Bras for 12 year old dd

[Dancergirl]

Dd has been wearing a bra for a year or so but I've noticed recently she's grown quite a bit so needs new ones.

She was VERY shy first time and refused to be measured by an assistant. So we went to M and S and did it by trial and error, I took in a selection of sizes and I managed to judge what fitted her. I think she was a 30a. A few months later I bought her some B cup bras. But now I have no idea what size she is or where to go. She's quite fussy and prefers white bras. Are Debenhams any good?

Should I measure her at home first to get an idea? How do I do it?

Have you got a local bra / lingerie shop. Independent shops tend to be far less intimidating and generally much better at measuring etc. even if you only buy a basic bra from there you can still use their expertise in measuring when buying from the high street. All bras need to be tried on though whatever store you buy from as the cut / manufacturers vary so much.

Look at the better bra campaign blog for how to measure at home! Or get the bra gurus on here to help you. I recently helped an 11 year old relative. She measured at a 32 E but didn't quite have the volume so ended up in a 32D. M&S have go a lot of bad press on here but I just did it myself and used their angel bras which were great and £14 for 2 bras!!

Would she be ok with wearing a Belvia bra?

What's a belvia bra?

Nope, no independent shop here, not that I know of anyway.

How do I find these bra blogs?

Found it!

Does it involve bending forwards to measure?

yup that's the one. on someone very young the bending won't matter quite so much if she is not comfortable with it

Yep that's the one. But yes I will give you a starting point but because of he it will be changeable. Volume won't be the same!

you dont need to bend forward to measure

Unless you have a good bra, then for many bending forward is more accurate due to boob shape/softness. But it's unlikely to make much difference in a 12 year old

Thanks, will try and persuade her to let me measure her later!

What would you recommend out of Debenhams, John Lewis or M and S?

John Lewis. Do not touch M&S with a 15 foot barge pole for fitting services. John Lewis have quite a good range of younger girls bras starting at 28s and their fitting is generally good. Debenhams fitting is variable, it seems to be either good or dire! They generally stock a good range of bras though

statistically I don't think she'll want to be fitted by an assistant so I think the range of bras is more important than the fitting. What cup sizes do 'teen' bras go up to? I would say she's probably at least a B cup, maybe a C. Think I'll try Debenhams.

John Lewis are fab with my dd.

Much better that they are really brave and get fitted though. It's almost a none negotiable for us.

Looks like they go up to a D in the smaller backs - you'll then run in to their adult section anyway. Usefully they actually have 28A-D which a lot of places don't

Ok, I've just measured her.

Underneath was 70cm (27.5") and over bust was 81cm (31.9").

What size does that make her?

Would that be a 32A?

I don't understand that if she is a 32A, she's spilling out of her A cups!

I have bought my 12 year old some sports bras from Primark. They are sort of like cropped tops but with more support. She likes them so much I had to go and buy her some more. Plus they were only £3 each (or maybe even £2.50).

Otherwise I take her to Debenhams. Definitely not M&S as their sizing is different to everywhere else.

No, her measurements suggest that she needs to try a 28D. That is one cup volume bigger than her 30Bs.

28D.

Debenhams are, in my experience, brilliant for measuring, and were lovely with my dd at this age. So lovely she still goes there at 17!

28D!! Right, off to Debenhams.

Thanks all, you are so helpful

Back from Debenhams.

What a trial it was - dd completely refused to even let the assistant check the fit. But luckily their fitting was excellent and the fitter was helpful and discreet. She had me re-measure dd and then advised me - she's a 30D. Dd was not happy being a D cup!

She tried on loads (including a wired one just to try). The wired one fitted her perfectly but dd didn't like the wiring.

So we bought a couple of these:

www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_152010301180_-1

Glad you found something. TBH though the fitting in Debenhams is very hit and miss. Your daughter's measurements indicate a 28 back but it doesn't surprise me that the fitter sized up to a 30. This happened to my niece and friend's daughter who both measured at around 26/27 and were told to try a 30/32.

The cup volume on the 30D is the same as a 28DD so please don't discount that size when buying more bras. Out of curiosity if your DD puts the bra on back to front, how far can she pull it away from her body?