bra help. . . m and s lady actually laughed at me

[JustLikeHeaven]

Hi there, I read the posts on correct bra fitting. I'm 31 and 38. Off I went to m and s, delighted with myself. Only to be sneered at. When the door dragon noticed I had a 32 Fs in hand, she actually put her arm out and said, where are you going with those, you're at least a 36C. i thanked her and said I had been given good advise and knew what I was doing. She sneered at me, and said you don't have a clue. Then have me a fake smile. Seriously?

So, more important than her bad attitude. . Am I trying. The right size. I did all the scoping but there was still a lot of unattractive under arm fat. I'm squishy of torso so tthere's going to be fat. i left without buying it. . . Though pretended to dragon lady that I was.

Any tips for me please?

I don't really understand why, if you have a back of say 30" which feels tight, it is sometimes suggested you try a 28" with a different cup size.

I'd be really interested if Rosie H-W (current face of M&S lingerie) went undercover and got measured up, what they'd put her in. Bet her bras wouldn't fit like the pictures in the ads.

I go to an independent in Tring, Herts. Excellent service.

I've found Boux Avenue very good for fitting but they don't really do extremes of sizes.

Sunshine can you get to chapel allerton in Leeds? There is a great shop there run by an ex rigby and peller lady who fits by eye.

Jux it's often the cup size being too small that makes the bra feel tight. Putting bra on back to front is a good way of seeing if the back size is right or not.

Jux it's because often the cup size is too small and the breasts are having to use the back band fabric as well as the cup fabric.

The best way to test a back size is to put the bra on backwards, if it does up and doesn't cut you in half then you know the cup size needs to be bigger.

Sunshineoutdoors you want to go and see Kathryn Rolfe. She's on Swinegate (think it's that - near the Mulberry outlet store if you know where that is). I have a similar set of measurements to you and come out with lovely bras

I forget who Kathryn used to work for but she does measuring by looking. And the changing rooms are lovely

Try House of Fraser or Debenhams. House of Fraser are great. Don't leave with something you are not comfortable in. I was told I was a 36C, my boobs were falling out of the middle of the bra. I'm wearing a 32DD now and it is perfect. I have proper Mammy boobs, the ones that when released drop to your knees, so they need to be just lifted and held in place. Your biggest problem is probably the style of bra rather than the size. If yours are anything like mine a balcony bra is the only choice. Puts them back up where they belong without the unsightly middle bulge.
There are a few really good lingerie stores off grafton st but you will be paying in excess of €70/€80 for one bra. in HOF you'll get a really good Triump or Freya (2 very good brands) for under €50.

Justlikeheaven - there is a new Bravissimo in Belfast if you are ever up this neck of the woods

They sorted me from a 34B to a 30F

I have a strapless black bra by Triumph in a 32D, normal bras in 30DD and 30E that felt tight, but I can now do up to the tighest level, and a strapless 28F. All actually fit well.
I have also bought as swimwear two 30DDs where one fitted well and the black one was so tight I couldn't put it on.

It does vary according to the bra/model/maker. People have reported that black bras are often tighter than the others.

Thank you

Justlikeheaven - if you are ever in Belfast, I really recommend Orchid Lingerie on Lisburn Road. They do Fantasie which are reasonably priced, right up to higher end £100 a bra brands. Even if you just bought one bra there, at least you would know your correct size and have a better chance ordering online in future.

Please complain about the woman. I complained about one in the regular clothes fitting room and they said yes, lots of others had but I wish I had complained about the bra fitter who was very sneery about the fact I have one breast bigger than the other. And there was me thinking lots of women do..

Ah, makes sense, Beccajoh and MrsPnut. Thanks.

Lots of women do have one slightly larger breast. I thought it was normal

Also recommend Brown Thomas, great service and no obligation to buy. Arnotts on Henry Street also good for measuring but bra selection not quite as good as brown thomas.

Noname - have you been to the bravissimo in Belfast? Is it good? I didn't realise there was one. I have just intervened with my bosoms and am definitely not a 34b. I've picked up a cheapy 32dd from the shop which shall not be named but think I may need to drop another back size. I've binned all my bras...

To buck the trend - I love one particular M&S bra. Its fits perfectly and I'm very happy with it.

However if I followed that ridiculous add 4 inches rule I'd be in completely the wrong size. I measure 41inches around the rib cage and the 40E fits like a dream a 44/46 would be enormous around the rib cage.

If anyone in teh lingerie dept in M&S says "Can I help" very firmly say "NO THANKS!"

Nooooooooo, you don't add inches to get your back size anymore. That's all wrong and outdated.

This isn't even true. The majority of bra manufacturers have not caught up with Mumsnet measuring. They are still sizing bras according to the old way of measuring bra sizes.

If you go into Rigby & Peller don't bother with what size you think you are go purely by eye.

But the point isn't that the bras need to match the new way of measuring - they already do. The point is that in the last 50 years modern fabrics have evolved to include more stretch than ever before so the bras themselves stretch more - that's why the band must be the band sized measured in ANY brand or make of bra as a starting point because all bras stretch more than they did 50 years ago when the old sizing method was made.

MsBug Brastop do free delivery on orders over £60 and free returns/exchanges. Fab prices, excellent range of sizes, wonderful range of styles.

I am 36/43.5, would be really grateful he anyone could diagnose me? Thanks!

Majority of manufacturers are making bras where the back size is the same as your underbust measurement. I measure about 30 and have not yet found a bra brand where I would need size 34 - if that was my true size, there would be no way I could get a size 30 (i.e 4 inches too small bra) around me.

Stairs, about 36FF.

twinklestein I've been wearing a bra since I was 13 or so, and I'm 38 now, and in all those years I've never added inches to get the correct size, so for at least 25 years they have been fitted 'the mumsnet way', and probably a lot longer. I think the problem though is that M&S and other 'high street' manufacturers want to shoe horn women into their range of bras, regardless of whether they fit or not. They can cut costs by making a smaller range of sizes. Only 20 years ago it was difficult to get anything below a 34 back, or over a DD cup. If women didnt fit into a DD cup they were forced to go up a band size instead of a cup size, because there were no bigger cup sizes.

There has also traditionally been something of a taboo in respect of being anything over a DD cup - in many people's minds a 28GG = comedy breasts, whereas a 38 DD = curves, when in reality if you put the two bras beside each other they are an identical cup size, it's just that the elastic round the sides is shorter on the 28.