Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Bra Fitting Experience

To the tune of Baa Baa Black Sheep: "Bra Bra Bad Fit" ...

I've been wearing 34D after having J. A few weeks after putting on the new bras, I started getting shoulder and backaches. I re-adjusted the band to the tightest but it continued to ride up my back. The straps would hurt my shoulders because I shortened them to support my breasts. I started to question if the size was correct.

A few years ago, I went to JC Penney's because they advertised about their bra fitting specialist being on-site all the time. The woman gingerly measured me and pronounced me a 32C. I told her C was too tight but she wouldn't believe me and insisted that I was clearly a C. I ignored her and bought 34D. She obviously didn't know her under-wares. hehehe ...

Three weeks ago, I went to Macy's because of the same reason I went to JC Penney's the first place. This time, I had a totally different experience. The woman measured my ribcage SNUGLY, right under my breasts. With that, she said 32. Then she measured around my breasts lightly. Like a chinese old man, she muttered to herself and pronounced me a 32DD. She explained that a DD of one band size is the D of the next band size so depending on the style of the bras, I should try 32DDs and 34Ds. She interviewed me about my preferred styling and handed me a bunch of bras. Of all the bras I tried, wacoal Feather Embroidery Full Figure bra was the only one that provided the best support and lift. My shoulders didn't feel the ache and the band stayed on me. I was overjoyed and certainly very very grateful to her expertise and patience.

She further explained that one bra maker might use a different sizing - slightly smaller or bigger than the actual cup size. That's when experience comes in. She knew which brand runs small or large. Wacoal apparently is true to size in her experience although there were some styles that actually ran small when I was trying them on. She also mentioned that certain bras 'lift' your boobs up HIGH and they are nicknamed 'pillow bras' because the boobs look like they are resting on pillows. I tried one on and ooh ... they were perky! They would prevent food from spilling on the floor should it drip from my mouth.

There are two ways to measure the bra: the under bust or above the bust:

Under: http://www.herroom.com/bra-fitting-advice,901,30.html
Above: http://www.barenecessities.com/fit_sizing.asp

I've always bought bras that cost around $30 but this time, I paid double. We will find out if you get what you paid for. I also bought another bra : Wacoal Bodysuede Full Figure Seamless bra.

It's amazing how different you look with good supportive bras. Your girls are held up higher thus people can see your waist and it gives the illusion that you're skinnier than you should be. We all want that, don't we?

1 comment:

Sue said...

Wanna share some? God´s not fair!