Nightmare bra fitting ARRGGHHH!!!

So as my PS said I could wear an underwired bra now (I have no crease scars) I went to get fitted today. First stop was La Senza where the girl announced I was a 36D...I haven't worn a 36 for about 6 years since I was told I was wearing the wrong size and was actually a 34. She said it was because their bras come up smaller than other brands. I tried on a few and found one in a 36DD which looked nice but didn't get it as I wanted to go to John Lewis & Fenwicks first.

Fenwicks - OMG the woman was a total and utter loony. She said I was a 34DD and brought me some Freya bras that I asked for and none of them fit at all. She was bringing me everything from a 32E to a 36DD and everything was terrible. I was after something nice and simple that gave a good shape & cleavage. She had no idea how a bra should fit...I know it has to be straight across the back, not dragging upwards, flat against your breast bone no gap & the straps shouldn't hold you up. She kept pulling the straps tight to lift my boobs! Then she kept trying to cover my boobs up in granny shaped bras, so we left there angry and disappointed.

John Lewis - by now I was so cross, my niece and I just picked a load of nice 34DD bras and tried them on alone. I got a lovely black lace over nude wonderbra & a lime green balconette John Lewis own brand one that was in the sale. Both fit really well and feel great.

I am so upset because I have spent all this money on fixing my horrible boobs yet they still look awful in almost every bra I tried on. I hope you'll all say it's because they're only 6 weeks old and need to settle more??

its cos your early days honey,mine still havent fully dropped so dont sit at the bottom of the bra yet.i do find for me la senza fit best balconet also seem to give a nice shape for me also.
mel x

They do still need to settle hun but I find that I'm more aware of how my boobs look in a bra and how a bra fits than I was pre BA. Before I would just grab my size of bra and buy it, now I try them on and make sure they fit properly, I have less fun bra shopping lol.

Oh dear, what a let down - we have all spent some much money and time anticipating how easy bra shopping will be, now we have something to fill a bra with, only to find out it is harder than trying to get a pair of jeans to fit!

They look great in your avatar - where was that bra from? I think I feel so safe in my asda sports bra, that I will probably live in it for ever - may just sew a few bits of lace and sequeins on and dye a few pink in the wash, by mistake like I do with most of my undies!!

Glad you found some bras in John Lewis in the sale, I expect all the sales will be over by the time I feel up to wearing wires - did try on an un-wired bra in M & Co last week - but it didn't fit anywhere and the lace was really scratchy.

At least the dreadful lady did seem to measure you to right size, she just couldn't find anything that fitted and that you liked - if you are anything like me, I like to make my own decisions and not be influenced by shop sales people anyway. Go on show us your lime green balconette in your avatar - you know you want to!! xx

most places seem crap at bra fitting in my experience. I go by measurements ( [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ) then take the bras that size, and a couple either side of that size into the changing room and check the fit myself

That's a good link that abbie,

Angle how distressing was your day! Scream scream comes to mind! I am dreading getting measured because everywhere you go you get told a different size......why can't they all be the same! Lol!

I am sure once they have settled and are free flowing it will be a different experience! After my first BA I was so distraught looking for the PERFECT bras but at the time they were still high and hard! I am looking forward to it this time round thought because they are soft and giggling as I walk already! Propbably because I have had them I'm for 6 years anyway so I am already streched!!

Your avatar bra looks really well fitted......were was that from!?

Xxx

What a shame. Personally I don't rate La Senza for their fitting skills at all. Have never been fitted in Fenwicks but would have expected better. I've always found Debenhams to be the best hun (although I'd expect you've probably peed off enough to give them a miss altogether at the moment!)

You are still really early days though. Give it another few weeks and you will probably find you fit bra's much better than you do at the moment. xxx

although youre allowed to wear wires at 6 weeks, i found it was quite some time after that before they were comfortable, so its hard to get the fit right at first

Abbie - I had on an underwire most of today and I must admit I couldn't wait to take it off!! I don't have the crease scar but even so it was sore...

For those that asked, the bra I have on in my avatar is from Tesco. It was £4 in the sale a couple of weeks ago!! It is a 34E and I thought fitted perfectly, but it was quite uncomfortable after a few hours of wearing.

My best friend does a lot of hairstyling for Figleaves.com and knows everything there is to know about fitting bras. She gave me a bra fitting guide that they used to do and it's really helpful. I follow their guidelines - most of the support should come from the band, then the cup then the straps just hold it in place. The woman in Fenwicks was tightening the straps saying look it fits really well...as I had huge gaps in the cups! Honestly she should be sacked

Owwww hun, not a very good day for you was it?

6 wks is still v early. Mine weren't even v pliable at that stage! And I remember bra shopping in debenhams at exactly the same time (6 wks) and I left with a couple but felt rather sore from trying them on and from being fumbled around with!

I would leave for another 2-3 weeks and try again.

La Senza do some lovely cleavage enhancing bras and they do come up small across the back.....

M&S do some nice ranges too.

All in good time, but I know and remember how exciting it is to finally have boobs to fill a nice bra!

My fave is debenhams as they do so many makes the strapless wonderbra is amazing for summer dresses and strappy evening tops and wow it gives you amazing uplift and round boobs!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I find going to places that don't meassure get the best results for me. So Bravisimo and John Lewis.
Also if you have any independent boutique places near you give them a try.

Don't be disheartened, your boobs will (and do) love perfect in bras once they've settled more.

I agree with the girls hun, they look great in your avatar!! I'm sure it's just the case of giving them a few more weeks to settle in and you'll be happy!!

Sorry those ladies were so rubbish at getting you sorted though, what a disappointment!!!

I have no boobs at the moment, so I don't have to worry about "fitting" them in properly, but the best bras I've ever bought have been from Matalan and Primark!!!

Good luck hun, I hope you find that perfect bra really soon!!

LL
x

I didn't get measured until 9 weeks post op and even then found it really difficult to get a good comfortable fit. You still have a lot of changes to go through. Oh and my preferred shop for lovely bras is Debenhams too.

Angel x

Ah Emma I understand how you feel. I went a few weeks ago and was so disappointed and didnt buy anything! My boobs have soften quite a bit in the last week though, so Im going to go again tomorrow and try to buy at least one!

I am so upset because I have spent all this money on fixing my horrible boobs yet they still look awful in almost every bra I tried on. I hope you'll all say it's because they're only 6 weeks old and need to settle more??

it's because they're only 6 weeks old and need to settle more?

Sorry hun, but it's true, still early day's and if you had seen some of the boobie diary pics on here over the space of a year then you would know. I'm still buying bra's by the week - and then stuffing them in a drawer coz I'm 'hanging over' them, at this rate the money I'm spending on bra's will top the cost of my boobs!!!!!! x

You are all sooooo right about it being a nightmare!!!!!? Cos it is!!!

And I totally agree with leaving it for a while after 6 weeks... as there can still be some swelling and soreness present... I was told to leave it til I was 12 weeks post op especially for underwires... So I am for now but I will look in the mean time to see what is out there and get measured a few more times...

It should be FUN really not a nightmare.... me thinks!!! I just thinks some of us are in a rush to enclad our new assets!!!

xxx

I had a nightmare fitting today. I went to La Senza who said i was a 34d, she brought me bras in that size that felt like i was being squeezed into a vice, she then stated i needed a 36DD. this fitted perfect.
i also tried Marks & Spencers, the lady said oh you look like an E or an F, she brought me an F in and i tried it on, rubbish!!! She then put a 34E on me and said oh that fits fantastic. It was an old grannys bra that covered everything, lol it felt too loose.
i came away and just bougth 3 bras, 2 x 36DD and 1 34DD t-shirt bras until i feel as if i have started to settle properly. Right boob quite sore now after trying them all on, think i will wear sports bra for rest of today. x

abbie wrote:most places seem crap at bra fitting in my experience. I go by measurements ( [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ) then take the bras that size, and a couple either side of that size into the changing room and check the fit myself

Hay abbie sorry to butt in ! lol but i tried your online size guide & it said it couldnt calculate my bra size

I measure - under boobs 27inch, around boobs 36inch & above boobs 31inches


Not sure why its bot working lol

x

i dont think it registers any smaller than a 28 band for some reason

if you put in 28 rather than 27, it gives you 28FF, although putting in the measurement above the bust makes it smaller and less accurate i think

I am now out the other end of what you are experiencing AE! Nothing looked good or felt comfy for long either.
It is because you are so early days because I now have a drawer full of bras, all fit beautifully.

One thing I did find really helpful was a softer underwire bra, and this generally means expensive French ones, what I've found anyway!! However, if you go on the great old ebay there are bargains to be had and one brand of bra I can whole-heartedly recommend are Elixir de Lingerie by the French maker Lejaby. They don't feel like you have a bra on - th underwire is like butter. You can get your size easily on there too. I am a 30g mostly now and I wear a 30g in theirs and they fit well. I would say they are true to size, maybe the band runs slightly big, so don't follow the La Senza rules!!
And the prices on ebay are great! A £55+ bra for £12!!

Well worth trying!!

Why can't everywhere just use the same sizing? This thread got me curious and so (albeit 9 days post op) I measure 29 under boobs and 35.5 around boobs. Abbie's So Cheeky website calculate me to need a 30E and the M&S guide says 34C/D - 34 is always too big so I assume I'd be a 32D/DD at M&S.

I'd be thrilled to be a D, so it's not that I'm being greedy, but how can they be so different?

[quote="kayla"]I am now out the other end of what you are experiencing AE! Nothing looked good or felt comfy for long either.
It is because you are so early days because I now have a drawer full of bras, all fit beautifully.

One thing I did find really helpful was a softer underwire bra, and this generally means expensive French ones, what I've found anyway!! However, if you go on the great old ebay there are bargains to be had and one brand of bra I can whole-heartedly recommend are Elixir de Lingerie by the French maker Lejaby. They don't feel like you have a bra on - th underwire is like butter. You can get your size easily on there too. I am a 30g mostly now and I wear a 30g in theirs and they fit well. I would say they are true to size, maybe the band runs slightly big, so don't follow the La Senza rules!!
And the prices on ebay are great! A £55+ bra for £12!!

Well worth trying!! [/quote

Thanks Kayla! I had a quick look on eBay and weirdly enough the only one in my size was a lilac one called Emma! I will definitely try one as they look lovely xxx

Well I think your boobies looked lovely emma ^_^
Even saw you undid your button at one point hehe

Woahhh abbie i just used that online thing its saying im a 30 - f LOL never measured myself before!! but the bigger the better i suppose quite chuffed on the sly hope i did it right xxx

wouldnt be surprised. You were similar to me to start with and had similar sized implants, and thats my size