Maternity bra or mattress protector - can you tell the difference?

[PlinkertyPlonk]

I went to M&S (yes, ok, so that was probably my first mistake) and asked for a pretty, non-wired 34A bra. I was hoping i might find something like this but somehow ended up with this.

MY DP said it looks like a mattress cover.

"An A will be way too small for you" said the sales assistant when she first saw me. Lo and behold, the 34A doesn't even fit, it's too big! "That's all we have to offer, you'll grow into it" she said.

What is wrong with British lingerie companies? An A fits me in France. I'm sick of UK bra sizes all being supersized and quite frankly rubbish. I just want a pretty bra that fits. Is that too much to ask? Who in their right mind is making bras out of mattress covers?!

Stop going to m&s. :)

Try bravissimo or lasenza?

I'm too small :(

34A is MASSIVE for me (normally a AA), which is why I was hoping to finally fit all those lovely pretty bras that everyone else wears.

Bravissimo only go from a D cup :)

Debenhams were very good when I went in for maternity bras.

Once you've got a good measurement, have a look online for pretty things.

Ah sorry. Im at the 'abit too large' end of the boob spectrum, so rather clueless.

Smallest size is 28A, no idea if thats any help:
www.figleaves.com

Mild at your cleavage crosshair.

I like to think my problem is a broad back, rather than small boobs. No chance of squeezing into a 28 unfortunately.

Debenhams looks promising if I can squeeze into their 32Bs - will my back continue to get broader after 1st trimester?

I would say probably, I was a 34c before preg, went up to a 36c in early preg, 38d in late preg. 40e (!) in early BF and down to a 38dd now again (13w preg but DS still on one BF a day)

I got sized, then bought bras online. Ebay had a load of mothercare ones for half the price (pretty emily b ones too)

M&S are rubbish for bras. I hate them. But, like Crosshair, I am at the other end of the spectrum!

I've gone from 34G to 36G in this pregnancy so not a massive difference. BF didn't make a massive difference to me having huge boobs anyway.

I second Figleaves - they've always been pretty good to me.

Appologies if you already know this, but are you sure you are that size? What do you actually measure

a - underbust, actual measurement, no adding 5/rounding up bollockness

b - over fullest part of bust in a bra

After year of wearing a 36C, I found out on here I am a 32F, wish I known for pg and bf, they might not be so saggy now if I had been fitted correctly.

yeah, M&S are bloody shite at bras.
really, seriously.
they're all baggy in the wrong places, and they're designed for very odd shaped boobs (the ones I try on seem to want me to have no boob except an elongated shape at the nipple - rather like an alligator snout)

Go to John Lewis instead.
(and maybe your back size isn't a 34, then you might find a better cup fit)

That's so true - weird, weird, WEIRD boob shape in M&S!!! Everyone grumbles about them; how are they still in business?

Unfortunately John Lewis was no better; and I ended up with a bra that even granny would have shunned.

I've never gone by official size charts (they actually don't have a box for my measurements!). I'm 31" and 34". What does that make me? (apart from quite flat chested ). I'm wearing 32B in French bras, but a UK 32B is too tight on the band and too baggy in the cup.

I appreciate any help I can get, on my mission to find a bra that doesn't look like a mattress cover!

There is a website for women with small tits who don't want training bras.
www.littlewomen.com/nonwired

I can't comment on their sizing as I am more of a Bravissimo girl :)

Oh you lucky Bravissimo girls!

I've just looked at the Little Women sight and there are more contenders on there that I remember from previous visits (maybe my expectations have dropped!). Although I've just put my measurements in and it's come out as 36AAA. Now that's depressing!

Site not sight.

Hey- I'm usually a 34A too, just gone up to a staggering B cup for the first time in my life! I tend to get my bras from Topshop normally- they're good for smaller sizes. Debenhams are OK, but their non-wired & maternity bras only seem to be available in much bigger sizes where I live...

I agree with other posters above that M&S are absolutely hopeless for smaller sizes, the shapes they produce are just strange.. If you like the look of them, I'd try Topshop's normal bras for size and if they fit OK maybe order some maternity ones online? They seem to have a decent range...? X

You don't have to get non-wired bras, you know. So long as the underwire isn't on the breast tissue then you should be fine. So there's no need to rule out perfectly nice bras! Maybe you'll grow later on, if you're only in the first trimester at the moment - I had to buy bras twice, once at about 16 weeks and once at about 30 weeks.

I have become a really odd shape during pg and have fallen in love with bra extenders as my rib cage has got bigger and bigger (gets a daily stretching from some naughty little feet!) But for me going up a chest size means the bras are all too big across my front. Might work for you?
Oh and never go to M&S, have found debenhams have a much wider range for less common sizes and seems to be better at actually fitting bras.

I read on here that someone else with small boobs got bras at primark. I have a couple from there and they're not bad, especially if you think you will continue to expand and wont be wearing them for very long.

Oh- one other thing- you can of course remove the underwire quite simply from a bra. So you could just buy whichever ordinary bra you like and take the wire out... I might do this.

Ooooh, lots of great ideas, thanks! Top Shop bras look fab, I hadn't realised they did such nice ones. I'll be ordering a few of those.

I've decided 'to hell with the non-wired bras' and will be looking for well fitting wired ones. It's my one opportunity to wear something pretty and I'm not going to let it slip by. I might even see if I can negotiate a trip to France with DP for some serious lingerie shopping once I've grown a bit more. Princesse Tam Tam, watch out, here I come...

I've been stuck with a sports bra as my boobs are now falling out of a 34GG it is not attractive at all your M&S one much nicer!

I just bought some lovely bras post baby from H&M and Debenhams (i'm only a 34A). If you're looking for A or B cup nursing bras check out www.petitemaman.co.uk :)

OK PlinkertyPlonk I'm going to wade in here with my 'bra bore' stuff. On the measurements you've given above, I would try you in 30C/D and very possibly a 32B/C. Ignore all on line calculators, they are rubbish!

A AA cup means that you measure exactly the same under your bust as you do across your bust. Unlikely for most women. An A cup means you only have one inch difference, a B cup two inches and so on.

The best way I've found to test the band size is to put the bra (in your case a 30 back) on back to front. If you can breathe but if feels tight and you can only fit two fingers underneath the wire at the front, then that's the correct back size for you. If it's so tight it's unbearable then go up a size.

Once you've got the back sorted, it's time to get the cup right. The cup will differ much more between brands and styles than the back (IMHO). Turn the bra round the correct way, lean forward and using your hands, scoop all your breast tissue into the cups (make sure you get all the flesh from round your back and under your arms in). The put the shoulder straps up and adjust as necessary (not too tight as it's the back that should be doing most of the supporting work). If for example, you've started with a 30C, you will probably find that after scooping, you have some bulging over the cup and quadraboob going on! This means you need to go up one or more cup sizes. Keep going up through the cup sizes until all your breast tissue is firmly in place.

KikiRC M&S IMHO are useless for all sizes! They just don't stock a comprehensive enough range of back and cup sizes.

Top Shop et al are also useless as they don't go below a 32 back! Honestly, I see all these size 8 teens in shops like Top Shop picking up 34As and I just want to rip the bra from their hands and steer them towards a decent stockist.

Oops, feeling the bra rage [hblush]

Have you tried Intimissimi? A lot of their bras have adjustable back straps and they are all quite pretty. From what I recall they do quite a few non-wired models (though their filtering system on the website is unfortunately shit).