It’s no surprise working for a lingerie company that we hear some horror stories about bra fittings. From customers feeling uncomfortable in the fitting room, to not feeling as though their bra fitter really listened to their needs. We’ve heard all the good and the ugly. It made me reflect on my very own first time I was fitted, and the internal scarring it left me with.
I was around 12 the first time I was ever fitted, up until that point I had worn wireless crop tops advertised as “training bras” that really offered next to no support. And like most first time fittings, I was also dragged in by my mother. We made a day and headed over to the shopping centre, where we went to a shop that offered in-store measuring. The place had plastered advertising on their walls of half naked supermodels sporting sexy lingerie. I scoured the posters trying to find someone who even remotely resembled me. Maybe they kept them in the back? Maybe I was in the wrong store? I remember feeling so uncomfortable, like at any moment the sales assistant would laugh at me and say “we don’t fit your kind here”
I was not exactly a small 12 year old, I was and still am chunky yet funky and unashamed (work in progress) I was ushered into a fitting room by the sales assistant, and told to take my shirt off. She did even bother to close the curtains. I took off my shirt, and instantly hugged my middle section, I felt embarrassed and mortified beyond measure. Where are the stores for fat girls? I wondered, Where are the stores that make you feel okay about your body?
I wanted to go there. The woman insisted I needed
to lift my arms in order for her to measure me correctly. I remember picking a point on the wall and trying my hardest not to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. She whipped around me with her measuring tape and came up with the magic size 16DD and zero explanation of how she got there. I got dressed, she took us over to the section that had the bras (or should I say bra) in my size. I felt so defeated, one style and two colours of boring beige and boring black to pick from. I guess I wasn’t meant to have something fun? Something that made me feel good about myself, I guess those styles didn’t exist for me.
I wanted to go there. The woman insisted I needed
to lift my arms in order for her to measure me correctly. I remember picking a point on the wall and trying my hardest not to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. She whipped around me with her measuring tape and came up with the magic size 16DD and zero explanation of how she got there. I got dressed, she took us over to the section that had the bras (or should I say bra) in my size. I felt so defeated, one style and two colours of boring beige and boring black to pick from. I guess I wasn’t meant to have something fun? Something that made me feel good about myself, I guess those styles didn’t exist for me.
I’m sad that my first experience led to me never wanting to be fitted again, I was too embarrassed to even venture into these stores. I would buy off the rack, go home and try on, if it seemed to hold my breast in, I guessed that it fitted? The last size I bought off the rack was a 22DD. I never bothered to question why the wire dug into my underarms or why my shoulders hurt so much. It seemed like the women in my life all had the same problem, so I assumed this was how they were meant to fit, they were meant to be torture, they were meant to hurt, and want to make me rip them off me at the end of the day.
When I finally did get refitted it wasn’t until I was 26, and plot twist I wasn’t a 22DD I was a 14HH (I needed lots of convincing to get there) a 14HH! No wonder I was in pain! I was 4 back sizes wrong and around 3-4 cup sizes off. I know it’s cliche to say, but getting a bra that fitted me correctly changed a lot!
It changed how my clothes looked, and sat on me, It changed how I stood, and it changed my relationship with bras.
If you want to feel the change like I did, book a virtual fitting with us today. We will guide you through the process and find your perfect fit! Stop hurting, feeling uncomfortable and start to feel fabulous just as you are! As Lizzo says:
'It's about damn time!'
