Best shop for first-time bra fitting?

[teacherwith2kids]

DD needs her first 'proper' bras. She's been wearing supportive sports-style racer back crop tops for a while, but would now feel more comfortable with a proper (and pretty - her specification) bra.

We have tried self-fitting, but her measurements (28 below the bust, 31 leaning over in proper bra intervention style) seem to give a size (28C) that simply doesn't exist in white bras suitable for a nearly 12 year old. So I have tried the 'grab a bunch of sizes and try them on' approach, and a) they don't fit - mostly not lying flat in front between the cups and b) she gets REALLY fed up with having to try so many on.

So I need a recommendation for a shop that will sensitively fit a nervous 11 year old who is sensitive about her changing shape, and who are likely to have bras in a style and fit that are appropriate for her. We have a 'typical' town centre - M&S, Debenhams, H&M, a House of Fraser store etc. Have a Triumph and a Bravissimo shop, but they feel too 'old' for her. John Lewis is a fair drive away so would have to be a strong recopmmendation. None of the 'teen' shops seem to do fittings. She would prefer a 'non moulded' style, but one that's not too 'old'....but what she REALLY wants is to get to a properly fitting bra QUICKLY!

HELP!!

I would say just go to Bravissimo. If the bras aren't lying flat in the centre then I suspect she needs a bugger cup than a C. Bravissimo stock all sots of styles and brands and start at a D. Failing that, JL is your best bet. All the other vary wildly in their fitting ability.

Oh, and I wouldn't bother with white as it shows through everything. Go for nude.

Thanks! It's a bit of a trek - think 30 miles+ each way - so i was hoping to avoid having to go to JL. The thing is, I couldn't find any 28 or 30 Cs, so we were mostly looking at 30 Bs, which I KNOW would be too small in the cup. If we could have found some genuine 28 or 30 Cs, I think we'd have been OK...but there aren't any in any 'child friendly', or even child appropriate styles (she's still a child, not a teen - despite being nearly my height).

It's tricky isn't it? The Fantasie Rebecca is nice (a small busted friend tried one on recently at Bravissimo and liked it) and plain.

I wonder whether I might order in some from the Debenhams ranges (which seem to have a 30C in several non-wired styles ... she really can't cope with the idea of wires) to try on at our leisure at home.

Thinking ones like these:
www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_152010604605_-1

or
www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_152010338085_-1 (though they are padded)

I took my DDs to M&S and got them fitted properly all the way through their teens. I highly recommend getting them properly fitted at any store - it's personal preference really. The only problem with M&S now is that you have to make an appt, so I for in a quiet time and try to make one asap while we're there.

Digger, the M&S person I spoke to started from 'measure the rib cage and add 4 or 5 inches', which I KNOW to be wrong (I mean, I could probably fit DD into a 32A or a 34 AA ... but that wouldn't reflect the size she actually is, nor give her the confidence which I know I have found from a properly fitting bra)

Which was why I first opted for the 'take the measurements then try to find bras of the correct size' approach, then was asking whether anyone knew of a shop that fitted correctly.

"fitted properly" and "M&S" shouldn't be in the same sentence

*bluetrain& Quite!

OP - If you do an on-line order then try some wired and non-wired styles. I'd order some in 28C,D and 30C, D too.

The fitters in M&S did the ribcage measurement, then added 3" on I think. They said this was only a guide as all bras fit differently. Your fitter was rather wrong I think which I would find really annoying and upsetting with a sensitive DD in tow. They have been good in the past in pointing things out that I haven't noticed. My youngest is now 17 and although we still go there every 6-12 months to make sure we're on the right track, we also buy from Primark etc. How about trying another store - BHS, Debs, House of Fraser, JL etc?

Digger, Maybe I read too much on MN, but fior me it was an absolute revelation to buy bras that fitted - based on my ACTUAL ribcage measurement - with nothing added - then a cup size per inch. I went from a 36 B cup (fitted by M&S some years ago) to a 32 DD and the difference is extraordinary. I don't want DD to go through to my age before she buys a bra that really, really fits!

(And the point is that most people wear cuip sizes that are too small. DD is just in need of a first bra, but measures as needing a C cup if the measurements are done properly. She measured as needing an A cup when she barely had breast buds, let alone aything that showed thriough a T-shirt or needed more than a vest)

I got my dd some nice (but not white) bras from the Angel range in M&S, she's also a 28C and it's a nightmare size to find!

Obviously, I didn't let M&S measure her (luckily I was taken to an independent shop twenty years ago and measured correctly so would never contemplate M&S measuring for bras, am well aware how poor they are) and had to put up with the assistants tutting as I chose 28C for her...

The worst thing about letting M&S measure a teenager is that it could set up bad habits for life.

I use our local Fenwicks for my DDs. The bras cost the earth, though, but at least I know the size is right. Lovely fitters, really nice and very competent.

I'm was a 28C before getting pregnant and will highly recommend debenhams. I measured myself as OP mentions but tried on in store, as I found different brands didn't fit as well as others.

I think bravissimo might be a bit too grown up for an 11/12 yo, I felt quite uncomfortable having my boobs out infront of a complete stranger for over an hour, and I'm 30!!!

Irritatingly, Debenhams online doesn't do any 28Cs - and their 28 Ds are niot ion a 'child friendly' style. I shall order 30Cs in a range of styles. At least her back size has grown - we have managed to get through with crop tops the nightmare time when it looked as if she'd need 26 inch band sizes... (ballerina, fit and slender)

try simplybeach.co.uk

I think (from pre-preg experience!!) that French makes (Chantelle / Freya) tend to be smaller and more appropriate for starters. I tend to find House of Fraser pretty good and it's not all OTT. Otherwise, M&S used to have a 'starter' section and some good soft cotton bras in their per una section.

Haha teacher - oddly enough I was the opposite...I went from a 36C to a 3DD AFTER I was fitted by M&S. However they were wrong with me as I felt the bra was too tight and spreading was down below my bust, so I settled for a 34D

teacherwith2kids Is there anything suitable here? What about the Faye, Lauren, Paige? They won't look as cleavage'y' on someone your DD's size.

Anything here? Or here? Or here?

Some nice , plain ones here.

digger123 Have you tried measuring yourself following this guide?

Freya are part of the Eveden group. Their bras tend to run on the large size, band wise.

Haha Sorrel - just snuck in the loo and measured myself using the linked guide...hilarious!!! Under the bust I'm 29" (I know it says to size up if you have a slender ribcage) and DD boobs (well at my age and after breastfeeding 2 kids for a long, long time they just go with gravity and do their own thing)
I know we're all different but there is no way I would fit a 30DD bra - as I said I tried a 32DD and the wires were half way down my rib cage!!!

Anyway, I'm happy with my bras - only came on here to try (?) to be helpful.
I got a giggle anyway - really waiting for someone to answer my divorce queries!!!

digger123 Honestly, if you measure 29 than pretty much most 30 bras will be fine. You probably need to try a 30E or 30F to get enough cup volume. Anyway, I won't and persuade you any more

I've been divorced...

The cups in a 32DD are about the same as those in a 30E, Digger, so with a bra band that's too loose, they would sit in thw wrong place.

The wires do need to sit against your ribcage, though, and if you're used to M&S fitting (and if you've looked at the bras on their mannekins, even) then it's not something you'll have experienced, so it will look off, at first. The cups need to enclose all your breast tissue, right from underneath to around under your arms, where it tends to get squidged to with a too small bra.

And I have 32GG incredibly long floppy boobs (I joke about the danger of tripping over them, uncontained) and, with the right bra, apart from some wobble at the top (which aint such a bad thing :o) you would never know they were far from firm.

I did the divorcing.

32GG? I haven't put on that much weight! 32G, but half a stone ago I wore a couple of 30GGs.

Sorry guys - this is getting funnier (actually I'm not sorry as I started the day off in tears!)...I just snuck into DD1's bedroom and tried on her 30E bra - the wires were enormous and excruciating (....and breathe ) and the cups rather...empty! I trip over min too if I bend over

Seriously - I'm happy with the bras I've got

Is everyone on here divorced?..lucky you if you've managed to get through it unscathed! I'm doing the divorcing too ouryve but with a passive aggressive procrastinating ex it's taking forever and costing an arm and a leg

Thanks all. The thing that is really, really irritating me is that DD is an entirely normal 'developing girl' size. She is slender, from many hours of dancing per week, but not overly so. She is developing, but still small-breasted. She wears, at the moment, the same crop tops as many of her friends, and, like them, is only just needing to need a little more support.

But because of the prevalence of bad bra sizing, all the bras that ought to be exactly right for her - the young girl ranges, the teen ranges, the soft cotton bras - are too large in the band and too small in the cup.

So here I am, trying to get specialist advice, when there are thousands of young girls who need exactly the same size - it feels as if no mainstream supplier makes / sells / fits them.