I have to confess to being a size 10 in trousers right off. But don't hate me. when I say on the bottom I mean it. My top half is all bust it seems. And I seem to have similar problems, although off on a tangent.
everywhere I go i struggle to find anything that fits. Nothing is fitted for bust room anymore. They just assume you'll fit the catwalk trend of being flat on top. Which, as I'm sure you will all agree (particularly just post pregnancy) is really rather rarely the case.
For me it's bras that are the problem. Even specialist shops don't go up all the way in all their designs. bravissimo is aimed at plus size boobs, but there are so many things in their catalogues that only go up to a G.
And it's the same everywhere. One of the most prominent models in their catalogue is a woman clearly on the very smallest scale of their lingerie. And while i have to say hats off to them for at least showing some larger women, they are certainly missing from every other brand easily seen by women.
I have always hated the degrading way that catwalks parade womens clothes as ludicrous objectsthat women will always have to suffer to wear. I have never seen a single thing that's come down a catwalk and looked anything other than ridiculous (admittedly I'm talking clips i've seen while channel surfing)
why not design clothes that will look good on people? Because designing clothes around a mostly unattainable dream of a figure surely can't be as productive as designing clothes to look good on a common body shape. The shop that starts making normal women looking great for a reasonable price first will drive all the others off the shelf.
(oh, and my tops range from a 12 in M&S to often an 18 in H&M. It also depends on the cut I want. if I'm prepared to put up with it being skin-tight around my bust then i can usually squeeze into a 16.)
wotulookinat, I always look out for 3/4 length tops. I have rubbish skin on my arms so i use that as a compromise. Or I wear sort sleeved (or vest tops) and have a 3/4 blouse over the top.