“Why are your larger size bras so frumpy?”
“I am a larger size lady who wants pretty, sexy bras. Why can’t I find any?”
“I am 38HH and have a very active job, but I still want to feel feminine and sexy.”
“I am a 28DD and would like more choice in the bras I wear.”
“Your selection in my size is terrible!”
Emails and customer comments like this are received every day by lingerie retailers. Although the average UK woman’s bra size is still relatively bijou at 34B/C, bust sizes are increasing, along with the demand for pretty bras just like everybody else.
The demand for the bras is increasing more than the number of larger ladies. This is due in no small part to the recent social acceptance of underwear advertising in the mainstream.
Many larger ladies, especially younger ones, are no longer happy with frumpy, mumsy over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders and want the Moulin Rouge boudoir look. However, is this really feasible?
Structurally, a bra is a very complex item and must withstand many different sorts of stresses and strains, exerted on it by a body part that is partly fluid, can weigh up to a stone or more, and changes its size and shape over time. Clearly, two little delicate triangles of lace, ribbon and silk are not going to offer much support to breasts the size of an adult’s head.
It’s important to know before I go any further that bra sizing (a source of endless confusion for both women and men) reflects the ratio between the underbust size and the bust size. It’s often thought that a bra with a 40 back size means the woman wearing it has a 40 inch chest – this isn’t the case. She either has a 35 or 36 inch chest. 4 or 5 is added to the chest measurement to get an even number (your ‘back size’), and then the bust is measured. The difference between the bust and your adjusted chest measurements gives you the bra size.
Brands like Freya have blazed a trail in the UK by offering pretty bras up to a quite impressive GG cup (that represents a difference of over 10 inches between a woman’s underbust and bust size) and Panache offer the cult Superbra, offering uplift, control and separation up to a J (up to another five inches around).
However, it’s important to remember that, in the UK, a relatively curvy 34D woman has a choice of over 300 different sorts of bra, her 34G sister (only a few inches larger) has a choice of around 30 styles including nursing bras. The US woman does rather better, and indeed many of the top brands for larger sizes (Bali, Goddess, Vanity Fair and Glamorise), are American. Even so, they do seem to specialise in sensible, supportive, no-nonsense undergarments which are hardly the lace wisps of fantasy.
Go beyond a 38 back, and things look increasingly grim. There is a wider range of bigger cup sizes in the normal back sizes these days, partly due to the increase in breast implant surgery. The glamour model Jordan is about a 32FF (no matter what she may claim – I know because, well, I can’t say). However, older and larger women tend to have bigger back sizes as well.
A 48FF woman has a choice of bras closer to single figures. The American brand Goddess has cornered the market here with plain, sensible bras that offer good support. The iconic Triumph Doreen -the biggest selling bra in the world- also dominates. Doreen, as its name suggests, is sensible, well upholstered and an example of classic, no-nonsense, German engineering. At this size bracket, underwires become scarce. Wires (the last relic from the era of popular corsetry) are designed to fit just below the breasts, resting on the ribcage, and will not dig in if the bra is properly fitted. I would conclude that wires are not often found on larger back sizes because basically there is a much thicker layer of fat here and a wire might prove very uncomfortable, sinking in rather than lying flat against the bone. The cups completely encase and separate the breast – smaller back sizes can choose a sexier demi cut, and push their lils together for cleavage. The straps are broad, and often padded: bear in mind how much these big puppies can weigh.
And here, I think, is the reason why you simply don’t find many pretty, dainty bras in very large sizes. With the best will in the world, larger women have more to support and there is a limit to the tensile strength of lace. This is a question of *engineering*, not discrimination.
So, back to the customers. I don’t want to bitch as I imagine it’s utterly miserable to walk past the rows of teeny, pretty lingerie in the shop, or scroll down and even further down a box on a website to find your bra size, but these are the answers I wish I could give.
“Why are your larger size bras so frumpy?”
Because larger sized ladies tend to be older and frumpier, and I’m afraid frumpy bras sell really well, especially to Americans, who like frumpy bras. The market for them over there is *huge* (haha). The top selling larger sized bra in the US is a real passion killer that makes the Doreen look positively alluring. When you consider that Americans can’t tolerate a covered nipple on TV, and complain bitterly when a lingerie site shows photos of women in, well, lingerie, you can see why they like to be completely covered, even in their undies. American bras often tout their ‘opacity’: European bras flaunt the fact that they are ‘sheer’. America has many websites devoted to underwear that has more in common with factory overalls than seduction – all this in a country with the most eye-watering hardcore pr0n in the world. Funny place. Getting back to your question, Americans like frumpy bras and they are the biggest (scuse) market.
“I am a larger size lady who wants pretty, sexy bras. Why can’t I find any?”
Because there aren’t as many of you as you think; the market for these bras is tiny. There are some, but I’m afraid if they’re not to your taste, it takes at least a year for manufacturers to design, test, make and market a new model. Even the pretty ones are quite bland, because a manufacturer will want to play it safe. Sorry.
“I am 38HH and have a very active job, but I still want to feel feminine and sexy.”
Wear a sports bra at work. You may not feel feminine or sexy but you’ll be a lot more comfortable during and after work, when you can change your bra. You have absolutely *enormous* knockers and they need specialised equipment to rein them in.
“I am a 28D and would like more choice in the bras I wear.”
You have one of the rarest bra sizes in the world. You should feel very special. Sorry. Panache might be able to custom-make one of their standard bras in your size. Otherwise, see below.
“Your selection in my size is terrible!”
I can only apologise. If you were a 28AAA you’d have even fewer, although if I were that size I wouldn’t bother with a bra anyway (who are you trying to kid?). Look, modern manufacturing, distribution and buying methods mean companies and retailers invest a lot in their ranges. They don’t buy a lot of bras in less common sizes (mainly large) because if they buy or make too many, they may lose money and have a pile of bras that are difficult to shift. The same holds true for clothes (many shops only have 1 or 2 size 8s in stock) and shoes (only a small range of 3s and 4s).
There is a solution for all these ladies, but it’s expensive. The only sure way to get a beautiful, comfortable bra in a large size is to have it custom made. Yes, this will set you back around �200, which would get you 5 or 6 unsatisfactory off-the-peg bras, but do you want beautiful, sexy, supportive lingerie or not?