This is going to be a “reveal all” post. Yup, I’m going to show you all of the regular bras I own (besides my Enell Sports bra). There is a point to all this at the end, don’t worry!
I will remind you that my underbust measures about 27 inches. I’m veering towards a 28H rather than my old 28GG, methinks, and I sometimes find 28 bands too big for me.
Bra #1:
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| ย Just Peachy brand bra in a 30G. (no, it’s not even hooked on. I’m being silly.) |
Band measures: 30 inches stretched.
Fit: The wires are stiff, so they rub and give me rashes, and I can’t wear it for very long. The band is too big, cups are too small. The band runs a bit small for a 30 in general, though.
Story: Bought gently used around a year ago.
Bra #2
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| Panache Tango II Plunge in a 30G |
Band measures: 31 inches stretched.
Fit: Much too big in the band. Too small in the cup. Gives me back and shoulder pain.
Story: Bought new last month out of desperation. *shame*
Bra #3:
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| Freya Zara in a 28GG. This is definitely the way to model bras. |
Band measures: 30.5 inches stretched
Fit: The band is too big, and the cups are too small. Gives me shoulder pain.
Story: Bought gently used around a year ago.
Bra #4
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| Cleo Poppy Bra in a 28GG.<3 |
Band Measures: 28 inches stretched
Fit: The band fits well; I do get some quadboob with the cups,ย but because of the style of the bra it doesn’t look as bad, and the band is supportive enough so the bra doesn’t give me pain.
Story: Bought new (from Bravissimo!) about 6 months ago.
And finally, Bra #5
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| Freya Deco in a 30GG |
Band Measures: 31 inches stretched
Fit: Band much too big, cups seem to fit about right (perhaps very slightly roomy)
Story: Bought new (at Nordstrom) a few days ago with the intention of altering the band down to a 28.
So, why did I decide to show you all of my bras? To illustrate a few things.
First, just because I blog about bras doesn’t mean that I have piles and piles of lingerie. Some bra bloggers do, some don’t.
Second, the utter lack of bras in my size in stores makes it difficult for me to buy anything (especially quickly), so even I, as an advocate for correct size, sometimes feel forced to buy something “close enough” in the hopes that it will work or that I can somehow alter it. I’ve known that I’m a 28 band for years and yet I’ve still bought/owned bras in a 30. Is this a good thing? No. But I’ve still done it.
Third, some people lose weight and go up in bra size – I tend to do this. Not everyone will lose breast tissue when they lose weight. It depends on the person.
Fourth, if anyone, fitter or otherwise, tries to tell me that I should wear a 30 or larger band, that person is wrong. Sorry.
Out of the five bras I own, three do not fit well and I need to get rid of them as soon as I get something to replace them. Of the other two, one fits well enough so that it doesn’t give me pain. One I hope will fit when I do some alterations on it. The three bras that give me pain are “close” to my size. Yet they do not work for me. They cause me back, neck, and shoulder pain (and sometimes marks and rashes). Please, please note this and do not fall victim to thinking that you can just get by with a size that’s “close enough”. Any fitters reading this, please do not try to get small-banded girls to buy 32 or 30 bands just because that’s all you carry. It will not work for girls who need a smaller band.
In the past month, I have spent a total of $120 on two bras that I know didn’t fit me. Why? Because I wanted to get a bra quickly, without having to order online. I bought the first because I felt bullied into it by a fitter, and I was desperate for any bra that was close to fitting (this majorly backfired). I bought the second because I love the Deco bra and it doesn’t come in my size, and I want to see if I can alter it to fit me.
I know I need to order bras online if I want to get my actual size. I’d love to get rid of the three bras that give me pain and never wear them again, but that would leave me almost bra-less, with a wait time of around a month before I’d get anything else that worked. I’ve actually ordered around 8 bras within the past several months online. But none of them fit, so I had to return them. Since my size has slightly changed, I’m going to need to order a fairly large quantity of bras to figure it out, then send most of them back. So yes, buying bras online can be hard, annoying, expensive, even depressing.
But you know what’s even more annoying, expensive, and depressing? Buying a bra that doesn’t fit and trying to wear it. That’s more painful than having to order a bunch of bras online.
Do I want my size sold in stores? Heck yes! And if you want to do something to help make people more aware of all bra sizes and get more sizes sold in stores, you can do things like contact bra stores, participate in awareness projects like The Bra Band Project, and more.
But for now, I need to do and wear what’s right for me, and not be bullied, pressured, or discouraged from wearing the bra size I need to wear. I need a 28-26 band. I need about an H cup. And I don’t deserve to be in pain just so someone can make a sale. And neither do you.