Bra Shopping for the Unsure

Well this is hopefully going to be an interesting post. So as many of you may be aware, it is a difficult thing as a woman to go shopping for bras. They are different sizes, fits, colours, styles. What exactly is it you are looking for? Thankfully having a past background in the lingerie department of a retail store, I have some idea of what to look for. If something fits, and exactly what to do when it comes to finding the right one. So I began my journey a few days beforehand. I knew that it would be a whole day most likely of shopping, and looking around in different places. As I said before, with my past experience, I know that not all sizes are the same. They are not universal, and if you buy one size in one place, if I go elsewhere, it will not be the same. I have read articles before, where people have said this, and I always, ALWAYS recommend people to get measured EVERYWHERE you can, to get the sizes for those stores. So if you want to shop there in the future, you know your size for those ones. So knowing this, I booked three different bra fittings where I could. Triumph, John Lewis and Marks And Spencers. A few days later, it was my day to go and get fitted and hopefully find something I can purchase, and fit me correctly.

My first stop? Triumph. Now I have never been here before. Never tried their underwear, however from seeing ads, and previously having to walk past this store on a regular basis I thought, as a specialist I needed to go there! It is designed for "curvy women" and they say they have the best support for larger ladies. So naturally, I wanted to check it out for myself. When I first arrived, being a small store I was slightly overwhelmed already. So many bras, not enough staff (not an issue because I know what that is like) and just a very very quiet store. I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb. The staff were busy working away, and I had to find someone to see where to go for the bra fit. The shop assistant didn't check me in, I mentioned that I had a bra fit and I was shown to a room. I was asked what size I was wearing, she measured me from behind and then went out to get two bras. She came back a couple minutes later with the styles and asked to try them on. They were the size I said I was, so I obliged, and tried them on. Now unless I asked her to check something, whether it was the straps, or how the cups fit, she wouldn't actively come to check. Now for me, this felt a little unusual, and like they didn't really want to do the work. They went with the size I said I was wearing (which I may have been), but the whole time, any time she went to get me anything, she would shoot her arm through the curtain and hand them over. Not see if I was ok, or check I was correctly putting them on. I know it sounds a little... picky perhaps? But like I said, I didn't feel like I was actually wanted in the shop. I decided on two styles, took them out, and looked around some more, before putting them in their correct places and then leaving the store. I didn't feel valued, I couldn't be 100% they would fit me correctly, so I left for my next appointment. The styles I have to say in the store were nice, it was nice to have something that wasn't just lacy, or non-padded, or just plain. But I decided I didn't want to invest somewhere I didn't agree with. My size here apparently was 36F.

My second stop was John Lewis. Now I knew this would be VERY expensive, as it is a large department store. I arrived, and when I did, they welcomed me and said they would get to me as soon as they could. Saturdays are usually VERY busy, so I was more than happy to wait. Eventually after a few minutes, I was taken to a fitting room. I was measured, and the lady was extremely lovely. She went to get some sizes and came back and checked on me as soon as I was done. I was told that I could probably fit a smaller back size. So she got a smaller back and larger cup and it fitted perfectly. It was an amazing bra! It felt comfortable, looked lovely and I instantly fell in love. She went to get a couple others that were in the sale, that were cheaper, but non were as pretty as this one. She apologised, as they only had styles and designs for "older women", but I was informed they were available from Bravissimo, and they would have a larger selection in their store. This was amazing news, as I had basically been fitted for Bravissimo as well and John Lewis, because I was trying their bras on. Which is normally not the case. The only reason I didn't buy the bras from here were the price. Even though they were able to price match with the original supplier, it was still out of my price range. I couldn't get a matching underwear set, as the pants/knickers were not to my liking. So these factors, made me unable to purchase the REALLY pretty bra. But a great experience, and they know exactly what they were talking about. My size here? 34G. A cup and back size SMALLER than Triumph.

My third and final stop was Marks And Spencers. Now I usually come here for my underwear because it lasts a long time, I get vouchers for here, and they are widely available to me. I also know the bra fitters personally, which makes it that much more comfortable, because I can have a chat and relax with them. So this is a bit of a more biased opinion straight away, however if you are able to get someone you can chat to, it will help a LOT with your fitting. My fitter, measured me and went to get a few many different styles and colours. I tried them on, and found the correct size, picking the ones I wanted to purchase. They had matching underwear which is great, in many different styles, and some had different colours also. The size was a little different here, and despite being measure as a 38 inch back, I could actually fit into a 36. Which I had an idea about from previously being measured a year before. The fitting last a good 30 minutes or so, and the fitter came and went with different sizes and styles which was nice. Again as I said previously, I am a little biased with them, because I know the staff, however I'm sure if I had a different fitter, it would have been just as good. My size at M&S was 36E. A back size bigger and 2 cup sizes smaller than John Lewis.

After looking at the price tag, and picking a few from the chosen, I decided that despite wanting to get one bra from John Lewis, I wanted to get two from Marks and Spencers, with the matching underwear. Four items, for the same price of one item. It was a shame, that the price was the defining factor for this, as I would have loved the one from John Lewis, however with M&S having more styles that fitted me, and more colours, and being cheaper but just as good quality it didn't feel right paying almost three times as much.

It's definitely worth checking different places, and looking at their styles and prices. Get measured in all the shops you wish to purchase from and see what the sizes are there, before purchasing just one size. Hope this was a useful post. Although a VERY long post. But useful at least.

#Bras #Underwear #UnderwearShopping #BraShopping #Shopping #JohnLewis #Triumph #MarksAndSpencers #BraFittings #Bravissimo #PlusSize