Ann Summers triumphs over Marks and Spencer...

[MoonCat]

Ladies, Roaman's has large bra sizes and they also have a bra club. Buy 5 within a year, get one free. If you know your correct size, they have some cute styles and prices aren't too bad.

*I have no connection to this company other than spending too much time (and money) online...

[SongsOfDragons]

Bah. Fuck M&S. The ones in Newbury and Southampton demand you set up an appointment to be measured, and last time I tried they only took appointments for two weeks in advance. They were SO BUSY!!! Yes they had no less than TWO measurings in ONE day!!

Sorry M&S, screw you. Not convinced.

[Bardmaiden]

Some suck, but thankfully, also some awesome

Background...Bra Suck
So I popped down town and went to my local Marks and Spencer, which is of course, quite well known for having a good lingerie selection, a fitting service and a wide range of sizes. One of my friends who is something like a G cup pretty much relies on them, although she was also not exactly a happy customer. I'm sure many of you busty ladies know full well that if you're busty, buying bras that fit tends to be an expensive affair, and my friend says she's usually spend £20 a time on a single bra...that usually also snaps after a month, and she's now too embarrassed to take them back for refunds because its happening nearly every time. She's also been measured several times and has had a completely different measurement everytime. But me, being naive, decided that my much more manageable size shouldn't be an issue...right?

Wroooong....

I went into their lingerie department where I found a few dummies displaying some very lovely sets. My aim was to get at least one sexy bra (pretty silky, lacey kinda thing) and at least one practical, nice bra, preferably in black. So I started to hunt and I quickly found that practical and ugly was the main theme, despite the dummies. The department wasn't dead, but it was far from busy also, even though a queue was quietly emerging from the fitting rooms.

So I hunted and hunted. None of the colours were what I liked, but I did see a few nice practical ones that might have been ok, even though they certainly were not cheap. No staff are visible at all during this time, so I pick up a 36C in the ones that were okay-ish and then went to the fitting room, in hopes of finding someone to help me. The queue was much shorter now. I peered around and asked the lady ahead of me "Are there any staff there?" She said no.

Great start. Well, I go trying to hunt for an assistant, and after a while, I find one, assisting a woman and her young pre-treen daughter. I browse nearby while she finishes up giving them advice, and then she starts apparently tidying. So I approach her and ask "Is it at all possible to get a measurement?"

To which she just says "No, there's no one else up here, and I'm already with a customer." And then carried on tidying, like I wasn't there.

As a former employee of Green and Gold, I can certainly tell you that employee should not have behaved in that manner. I was trained to, if I was "with another customer", to either ask the customer to wait until I was finshed and if that was not an option to get another assistant. That sort of behaviour would not be allowed in the store I worked at, the store was and still is far too busy to have that sort of employee.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Why is everyone acting like a couple of boobs?

A perfect time to post this cartoon again.

[cheese]

M&S are pretty useless. My weight has fluctuated over the last ~5 years and so have been measured for bras there several times. They've varied between measuring me at 38E, 38F, or 40F. However they would always ride up at the back, and I never felt comfortable.

So I went to Bravissimo, and they are brilliant. They don't do measurements, but just try you in lots of different bras until they got a really good fit. The ones I now buy are a 34H! They said a lot of women wear a too big a back size and too small a cup. Their bras are more expensive, but I'm just so much more comfortable, I don't spend all day yanking down the back of my bra or readjusting myself. I even got a 34H sports bra that I can run in.

I don't think Ann Summers go that big so never tried to buy anything there, but anywhere's gotta be better than M&S!

[Cat Herder]

This thread has huge tracts of land.

[greek_jester]

This thread has huge tracts of land.

With beautiful peaks & intriguing valleys

[DeltaSierra]

About 3 years ago, I bought a few of the "Cacique" Plus-size cotton bras wth no underwire, and they are the most comfortable bras I ever wore.
I ordered them online from Lane Bryant, and they were on a buy 1 - get 1 half price deal. (They must run that sale a lot.)
Shortly after, Lane Bryant stopped shipping to Canada, so unless I find a store in the US, I'm out of luck.

(OMG - just noticed the link shows they're shipping to Canada again. YAY!!)

These are the BEST BRAS IN THE WORLD, in my opinion. My girls are 40G or H (depending on the bra) and I can wear their F cup comfortably without any binding/pinching. There's only one store near me that carries above a F cup and their bras are $80 and up. Ridiculous.

[Rodimal]

I was gonna post the typical 'This thread is usless without pictures.', but then somebody posted one so.....

[MoonCat]

I was gonna post the typical 'This thread is usless without pictures.', but then somebody posted one so.....

Here ya go...

(.) (.)

[DeltaSierra]

And if you want some action here's some jumping up and down:

( . )( . ) ( * )( * ) ( . )( . ) ( * )( * ) ( . )( . ) ( * )( * ) ( . )( . ) ( * )( * )

[ThirdGenRetail]

You people are terrible

[wagegoth]

They also don't get why they cost so much. The don't know the number of pieces and the amount of work that goes into making one.

Bras I've found are like any other article of clothing. Find one you like in the size you think is right and a size up and down and try on until you find the right one.

Actually, you're very lucky in your experience, because each bra company cuts their bras differently. I used to measure and sell them at Nordbum. You have to find a bra that is cut to your body: are your breasts far apart or close together, if you've had a child they will be saggier and softer than before and will affect the style, do you have prominent nipples (something else that often happens after having a child), are they fuller on the top or bottom, or they round or teardrop shaped, and so on.

The one company I know of that makes bras in different styles for different shapes is Wacoal. They are a Japanese company and use engineers to help properly design their bras. With Wacoal, you find the style that fits your type and stay with it.

[dalesys]

Jumping Jills:

( . )( . ) ( * )( * ) ( . )( . ) ( * )( * ) ( . )( . ) ( * )( * ) ( . )( . ) ( * )( * )

Jumping Jacks:

(*|*) (o|o) (*|*) (o|o) (*|*) (o|o) (*|*) (o|o) (*|*) (o|o) (*|*)

[Little Retail Rabbit]

Well the bra hunt continues. Its so epically hard! Why is it I can find 36C in everything now I don't wear it, and no 36Ds? Nothing affordable anyway!

I popped back into the same Ann Summers this last weekend, and they all remembered me, and all approached me and chatted and were very nice. Then the girl who measured me saw me eyeing up a pink-with-black-lace-overlay bra and said "Oooh the minute I saw that I knew you'd like it!" They remembered my gothiness :3

I didn't buy another one in there, but only because it hurts my wallet...but I do intend to shop there a little more often from now on. And I think I will also write a letter to their HO or whatever, to let them know what good staff they have I honestly haven't been that happy with good service in AGES!