‘The Dark Figure’ is a term normally used to describe unreported crimes, statistics and something unexplained and unknown which is ‘hidden below the surface’ like an iceberg. This, in my opinion, is a perfect analogy for lingerie fitting not only in this country but Worldwide. The ‘average statistics’ of women in the U.K seems to vary around a 36C, something which I would readily contest, as in my experience of bra fitting most women need at least one band size down and one cup size up.
One test-case in particular would be our very own Jesse. Before she was fitted into a 30HH in Bravissimo, she wore an uncomfortable 32FF and had not only ‘double boob’ but had breast spilling out the sides and top of her bras. Now in her 30HH’s (and even needing a 28J in some styles!) she’s happier than ever, with her boobs fully supported and uplifted. Putting on her old bras now feels like a torture device, all thanks to a plus-four-using high-street fitting service which shall remain unnamed.
In my experience, being fitted in La Senza throughout my early teens, and in my first year of University I was last fitted as a 32E in the Staines branch. Still not happy with my bras (all bought in the frequent ‘all bras now £5′ sales in bulk), I had gaps at the tops of the cup and overspill cleavage and something which has effected me even to this day: migrated breast tissue, something which has improved over the last three years of wearing a 28FF but still not entirely gone.
Blogs and vlogs have been popping up over the last few years all dedicated to fitting and the call for new and improved techniques and awareness about bra fitting. For instance, the popular (and insanely gorgeous!) Youtuber frmheadtotoe posted this very in-depth and eloquent testimony about her experience with The Little Bra Company, finding it a revelation that her tiny frame might need less than a 32 band.
‘I always just assumed that things like cleavage or, you know, a correctly fitting bra were these like anonymous ideas floating around in the air that I would never actually be able to attain…’
What Jen makes clear which I have tried to portray in my blog is that for some women, the fact that they might need a 30 or even 28 band and a significantly larger cup might seem like an alien concept as we generally have it drummed into us that a 32 is the smallest band available, and anything below this should be considered a ‘specialist’ size. Or an ‘awkward’/'odd’ size (I’ve heard it described as such and everything in-between). Even the idea that going down a band size (or even multiple sizes) makes people shudder. My mother is a perfect test case; previously wearing a 38DD *shudders*, you could lift her band about 6 inches away from her back, all thanks to a high-street fitting. Now (after years of convincing – after all who should know better than someone who fits bras for a living?!) she wears a 34G and has relatively no back pain or boob-induced discomfort, her boobs in the right place, has her waist back and looks better in her clothes than I can remember.
Have you had a ‘dark figure’ experience? Please send your testimonies to cheryl@investinyourchest.co.uk
Image credits: Chart image adapted by one found on Cat’s Bra Resource Page. Youtube video embedded with permission by owner frmheadtotoe.
Hi Cheryl.
You’re absolutely right in pointing out that nearly everybody seems to have a problem finding proper fitting bras – it’s really important to understand that most of us are in the same boat, regardless of figure or weight. Before getting to know a lot of smaller sized, brafitting-conscious women at Busenfreundinnen.net I always thought bra problems to be typical for women with big boobs only. It took me a while to understand that the specific problems may differ – poorly constructed bras, too few sizes and bad fitting advice concern many more women than I ever suspected.
Compared to Germany you in the UK are already light years ahead. Here, exotic sizes are a lot more expensive and pretty hard to come by. I hope this will change over the next few years; onlineshopping can really get on your nerves sometimes. *sighs*
Hi George, thanks for your comment! With this post I tried to give examples of fitting testimonies of women of different ages, shapes and sizes to show that this effects most women! Busfreundinnen do give great advice on the subject! Online bra shopping is all I really do these days
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Yes, I have had a dark figure experience.
I am fat and have always been. I my very first bra at 13 was something like a 36 C, not a 32 A. All my life I struggled with the problem of size degradation, the problem the bigger the band size gets the smaller the cup sizes that are available. For example, just look at the sizes Fantasie offers. In a 38 band usually up to 38 J/JJ, but the choice gets very limited in the 40 and 42 bands. There the largest cupsize used to be 40 GG in selected styles, it wasn’t until this year that they came out with the Florence and the Karina that are available up to 40 HH and 40 K. In a 42 band the largest size is 42 FF, nothing in a 40 band. Even with specialist brand Elomi they make bras up to 42 JJ, but in the 44 and 46 band the cut-off is often at F- or G-cup.
Since I have been needing a bandsize larger than 38 and a cup above D ever since I hit 15 I always struggled with this phenomena. Bras that were available up to a G-cup in 38 were only available to 40 E and 42 DD. To make it more complicated, I am in Continental Europe. A place where bras in larger cupsizes cost an arm and a leg as Becky from Busts4Justice can testify to. Even today finding anything larger than DD is near impossible, 10 years ago it was even worse. So as my boobs grew I just went up in bandsize to 44 DD and later 46 DD. It didn’t fit, but 44DD was simply the largest size I could find. In one instance I was so uncomfortable in my 44 DDs I walked into a local store where I knew that every bra there was over 80 EUR far out of my league. The shop assistant seriously suggested a 46 B. When I asked for larger cups with a 44 band they said that they only had a 42 E but nothing larger. Essentially I never had a chance to find my real bra size on my own by simply trying on bras. It took me 15 years of suffering in silence and hating bras and the bra industry to finally discover through the German forum Busenfreundinnen that I am a 40 H (UK), a size that no Continental European manufacturer even makes.
Hi Maria, thanks for your comment! So sorry to hear about your bra buying experience, I’m fully aware that 28 backs are not the only band sizes which struggle to find nice and large-cupped bras, and is something I’d like to post about and campaign about it the future so watch this space! Also, Busenfreudinnen are wonderful
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It’s great to see a video from someone who takes a smaller cup size – so many of the women blogging about bras are wearing a larger than average cup size, that it seems bra fitting is only a big-boob issue. My only concearn is that she measures for the band size around the top of her chest, which might work for The Little Bra Company and some other designer brands, but would leave most people still needing a smaller back size. It’s fantastic whenever anyone promotes the idea of trying smaller back sizes, or the fact that 32 is not the smallest size on the market, but the way that she measures isn’t much better than taking the underbust measurement and adding four inches, at least for high street sizing. Although she did mention that The Little Bra Company run smaller than Victorias Secret, most people watching the video are just going to measure and use that as their size in any brand. (I am aware that it sounds very critical, and overall I think it’s a great video, if a little drawn out!)
The issue I have personally faced with sizing assumptions is the idea that only skinny girls take a size smaller than 32. I totally agree with Jen in fromheadtotoe, that more people need to acknowledge that 32 is not the smallest size, but I think the problem is a lot worse than she is aware of. 32 is not really a small size. It’s a smaller-than-average size, but a lot closer to the average than most people would think. This is compounded by the fact that people associate small band with small cup, and large band with large cup, so even when people know that the number refers to the band size, there is still a lot of resistance to the idea that anyone can be a small back size when they are curvy.
I think a lot of the stigma attached to certain bra sizes reflects the predicament of women in our society as a whole. We are constantly under pressure to fit into impossible ideals, whereby we are judged according to one extreme or another. A woman who wears an A cup is not really a woman, but anyone who wears a D cup is a slut. This only leaves B and C cups as acceptable, which means we are forever one cup size away from being judged according to one unpleasant stereotype or another.
OK, that’s a bit extreme, and things are changing, but there is still the slight embarrassment whenever anyone asks your bra size. The idea that women bring sluttiness upon themselves is so deeply ingrained in our minds, that anyone wearing a bra size like 30F or 28E faces distrustful glances even when they are obviously natural.
Hi Zoe, thanks for your comment! I agree that awareness about bra sizes seems to be changing – baby steps at a time but still changing thankfully! x
This isn’t for just people with large chests. I’ve got a very broad rib cage but small breasts. The closest I can find to a fitting bra is a 42A. I have only found 1 company that makes bras that size. I can’t find any pretty lacy ones or anything sexy to wear for my sweetie. It is unbelievable.
Hi Jannelle, so sorry to hear about your bra-buying experience! This is definitely something I’d like to look into. Watch this space! x
haha! …I just made my first blogmessage on this very subject!!
…that kind of dark zone in which so many women fits!
I always have some troubles finding good bra for me (my real size: 28FF but sometimes in european smaller brand, a 32 E, whose ofter I cut the band to make it 2” smaller).
When I was managing to find something (almost) my size, it was either:
- AGAIN a nude color (or white or sometimes black)
- a ”grand-ma” look
- 4 hooks behind and the impression to always have a sport bra (or straitjacket haha!)
- a beautiful, with a bit of color, luxurious european lingerie, but costing between 150$-200$ CAN in Canada (Québec)
(My appartment montly cost me 300$ or 400$ with internet, phone, and TV… just so you can have an idea… and as a student, that mean 1 or max 2 bra per year! )
Let me lett you that I was feeling so out of this world! (but having a twin sister having the same shape as me, helped me a bit! ^^)
So anyways, One day, I discovered Bravissimo!! …haha, let me tell you that this started a big change!
But the Québec city don’t have much options and I wish it would be like UK, where you seem to have so many opportunities to have sizes that works! (smaller band size, but with bigger cups!)
and the worse, it’s that they are not making a point to do their best (i’m taking about the big brands and shops here…) …they just try to make you think that you should fitts in what they gives you!
irkk!
and that was funny, because I was always choosing the best possible cups, and bringning my bra to a special sewing place to make the band few inch smaller! And
I was telling myself…. I’m not alone in this! there are other woman… so why shops don’t cares? …and it’s because it’s easier and cheeper to make woman think they must fits in… than to have the ”trouble” to make more sizes! …
anyways, if you want to go and look at the whole story (and I was so angry at first!) you can go and look at my website. (I’ve already done bra review for my friends but that anger and that story really made me really start my blog)
http://minceetpulpeuse.blogspot.com
and I hope that with all those persons talking about it, it will continue to change for the best !!!
oh!! sorry for the spelling mistakes!!
I’ve looked before posting, but since French is my maternal language, I often misspell words! X(
No need to worry, I understood you perfectly
Thanks for your comment and I’ll definitely check out your blog! 
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