Daughters bra measurements - I'm sure this can't be right......

[sweetheart]

I measured my dd for a new bra this weekend - her measurements were 28" around her rib cage and 34" across her boobs - whilst bending over.

Does that really make her a 28E???? She's only 13!

There are!

well I went into a local independent shop in my lunch hour to see if they had anything - the woman in there thought I was totally bonkers! She treated me like I was a complete idiot

Basically I have reached the conclusion that I hate bras and if it wasn't for convention and embarrass-able teen DDs I would never ever wear one again.

I'm a 28E. I'm 28yo not 13 though! I wear Bravissimo Satine bras, I must have them in every colour. They fit me perfectly and are plain so no fancy lacy bits which are perhaps too much for a 13yo. They are underwired and slightly padded, nothing too ridiculous, just enough to stop nipples being visible and to give a bit of shape. Try your daughter in one of those and see how she feels.

sorry to hear about your experience, OP
And can you imagine if you had sent your daughter there - to be told that she's stupid and such sizes don't exist, I assume?

She showed me a 36E and asked me (in a sarcastic voice) did my daughters boobs look this big. I said to her but that's a 36 band - it would reduce proportionally to a 28 and she rolled her eyes at me.

I told her my daughter (depressingly) measures the same size as me exactly and she looked at my boobs and gave me a cats bum face.

Incidentally - even though I measure the same as my daughter I do not wear a 28E as I find the band far too tight and it gave me lumps of unsightly fat (and yes I was scooping in from the side )

What a totally inappropriate way to behave
behave. Bra shopping is quite personal and intimate imo and fitters should behave with discretion and common decency. Can you imagine the sales assistant at boots looking a man up and down, raising her eyebrows and suggesting that he buys a smaller size of condom?

She works in a lingerie shop and has not figured out that 28E is not the same size as 36E?

Ps you might need an extra cup size if the back fat was a problem. Some of us are more prone to it though!

Urgh! No wonder local independents are going out of business

had she gone to work in the wrong shop?

I'd go for a 30dd tbh. depends how tight she can bare it, i used to work in posh bra shop, and forcing a tight band on a youngster isn't totally necessary.
I might scare her off them altogether.

OP, please give us a clue as to the whereabouts of this shop

HazleNutt Scary isn't it.

I had a similar experience in HoF where the very petite fitter (probably a size 4/6) looked me (size 12) up and down said "you can't be a 30 band, I'm a 30". Yay, way to make me feel good! She insisted on bringing me 32 bands to try and I had to almost beg her to bring me a 30 (which of course, fitted much better)

Would you normally let them try both piratecat? It's a bit of a catch 22 imo- young perky boobs won't need the band as tight and may get away with a 30 but then they might think that a band doesn't need to be as firm and wind up wearing something too loose when they're a 28hh with back pain!

i would just say it's a question of sticking with a 30, if the 28 in that style is toooo uncomfortable.

Given the terrible sizing most women have been in and are in, starting off pretty tight but comfy is the way forward. They all feel so different anyway. I know my dd is ultra sensitive and when the time comes would probably hate anything too tight. Yet we are all different.

My DD won't even let me measure her, or check the fit. I'm not convinced she's in the right size but she says it comfortable. I'd rather she be comfortable with a not-quite-right bra under here school shirt than refuse To Go To school. Which she has.

We don't have the array of brands that you do in the UK.

If i was to tell most people that I'm now wearing an f bra, they probably wouldn't believe me! I think people would assume i was a b/c for the reasons said by TheAwfulDaughter

I fill a 30f cup though. No gaping, nothing. Boobs filling the whole space.

I am wearing a 34c today (only have one 30f so far) and it's driving me mad riding up at the back.

Being bra intervened doesn't mean you have to wear that bra. They're just trying to be helpful

It's tricky isn't it. I'm measuring 29 just now, and because my boobs are relatively heavy now -30hh/28j ish - some of my 30s are starting to ride up. I don't want to be a 28 cos the choice is so blinking reduced!for me one full band bigger than I measure is in shoulder and back pain territory but it's less of an issue if boobs are smaller.

Strops off mumbling to self about why my back shrinks rather than my huge ass!

i have similar, i wear a 32dd, but my boobs would be better supported in a 30e, but it's too tight.

at posh bra shop we used to do alterations, eg put a dart in the back either side of strap, or were able to add hooks and eyes. That's precision for you!

Annoying isn't it. My weight never comes off my thighs or hips, but always off my waist and under bust. Grrrrrr.

What about a supportive crop top? If I were a stone or so lighter I'd measure about what your daughter does (my boobs are not voluminous by any means) and a crop top would do the job perfectly fine. Stretch for comfort and room to grow is a good thing imho.

Something like this
www.figleaves.com/uk/product/CNK-D3464E/Calvin-Klein-Seamfree-Concept-Bralette/?colour=Black

my weight comes off those areas sorrel, and off my boobs. sticks to me bum and thighs tho.

30 inch under bust, 39 round my hips. on a good day!

dd wears a women's crop bra top thing from Peacocks.

here really quite supportive for her 28b's!

Pah I'll trade piratecat -29ish underbust and waist due to short torso... About 44"hips on a good day!

We've found M&S is best for DD with similar measurements. It takes some searching but you can find some nice ones that look suitably teenage (ie not all lace and plunging!) but in the larger sizes. Find a big branch and just go and try on ... Debenhams also usually has some pretty ones in bigger sizes. We have found some very helpful assistants too and DD, even though initially alarmed at having anyone measure her, was fine in the end! I had to have someone fit her the first couple of times as it was a whole new world to me (too small to care!).

DD is a 30FF or thereabouts - we wet through the Brastop and Figleaves websites, and picked out every bra they had in the sizes roundabout that which fit her criteria of "not scary" (i.e. no lace, bright colours, peculiar seams), ordered a job lot (so as to get free returns), tried them on, sent them back, repeat till satisfied. She now has three bras in total, two of which are the same but in different cup sizes as she varies a bit during the month. Yes, it was expensive for a teenager, but I'd rather she had fewer which fit (and won't give her backache) than a drawerful which give no support like her mother had for years. I keep an eye out for sales, and snap up anything similar if I see it.

However Asda do bigger cup sizes at much cheaper prices (not sure how they are for smaller backs though) so that's somewhere else to look.