Why are 28 band bras so rare?

[magicalkitty]

I don't think I have a particularly narrow rib cage, but I require a 28 band bra. I can't be that rare, but it's very hard to find bras this size without spending £££.

M&S and the like don't carry many styles under a 30 band. I'm sure a lot of women actually require a 28 but settle for 30 or maybe even larger because they have to.

It's easier to find things in very large sizes than it is in smaller, even though 28 isn't particularly tiny anyway.

I asked a fitter in M&S why the Angel range didn’t have a 28 back in a C. She said teenage girls are on average much heavier now, she’d fitted a 38D only that morning and that wasn’t unusual.

It’s no use to my dds (one is super skinny, one just a standard size 8), and looking at their friends they’re not unusual. But presumably M&S have some data on teenage girl sizes that means they think it’s not worth making small backed bras for them.

28C is an absolute nightmare to find. My own 28H is a lot easier!

That fitter probably added 4 inches to 34 to get the 38 back size! I wear a 36 back at size 20/22 so a teenager is unlikely to need a 38.

My DD is a 28 B and has stopped wearing bras, Just wears crop tops.

@dementedpixie I know! I was going to try and fit dd myself with Angel bras as I don’t trust M&S, but needed to find some first. That’s when I asked the fitter.

She is now just wearing bralettes / crop tops, but occasionally she needs something that doesn’t show under more formal clothes, and that’s when a bra that fits would be handy.

Not true that old bras didn’t have stretch. Elastic and latex were used. Lycra was invented in 1958.

It’s more that women have supersized since the 50s and the same vanity sizing affect bras. It sounds better to call a 30 inch chest a size 30 than a size 34.

I’ve just measured the band of my size 32 bra and on the tightest hooks, which are the only ones I use, the closed circumference is 27 inches. My actual rib measurement is 28.

M&S are simply adding 4 inches to get the bra size that’s all. So a 28C fits a 24 rib measurement.

@Mirabai It really doesn’t! For my skinny teen, an Angel 28 on the tightest setting with the straps unused falls down to her hips! For my size 8 teen, she can pull it out easily and get both fists in. I don’t know what they’re doing on the sizing, but it’s not just adding 4.

"Women have supersized"

We are also taller and broader on average than we were in the 1950's, it's not just about 'fat'.

@GloriousSludge That may be more vanity sizing - 60% of women in the U.K. are overweight or obese. Also depends on the style and cut of the bra. I wear underwired. Ime these have less stretch than the soft unstructured ones.

I could probably get a couple of fists in there but so what, it’s still fits my ribs snugly.

You’re probably right about vanity sizing.

Problem is, neither of them likes it if the band moves around even a little, they want it tight enough to stay put. Otherwise they find it irritating, especially for sport.

For me, if the band moves or has space I get sore shoulders. But that’s a size / weight of breast issue that doesn’t apply to the teens.

@MalcolmTuckersSwearBox Average height in the 50s was 5’2” now it’s 5’3” to 5’4” - so we haven’t got that much taller - but the average size has gone from size 12 to 16. (And a size 12 back then was smaller anyway).

M&S and La Senza both use this method still. It's not hard to work out. If you have a 28inch back buy a 32 bra.

I have a 28 inch back and buy 28 bra ls from M&S and they fit perfectly. M&S fitters add 4 inches when advising you what size to buy but this is out of date advice.
I don't shop at La Senza so can't comment on them.
I shop at Brastop and Boux Avenue loads too, all my 28 back bras all measure 28 inches (when stretched - for anyone measuring their bra, remember that the bra is stretched when you wear it so should be stretched when you measure it).

Also I'm about a size 10 in clothes, so not tiny, and wear a 28F/28FF bra depending on the brand. When I was a size 14, I was a size 30GG. I can't stand an uncomfortable bra, I like to be able to put my bra on and wear it for 16 hours without remembering that I'm even wearing it, so I have to have perfectly fitting bras.
I definitely recommend checking out Boob or Bust on Facebook if anyone is struggling with their bras, finding them uncomfortable or itchy etc is a sign that you might not be in quite the right size.

They cost a fortune but Katherine Hamilton do absolutely beautiful bras going down to a 26 band. They completely changed how I feel about my 30Hs.

I can't understand this. I took a photo upthread of my 30 bra. It is 26inches when stretched.
The more specialised brands like Freya dont use the +4 method so I would be a 26 with them.

I missed that, I had a scroll through the comments and only saw a picture of a bra being measured without being stretched. Although it is a task and a half to manage to take a photo of a bra being stretched, you need 3 hands or a tripod really 😂
Some do just come up small or large, but I currently have about a dozen bras from M&S, Brastop and Boux Avenue in a 28 back and all measured 28 inches when stretched when new. I measure new bras when they arrive so I can check whether it's me or the bra if it doesn't fit right. In my last Brastop order, one 28 bra measured 31 inches when stretched, and as predicted, was far too big for me.

It can't be that rare - I'm an overweight size 12 with G cup breasts and I'm only a 32

I've just scrolled back and found your picture. As I said in my comment, I can't comment on La Senza as I don't shop there - I honestly didn't know they were still in business until I read this thread. But that's good to know, I might have a look at La Senza next time I want to buy bras.

I have this problem. Went to Matalan yesterday looking for bras and nightwear and bought nightwear for me in a size Medium and nightwear for teen DD in a size Small (Extra Small was also available). Over to the bras - not a single one in any style small enough to fit me, their Medium, or DD, their Small. The back sizes start at 32, no 30s or 28s available. We are not small or finely built in any way.

I don’t understand it.

My underbust measures 28 inches exactly and a 28 band from m&s fits me perfectly. I actually have a few 28Es from M&S.

I am tired of trying to find dresses that fit my boobs and my ribs. Tried one on in Fat face yesterday. 12 wouldn't fit the boobs, and 14 was massive all over. The irony being that they also had shearing under the boobs..... Which was gaping and loose! I am a 32HH, not even a 28, and when elasticated doesn't even fit, you know sizing has gone to shit.

How can you be a 10 on the top? I’m 6-8 (which used to be 8-10 before supersizing). I wear 32E trad sizing although technically I could get into a 28F/FF. I’m 5’4”, 7 stone 12 for reference.

Sorry I don't understand what you mean? Most of my tops and dresses are a size 10. I have some 8s too, especially the stretchy dresses, but the majority of my tops are a size 10. I'm a similar height to you but a couple of stone heavier so it would make sense that I'm a larger clothes size than you.

I'm only one cup size larger than you at a 32F but I wear a UK12, 2 or 3 dress sizes larger than you @Mirabai. We aren't all built the same.

(5'8", 9st 9lbs).