Welcome to Fit Me, Deadly, a blog chronicling my (mis)adventures into properly fitting bras!
I, like many other lingerie bloggers, started this blog after discovering that the bras I had been wearing from my early teens until my mid twenties have been (much to my suspicions) horribly, terribly wrong for my breasts and body type. For years I have worn anything from a 32B-DD to a 34C. I know that range seems limited by comparison to the atrocious bras other women have been packed or slapped into, but despite what bras I tried on or how many fittings I have underwent, my measurements seemed to remain stable, and in their stability, they remained lacking.
Luckily, one serendipitous visit to Nordstrom's in the summer of 2012 in search of a racerback bra, a fitter finally gave me the most accurate (to date) fitting I have ever received--32DD. The bra felt more "right" than any other bra I had ever worn, but the fit was still off, and I returned the bra. Despite the bra not fitting quite right, I was still at odds with the "diagnosis" of having DD breasts. For my frame, my breasts are quite proportional to my body--I have an hourglass figure/classic figure measurements. Yet, thanks to the American media machine, I saw DD+ breasts as something I couldn't possibly be--I didn't have globe-like breasts that were disproportionate to my frame, so I couldn't be "that" girl. I remained in my ill-fitting 32-34C bras (where I was at the time), constantly tugging at my band, straps, and breasts and thinking such is the world of woman.
Come Christmas of that same year, my mother asked what I, the lowly poor college student, wanted for Christmas. "Support, mum," I snarked as I grasped my girls. She snorted and we giggled and that weekend went to our local Victoria's Secret (the beast itself!) for a fitting and to peruse styles. A saleswoman whisked me into a fitting room and measured me at a 32DD and came back with roughly seven to eight bras. I tried them on, incredulous again to the fit, but was shocked once again when I found that these bras fit better than the ones in my current rotation. Excitedly, I purchased several of the bras, comforted that my breasts were more secure and happy than they had been for years.
Then, reality came crashing down.
After mild wear over the holidays, I could clearly see that these bras still did not fit me correctly. This is where I began my research. Through self-measuring from guides boasted by lingerie bloggers and manufacturers, trial and error, I measured myself at a 32E.
Those bras, better yet than the 32DD's, still weren't quite right. The have since returned to VS.
Further research and careful measuring led me to believe I was 30F. A professional fitting at a much recommended local lingerie boutique assured me of this whilst simultaneously confounding the situation. They described me as being perfectly between sizes. I am a 30F, but suffer spill over and armpit "fat" with my left breast whereas my right breast is perfectly situated. Jump up to a 30FF, and some styles still cause spillage of my left breast, have cups that are cut too high on my chest, and leave my smaller breast swimming. Some 30 bands feel as loose as 32's or 34's, while some feel like 28's and are too tight. Some 28 bands feel like they're trying to bisect me, others feel perfect. I understand the concept of sister sizing and going up a cup when going down on the band and vice versa, but I am still struggling to find the correct sizes and have become quickly disenchanted with local boutiques (whom I feel as though they are only out to protect their bottom line and not to help their clients should they find themselves in a situation with a bra that still isn't just quite right).
Upon measuring myself tonight (on my period, no less), my ribs measure at a 28. My largest point on my bust measures (despite my visitor) a FF/G. I have been measuring myself nightly for the past two weeks and have averaged these measurements--they're stable.
Bras and I do not get along, and fitters try to force me to settle for bras that are just not quite right. This is my journey through the world of DD+ and sub 30 band lingerie. I'm trepidatious but determined to find what fits me.
My name is Cherry Cherry Bang Bang, and this is my journey down the bra rabbit hole.
