Did you know 80% of women are wearing the incorrect bra size? This percentage is way too high for lingerie shops being so accessible. Unfortunately, these lingerie shops are a small part of the problem. While most women have never been properly fitted for a bra before, there are a few details that you should know before going to a bra shop so you can avoid being fitted incorrectly.
While Victoria’s Secret is the most recognizable retailer for lingerie, the fitting skills of their employees are not often the most reliable. The skills any fitter has are greatly dependent on their education and training. Unfortunately, most employees at Victoria’s Secret are not always given enough time and training to properly size clients.
A huge issue in fitting at Victoria’s Secret is that they only carry what they consider to be common sizes. Their bras range from a 32 to a 38 band in the stores. Their cup sizes go from an A to a DDD. It is a common misconception that if you are a petite client that you are automatically a 32 band and an A or B cup. When I transitioned from working at Victoria’s Secret to luxury lingerie boutiques, I realized that a great deal of women measure much smaller than a 32 band, going from a 28 and a 30. This scares many clients because a woman can come into a shop and think she is a 32B and walk out a 30E. It is common for a customer to question a fitter as they are conditioned to believe that a D is a very large cup size when truly, cup is relative to band. Lingerie fitting is all about the ratio of cup to band and a 32D looks nothing like a 36D.
Another practice that deters clients from Victoria’s Secret is the fact that if you are larger than a DDD or of any kind of specialized fit, the specialists will try to squeeze you into a DDD or tell you flat out that they cannot help you. What really throws off the clients that end up getting sent to luxury lingerie shops is that Victoria’s Secret is one of the only retailers left that uses the system of D, DD, and DDD. Most reputable lingerie companies are using the French/European sizing system. This means that the bras go from D to E to F, etc. There are more than enough companies that specialize in bras to fit clients that are of small, average, or full bust. You just have to know where to look for them.
Knowing what kind of bra works best for your shape can also help you after sizing is determined. Some shapes look best in balconette bras, while others are best in demi style bras. It is all about your comfort level and what kind of occasion you are wearing the bra for. A common misconception is that the pushup bra is the solution to all problems and to create the most flattering cleavage. In a future article, I will go through the myth of the pushup bra.
This is not meant to bash Victoria’s Secret as a company. They have done great work to build their brand to become to top lingerie retailer to date. I am still an avid and obsessed Victoria’s Secret client. I just want to let you know that if you want a bra fitting and you are not an easy fit, there are other places that you can go. Fitting is also not an exact science. Every lingerie company cuts their bras differently and often times, bras in different styles are not cut consistently. The lingerie industry is not perfect. As a senior lingerie stylist and fitter, that is where I come in.
Stay tuned! I will be continuing to write this lingerie column to help you with fit, styling, and lingerie trends.