Bad bras - a real pain in the neck!

Bad bras - a real pain in the neck!

..and the back, arms, ribs, shoulders and boobs for that matter!

There's no denying that changing from the wrong bra to a bra which fits you perfectly can make you look a whole lot better - perky, uplifted, slimmer, younger...choose your happy boob description. But, when the topic of bad bras comes up many people have a "so what?" attitude. So what if retailers are fitting women in the wrong bra - it's just an item of clothing? A case of vanity - right? 

Well, no, it's not.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the sartorial benefits of a good bra. But it's not the only reason for this campaign. Bad bras hurt - sometimes a lot. Over the last few months I have helped a lot of women find their real bra size, and the problems they report from bad bras are awful. 

Here's one lady's story:
"I had an appointment with a physio for my back pain this week and was told that my badly fitting bras had caused poor posture which had caused my problems. The difference now that the bras fit and are not constantly pulling my shoulders down and forward is life changing! I have parathesia (numbness), neck pain, headaches, back pain. The neck pain was so severe it was causing vertigo and vision issues. The shoulder straps digging in caused me to hunch my shoulders so much that I have given myself a shelf where my neck and back meet. As a consequence I was only moving half my neck which was causing such bad neck and shoulder pain that I have spent most of the past year on strong pain killers. I also had bras that rubbed so much that caused bleeding. All professionally fitted

A better fitting bra has taken the weight of my shoulders. It's only been a month, but I can exercise again, my back pain is improving and I'm able to start retraining my posture so that eventually I will hopefully be completely pain free eventually. I'm also not longer desperate to take my bra off as soon as I can, or covered in deep red welts.

It is so so much better... it's not even been a whole month since I got the bras that fit- in fact it's only been a fortnight! I just cannot imagine how I lived with it before." 

Back pain is a huge problem. The British Chiropractic Association found that 47% of women have suffered from back pain which they attributed directly to the weight of their breasts. They go on to explain "Bras are like

suspension bridges, you need a well engineered bra so your shoulders don’t take all of the

strain and end up doing all of the work; spreading the load is important. Bras that don’t fit

will affect the shoulders and chest and may cause back pain as you get older. It is so

important to make sure a bra gives you enough support as possible."

The support from a bra needs to come from the back - and that means a firm, well fitting band which 

does not ride up and can support the weight of your breasts. Take a look at our fitting guide for help 

on getting this right. 

When your bra is too big at the back your shoulders take the strain. You end up tightening the straps 

more and more to get support, which then makes the straps dig in. The straps hurt, and you end up 

hunching your shoulders to try and make it hurt less. Suddenly, you have a bad posture, your shoulders 

hurt and now your back is joining the pain party too.  Your neck may well pop in to say hello as well. 

Of course, it's not just the back pain. Women often say they hate their bras. Digging in, rubbing, 
itching,blisters, even bleeding have been reported...from bras which retailers have fitted. Your bra 
shouldn't be wriggling around and moving. If it does, you end up with sore patches as it rubs against
the skin. Too small a cup size means the wire ends up sitting on soft breast tissue which is very tender. 
So it digs in, and you end up with incredibly sore bits. 

I've also seen ladies with huge deep grooves in their shoulders which stay for hours after their bra 
comes off. 

For some women, bad bras can be a source of headaches - overtightened shoulder straps dig in and 
press on delicate nerves leading to nasty headaches.

This just isn't right.

And don't forget about breastfeeding. A lot of retailers will tell pregnant women to never wear an underwire because it's "dangerous" but in a well fitting bra, it's not. However, when any bra fits poorly - especially when the cup is too small - then that puts pressure on the tender breast tissue, can block ducts and lead to mastitis. If you are pregnant or feeding it's really important to make sure that your bra fits. If you wear wires, it needs to sit outside the breast tissue, and if you are wearing softcups make sure it is big enough and isn't just squashing/compressing you.

We need better bras. We need proper fittings. And we need the 
retailers to get this right

Back fat

An embarrassing topic...it's backfat

We've helped a lot of ladies find their true bra size, but one issue always crops up when we are trying to explain the need for a smaller backsize. Backfat. 

We've all experienced it - you think you look great then catch a glimpse of your rear view in a mirror and, wowser, where did that backfat come from?!? It must mean my bra doesn't fit...it's digging in...I better buy a bigger bandsize right?

WRONG! You probably need a smaller band!!!

How can you possibly need a smaller band when you have fat overspilling or underspilling at the back?!

A good bra doesn't just support your front - it supports your back too. And a well fitting bra will make that evil backfat look smaller, not bigger. Once you have your size right - check out our fitting guide - and have "scooped" like we describe, then your backfat will look better than it did in that bra that was too big in the back. And your front will too!

Retailers are getting this wrong. Marks and Spencer told both of us we couldn't possibly need a smaller back when we had back spill issues. So, here's some rather embarrassing photographic evidence (I'm no skinny minnie!) that bigger back does not equal less backfat!

A 36F - the size Marks and Spencer claim I should wear - that's pretty grim right? This is a 30HH bra that has stretched quite a bit (so it's fitting like a 32) A 30 which fits pretty well - I have my hands on my hips hence odd shape at top!

As you can see, the bigger band doesn't make the backfat better - it makes it worse. And that's a bra 3 band sizes bigger than I need, so it's seriously loose. 

So don't be scared to try a bra that doesn't add inches. 

 

 

 

Marks and Spencer bra fitting review - how not to do it

A Tale of Two Cities - Marks and Spencer Bra Fitting Review

Those of you who have made your way here from the Mumsnet Threads or Twitter will know that the poor fitting service at Marks and Sparks has been a bit of a recurring theme. We decided to "tweet" them about it on Thursday, and received a response suggesting it was an isolated incident. So...mystery shop time. One big boobed girl in Plymouth, one in Edinburgh. Opposite ends of the country, but two very similar  tales.

First up, it's Plymouth:

 I went to Marks at 14:30 and booked an appointment for 16:00. They were obviously very busy and there were at least four sets of teens waiting to be fitted. I went back at 15:55 and was greeted by my fitter (let's call her Janet). I must say that she was extremely nice, very polite and friendly throughout. TBH I felt a little guilty for trying to catch her out as she seemed to be doing her best to help me find a good bra.

Ok, she asked me to remove my top and told me that they measure for the band size and then do the cup by eye. For one fleeting moment I started to think that maybe Janet might come up with the goods. In addition, I was wearing my Cleo Juna in a 30G which is probably the best fitting bra I own. I had thought that by wearing that she'd see what a well-fitting bra looked like on me. Ah, no, it was not to be. She brandished her tape measure and proclaimed me to measure 36. She held the tape measure so loosely I didn't actually feel it! Janet then said she thought I was probably a 36D or DD and after asking me about styles (I said that I'd like something that I could wear for work that wasn't too old fashioned) she returned with a Striped Non-Padded bra in a 36DD.

Dear lord. Where to start? Ok, the back was massive so I did it up on the tightest hooks. I could pull the bra out a long, long way. I had major back fat and underarm bulge and some moderate overspill. What was worse was that the bra didn't actually do anything. My boobs stayed in exactly the same position as they had been in without a bra. Janet came in and checked the fit and said the back should be done up on the middle hook (deduct another point) and then asked me how it felt. I said that the back felt very loose but she said that there was no way I could wear a tighter band and she was actually wondering if I should have a 38. I pointed out that the centre gore wasn't lying flat (it was at least 1.5" away from my body) but she pressed it and said that it was lying flat and was a perfect fit.
I said I'd like to try some different styles and Janet then brought me a black plunge style in a sort of soft feel fabric (I can't find it on-line unfortunately) in a 36DD. Oh dear god. Now, me and plunges, we just don't get on so I knew this would be a disaster. I had about 6 boobs, the centre gore was nowhere near my body and the band was up around my shoulders. To give Janet her due she immediately said that perhaps a plunge style wasn't a good choice for me.

Next up was the Rosie for Autograph French Designed Rose Lace Padded DD-G Bra)in a 36DD. Well, I don't quite know where to start. All the same issues as with the first bra plus gaping at the top of the cup. Again, Janet insisted that back was too tight even when I said (again) that it felt very loose and that I felt a bit droopy. There was absolutely no uplift and I feel the band starting to move and rub.

Finally, I tried the Rosie for Autograph Damask Rose Print Padded Plunge A-DD Bra with Silk  in a 36D (Janet's suggestion as the other Rosie bra had been too big in the cup in the DD.) Again, all the same issues, plus this time the wires at the front were sitting about three inches below my boobs. She proclaimed it a great fit.
I'd had enough by this time so said that I'd stick with the first and last bras. Janet very kindly showed me where the matching pants were.

So, the verdict. Sadly, despite a great manner and an obvious desire to help, Janet didn't seem to know anything about what a good fitting bra should look like or feel like. Interestingly she kept checking the fit from the side and the back as well as the front to see how the wires and the back lay. I don't know how she didn't notice that the wires didn't go far enough back or that the bands were too high. When she looked at me side on she didn't seem to notice the overspill in the cups either. I think the Marks and Spencer fitters are assuming people's bands are too tight because they have back fat. I certainly had loads of it in all these bras and I'm sure that's why she insisted they weren't too loose) but have none at all in my 30G/GGs. Until the fitters understand this issue, there is no hope!
I am not only depressed but actually feel quite sad and angry for all those poor women who were badly fitted today at this and other branches.

Next up, Edinburgh

I measured myself before I went out today - I measure 30.5" underneath, and 42" over in the bra I was wearing. A 30HH.

I nipped in to my local Marks and Spencer (Edinburgh Princes Street, a very large store) and requested a fitting. I was advised the next available time was in an hour, which was fine, I had a wander around while I waited then took a seat in the fitting rooms.

Whilst I was waiting I saw the bra fitter and I'm afraid I knew it was going to be grim. She was an extremely well-endowed lady, and her own bra was awful. This did not bode well for her bra knowledge. I also heard her fit another woman who I would estimate was around a 32 back, in a 38. Uh oh....
Anyway...my  turn!

She took me in to a cubicle which had a curtained off section and asked me to strip off the top half down to my bra. I went in wearing a lovely new Ewa Michalak bra which fits like a glove, so she should have been able to see what a good bra looked like. Out came the measuring tape, she measured underbust and I was duly informed that I was "measuring at a 36" and that I was "probably an F or G cup". Now, knowing the M and S sizing system as I do I had picked one of these up, so we tried it on. I decided to play fair, so I put it on and let it ride right up at the back. It was AWFUL - I would say the back was at close to a 45 degree angle from where it belonged, and that's before i actually moved around. I tried to snap a pic and have drawn over the faint mark from where my own bra sat:

Sorry for poor quality but you get the drift...the back's way up

The bra did cover my breast, but it just sat there, absolutely no lift at all. My breasts were no higher than they were naked. I could pull the centre of this bra out at least 6 inches from my body.

There is no way you should be able to do this on a bra that fits

The fitter looked at it, said the cup looked great but the back was "maybe a little loose" and she would try me in a 34G because "if she went down a back she would have to go up a cup" and trotted out to get a 34G.

This was even worse. The back fat, oh dear lord the backfat. I have NO backfat in a bra that fits. She looked at it again, said the cup was "a tad gapey but ok", tightened the straps right up and said that the back was "much better"...then asked what I thought.

I decided to give her one more chance, and said that I thought the back was much too loose. This was when Plymouth's thoughts were confirmed as she indicated the massive backfat and said this was "overspill" and I couldn't possibly go down a band size. She also said I should be wearing it on the middle hook...

At this point, I thanked her, got dressed and left. Sadly she was with another customer as I would have loved to ask her what she thought of my properly fitting bra and explain. Alas, not this time. 

I was really really disappointed in this fitting. Woman around the UK trust this company to fit their bras, and they are getting it so very wrong. This isn't one size out - this is dramatically wrong. The bra I was in would have caused me pain as the shoulder straps dug in. A high street institution like Marks and Spencer should be one we can put our faith in, and given their response to our initial tweets I wanted to be wrong.

I wasn't.

UPDATE:
We told M&S about how wrong they are getting it - have a look at @bra_guru on twitter and some posts on their facebook. They continue to insist that our bad fittings are "isolated incidents" even though thousands of women are reporting the same story, there online size chart ADDS INCHES, their youtube video on how to fit a bra ADDS INCHES and all their fitter ADD INCHES. And they are coming out worst in our poll, too.

Bravissimo are doing it right, but a lot of ladies are scared to go there because they think their boobs aren't big enough and fear being "laughed out of the shop". They are also still a relatively small chain. There is a real gap in the market for a major retailer who can sell and fit bras across the whole size range to start doing this right. So, come on M&S...we'll help you!