Time for a new bra thread

[SorrelForbes]

I am officially a mad bra lady. I staged an intervention today in M&S in an attempt to stop a young lady buying a 36B. She was with her mum who told me her daughter was a size 12 and that's why they'd picked up a 36. I advised her to try a 30! I am now feeling a mixture of shame and pride.

They were like this

Jux I'm not surprised the 36E is tight! Try a 32FF for starters and then sizes around that. Have you read the fitting guide on the Better Bra Campaign blog? Get the back right first and then sort the cups.

The woman did tell me I should no longer wear underwired bras - I'm too old This is outrageous! Are you on Twitter and/or FB? It would be great if you could contact M&S about your experience. They're claiming that our bad bra fittings are isolated incidents!

Jux, booooo to the m and s woman. Ffs, too old for underwires...bugger off, I'll be buried in mine ;-) try a 32ff based on measurements but I would say the double norkage from scooping suggests to also try a cup or two above. So try ff, g and gg.

Brilliant! Thank you both so much. I'll have a look at that guide. I am on both Twitter and FB but never go to either. If I can bear it, I'll go. Is it a page devoted to bad M&S fitting? that sounds like fun!

Re the underwires, tbf I think she meant that at my age - over 50 - wires do whatever it is they do to developing tissue which result in young teens not being advised to wear underwires.

I don't know what difference the wires make, tbh. I'm not sure I've ever worn a bra without them!

We're going to town on Saturday for bras for 13yo dd. I shall ask her to measure herself this evening, and get some more advice from you if I may.

Too old for underwires .

Jux the same issue with underwires in teens as with pregnant ladies or nursing mothers is that if they dont fit properly then the wire sits on breast issue, which isn't great. But that's why it's important to know how a good bra should feel rather than just your 'size'.

I'v just read the bad bras page, where it talks of the effects of underwires on wrongly fitted bras. It can affect bf. I couldn't feed dd. That was a source of such angst at the time....... It probably wasn't just the bad bras though.

Ok I am a previous success story with a new name...I was very insistent you were wrong but im now a 32D and possibly DD at some times of the month (need to experiment with that one).

Anyways...my dtds...not quite in needing a bra territory yet but its coming and they are most definitely in the wanting a bra for vanity territory. Problem is they are like rakes. Currently measure less than 24" under and think they will certainly be in the needing territory before they've grown 2"...

There is no way I want to be buying custom EM bras for pre teens. Is there anywhere tgat does non wired soft teen bras in back sizes less than 28...if not can you get campaigning :o.

EdwiniasRevenge With regards to bras for you DDs, it might be worth visiting Bratabase to see which 28s come up small in the band. You might find classified listings for unwanted EM 26s.

Could someone remind me what it means if the bit between the cups isn't lying flat? (cups too big/small?)
Thanks!

Too small

Thank you! (even more confused now as top of cups - a Freya balcony style - look loose and flap a bit.
Will be embarassed to return ALL the bras to debs, but hey ho! Will have a look in person while I'm there.

Oh mooooo! After so many rave reviews I wanted to try the Shock Absorber ultimare run bra only find out that they only do them up to F cup!
Crying in the corner for my neglected G-cup boobies.
Guess I'll stick with the D+ max.

Yep, absolutely no point to this post.

Arrrggghhh! No perfect fits, sadly. Run down as follows:

Curvy Kate Entice balconettes - I like these I really do, but though the central gore is narrow the wires are quite wide sloping at the sides and I think I prefer a sharper U shape so that the side wire sits slightly further towards the front of my side rather than the middle. They also make me fairly wobbly on top despite being supportive overall. Still haven't found the perfect back/cup combo - a 30H was good, but I think a 30HH will be perfect.

Fantasie Kara Full cup - I like the overall style and coverage and especially the high & narrow gore, but the side wires are so enormously high that even in the right cup size I don't think they'll suit me well, and the shape wasn't brilliant. Very generous in the cup I'd say, a 30H was much too big, would probably need a 30G.

Curvy Kate Tease Me - Lovely shape, I really like this, but still need to find perfect band/cup combo. More generous in the cup than the Entice a 30H was too big, and I think a 30GG would be better. Also cheaper than the Entice!

Cleo Juna's - like this a lot. Beautiful shape but side wires have same problem as the CK Entice, wide & slope-y. 30H was too big, going to try a 30GG.

Marks & Spencer - as long as you don't get fitted there they have some really rather nice stuff online in a good range of sizes. I've tried four different own brand styles and colourways all in the same band/cup size and combo. I liked all the designs though some of the shapes weren't perfect. So far I'd say the bands run tight and the cups run generous - I seem to need a 32G across most of these. Three of the styles had fairly wide shallow wires, seems quite common in M&S bras from this order. But I've found a lovely one that I think will be perfect in the right size and at just £12 it's a bargain - this one

Just recieved my Pepperberry order too - lovely stuff but certainly doesn't currently run big I'd say! Had to switch from 12 Really Curvy to 14 Super Curvy!

My EM order has arrived!

CH Biszkopty. Ordered this in a 32 (70) GG as I've noticed a little bulge in my beloved 32G CH Karmelki at certain times of the month. A great fit. Small in the back and fits like a standard 30 band (same as the Karmelki). The GG cup is great, allows for scooping and no gapage. This is a really pretty bra for a plain nude. The embroidery/trim on the edges is lovely. A keeper!

CH Onyx. Ordered this in a 30 (65) GG as I had read that it is bigger in the back than other CH styles. It certainly was fairly roomy but I don't think I could go to a 28! The cups however were just that little bit too small. I'm going to re-order in a 30H.

CHP Ametyst. This is a stunning bra but sadly it was too big in the back and the cup. I ordered a 32G as I'd read that it came up large. No kidding! The back was massive and I couldn't fill the cup properly. However, I'm going to reorder in a 30GG rather than a 30G as I think that with a tighter back, m y scooped boobage will stay put and fill the cup better.

Here's hoping!

Bloody nora, I've just ordered £900 worth of bras from Next (several are gorgeous Curvy Kate ones) - about 15 different bras in different sizes! Desperately hoping that a few will fit!

Sorry to be yammering on about sports bras but I have a question again.
Does anyone have any experience of the Enell bra? I'm a bit apprehensive of their sizing. I'm normally a 30G or 28GG and have no idea what size I would be on the enell, I seem to fall between two. Should I go with my boob size or back size?

Bugger, just checked and neither are available in the sizes I want. I've emailed to see if they can make the Onyx in a 30H but that option doesn't appear to be available in the Ametyst.

Oh well, 1 out 3 ain't bad!

Velve I'm a big fan of the Freya Active underwired. I have an old one in a 34DD which does the job (!) but am planning to buy another in a 32GG (they come up small in the back).

I haven't tried the Enell but have heard good things about them. IME sports bras all seem to come up very tight in the back so I'd be tempted to go for the bigger band.

Interesting blog review of an EM bra here

Right, I've placed an order with Bravissimo, seen as they seem so highly recommended here. I felt very silly shopping on a 'big bra' site! Nonetheless I have a variety of 30D/DD/Es winging their way to me.

Velve give it a try anyway, I'm usually G but have the Shock absorber Run in F and it works fine.

I think you'll be surprised at how small the cups look when your Bravissimo order aerives

Does anyone else wonder if it would be a good thing for Bravissimo to lose their "for big boobs" identity.

I'm sure there are loads of women who avoid it because they wrongly think their boobs are too small. Or are worried that they'll go in and embarrassed to be told that their boobs are "too small for this shop".

Why don't they offer good fitting bras for everyone?

always puzzled me.

I've tried some Cs and Ds on from Debenhams & M&S as have been too nervous to order anything bigger, and yes, I was (pleasantly) suprised at how small the cups are. I'm sending them back for being too small! But those were push ups and these from bravissimo are not, so I won't be surprised if the cups are all a bit flappy.

FierceBadIggi, I'm having the same problem in some bras, I'm filling them up at the bottom or over filling depending on size but the top gapes a bit. I think its a lack of volume at the top and I need to try different styles with more side support. I'm going to play about a bit with cup sizes to see if that has any effect