 34G and they do still fit, but of course the aim of a nursing bra is to be able to get a tit out quickly, not necessarily to contain them properly in a way that looks reasonable under clothing 😂

It was more how she made me feel though, I think. I didn’t have the confidence to ask her to bring me the size I thought I might be after she had already laughed at me, so I left with my scabby old nursing bra on 🥲

How skilled do you think a bra fitter is? It’s just a quick training 🤣

Rigby and Peller have only ever looked at me and pretty much always get it right in terms of the sizes they bring. They may even differ slightly by brand.
it’s clever!

never stay with a rude bra fitter!

I know what you’re saying, but a pair of jeans that is too snug or too large isn’t going to give you a bad back by the end of the day. A bra needs to fit properly so your breasts are adequately supported.