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Some suck, but thankfully, also some awesome
Background...
I'm a busty-ish girl, but having read some of the bra dilemma stories here, I think it would be safe to say that I'm not as, hmm, well-endowed as some of the ladies here. And generally speaking, I've never had a big problem hunting for bras before.
I can't remember the last time I was measured, but I do remember that the number 37 stuck around, and I've been wearing 36C for years. 37 also made sense because most of my major measurements, although they fluctuate, tend to be odd numbers (37, 31, 39). Having said that, I haven't actually wrapped a tape around myself for about 3 years, when I was being measured for my corset.
I always bought my bras from Peacocks, for the last 6 or 7 years; before I worked there, I liked the cheap, pretty (and comfortable options) and while I worked there, I loved how I could get 20% discount on them
But I did notice that I had a tendency to...spill...out of the front a bit.
Well, being as most of my bras are looking a bit worn, and the spilling thing had been going on for long enough, I decided it was time to have a proper underwear shop. Since my store closed, I popped into the next nearest Peacocks a few times, but their selection was never as good as ours, and their size range always sucked. At work before, I could at least always get dibs on a 36C (seemed to be a popular size), but there never seemed to be any of my size at the other store, at least not ones that I liked.
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.
I was pretty stuck. I kinda needed to be measured, and despite her claim, she clearly wasn't doing much. And even if she was with another customer (on which I call bullshit), surely she could have offered to get back to me? I mean, I really did need help, I was having trouble just PICKING a bra, let alone getting a size. So I stood there a bit gormlessly for a sec, while she ignored me, blinked, and then said "Ok then." Then I (admittedly, rather pettily) dumped the bras nearby (she looooved tidying so much after all
) and walked right out.
And went straight to Ann Summers, 3 doors down.
Bra Awesome
I wasn't really intending on going in here, because its very expensive, and tends to run more into the not-so-practical side
. A cami/bustier I saw in there was £60 alone. But I thought I'd give it a try. I'd bought a suspender belt in there last year and while I hadn't needed much help, it had been a good experience.
The store was a little busy. I approached the fitting rooms where before I even spoke, the assistant spotted me and greeted me. I asked "I know its a little busy, but is there any chance of getting a measurement?" To which she said, absolutely, of course, as long as I didn't mind waiting a few minutes as the fitting rooms were full. I was waiting less than 5 minutes, during which I had a very friendly chat with the assistant, gave her a little background on my bewb issue, and then told her I had just been in Marks and Spencer and pretty much turned away. To which she, and a colleague, then told me that I was far from the first customer to have come in and said M&S had been crap!
She lead me into a fitting room and then began measuring. "You were right about the band size, you are a 36" she said. Then she did the cup, paused thoughtfully and announced: "Double D."
Me:
"I'm no way a double-d!" (Said in disbelief, not rudeness lol)
Assistant: "Yep To be honest, I knew you weren't a C the minute I saw you! Same thing happened with me, I was wearing 34 C for years and it turns out I'm an E!"
So I start shopping. They have a good deal, with a lot of the bras being 30% off, and some being on a 2 for £25 deal. I found a lovely purple silk-and-black-lace one that was not on offer but screamed BUY ME XD The other assistants were really helpful, helping me find pretty things. I tried on about 6 or 7 in the end, and it transpires that I'm probably more a 36D rather than a 36DD as the latter was a bit gappy. But I was so surprised to find I was putting a D-cup on and it was actually fitting! O.O It came down to 2 in the end; in the end, I just bought the purple and some matching knicks, and I'm going to go back another day soon to see if they get more in 36D (one of the ones in the 2 for £25 offer were out of stock in that size).
I told the staff I was really impressed by the service and thanked them all. And you know, I wasn't actually intending to spend £44 on one bra and one pair of knicks
(yeah, like I said, expensive) BUT after having such great service, I WANTED to spend my money theere
I'm actually thinking of writing a letter
Background...
I'm a busty-ish girl, but having read some of the bra dilemma stories here, I think it would be safe to say that I'm not as, hmm, well-endowed as some of the ladies here. And generally speaking, I've never had a big problem hunting for bras before.
I can't remember the last time I was measured, but I do remember that the number 37 stuck around, and I've been wearing 36C for years. 37 also made sense because most of my major measurements, although they fluctuate, tend to be odd numbers (37, 31, 39). Having said that, I haven't actually wrapped a tape around myself for about 3 years, when I was being measured for my corset.
I always bought my bras from Peacocks, for the last 6 or 7 years; before I worked there, I liked the cheap, pretty (and comfortable options) and while I worked there, I loved how I could get 20% discount on them
But I did notice that I had a tendency to...spill...out of the front a bit. Well, being as most of my bras are looking a bit worn, and the spilling thing had been going on for long enough, I decided it was time to have a proper underwear shop. Since my store closed, I popped into the next nearest Peacocks a few times, but their selection was never as good as ours, and their size range always sucked. At work before, I could at least always get dibs on a 36C (seemed to be a popular size), but there never seemed to be any of my size at the other store, at least not ones that I liked.
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.
I was pretty stuck. I kinda needed to be measured, and despite her claim, she clearly wasn't doing much. And even if she was with another customer (on which I call bullshit), surely she could have offered to get back to me? I mean, I really did need help, I was having trouble just PICKING a bra, let alone getting a size. So I stood there a bit gormlessly for a sec, while she ignored me, blinked, and then said "Ok then." Then I (admittedly, rather pettily) dumped the bras nearby (she looooved tidying so much after all
) and walked right out.And went straight to Ann Summers, 3 doors down.
Bra Awesome
I wasn't really intending on going in here, because its very expensive, and tends to run more into the not-so-practical side
. A cami/bustier I saw in there was £60 alone. But I thought I'd give it a try. I'd bought a suspender belt in there last year and while I hadn't needed much help, it had been a good experience.The store was a little busy. I approached the fitting rooms where before I even spoke, the assistant spotted me and greeted me. I asked "I know its a little busy, but is there any chance of getting a measurement?" To which she said, absolutely, of course, as long as I didn't mind waiting a few minutes as the fitting rooms were full. I was waiting less than 5 minutes, during which I had a very friendly chat with the assistant, gave her a little background on my bewb issue, and then told her I had just been in Marks and Spencer and pretty much turned away. To which she, and a colleague, then told me that I was far from the first customer to have come in and said M&S had been crap!
She lead me into a fitting room and then began measuring. "You were right about the band size, you are a 36" she said. Then she did the cup, paused thoughtfully and announced: "Double D."
Me:
"I'm no way a double-d!" (Said in disbelief, not rudeness lol)Assistant: "Yep
To be honest, I knew you weren't a C the minute I saw you! Same thing happened with me, I was wearing 34 C for years and it turns out I'm an E!"So I start shopping. They have a good deal, with a lot of the bras being 30% off, and some being on a 2 for £25 deal. I found a lovely purple silk-and-black-lace one that was not on offer but screamed BUY ME XD The other assistants were really helpful, helping me find pretty things. I tried on about 6 or 7 in the end, and it transpires that I'm probably more a 36D rather than a 36DD as the latter was a bit gappy. But I was so surprised to find I was putting a D-cup on and it was actually fitting! O.O It came down to 2 in the end; in the end, I just bought the purple and some matching knicks, and I'm going to go back another day soon to see if they get more in 36D (one of the ones in the 2 for £25 offer were out of stock in that size).
I told the staff I was really impressed by the service and thanked them all. And you know, I wasn't actually intending to spend £44 on one bra and one pair of knicks
(yeah, like I said, expensive) BUT after having such great service, I WANTED to spend my money theere I'm actually thinking of writing a letter
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