Boob-al Warming
Boobs have been blowing up in size like bread in the oven, and now, bras are, too, and not just at big-boobed-girl specialty stores. Tamara Cohen writes for the Daily Mail:
For years well-endowed women have struggled with a lack of support from major retailers.Now, finally, one department store is stocking bras large enough for even the most bountiful bosom.
Selfridges is selling a K-cup brassiere made by luxury brand Fantasie. The £32 model was previously only available at specialist outlets.
Each cup of the K bra measures one and a half foot at its widest part. In total, it is over 4ft in circumference.
It uses extra-thick straps with three hooks to ensure the required level of support.
Lingerie industry experts have dubbed the products 'wind socks' because they are so large.They would be too big even for former page three model Katie Price, whose
breasts peaked at 32FF before she had reduction surgery.But they still wouldn't be big enough for 27-year-old Donna Jones from Milton Keynes who claims to have Britain's biggest breasts, sized 40M.
Fantasie said 10,000 women have already bought the K- cup bra from specialist stores.
Commenters on the DM site recommended Bravissimo. Me? I like Empreinte. Expensive, but worth it ("The elasticity of Empreinte bras is reduced to 30%, instead of 50% for a standard strap. This specific elasticity guarantees a longer life for the bra.")
And wisely pointed out in the article:
Many women underestimate their cup size and go for a higher back size. A woman should ideally be measured every two years and more frequently if she has lost or gained weight or had a baby.
Big boobs in the US seem to mean a back like a longshoreman -- or, perhaps that thinking by customers drives what the industry produces and sells. I discovered that I actually wear a 30 back (80 in France), with, um, rather large cups. Figuring that out meant bras that fit. Finally. No more 34-anything.
Thanks, Jay J. Hector!
Comments
K- and Walmart have stocked ridiculously large bras for quite some time. Alas, looking at the "people of walmart" site, they are being bought by...people on whom the breasts don't look out of scale with the bodies, IYKWIMAITYD.
Posted by: Vinnie Bartilucci at March 15, 2010 7:02 AM
Amy, I must admit that coming from a family of fashionistas, this "back measurement" thing surprised me. Frankly, this is the first I've heard of back measurements (bust measurements, yes, but never back measurements). I found an item about back measurements on eHow which I found useful:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2321476_take-center-back-body-measurements.html
Someday when I'm rich (maybe after my novel becomes a best-seller -- it could happen! :-)), I'm gonna go to the Intimacy bra shop in NYC and get a real live fitting. Thanks for expanding my bra knowledge! :-)
Posted by: DorianTB at March 15, 2010 7:06 AM
Daughter #1 won't have that kind of problem with hers, I don't think. We had her measured Saturday after her audition at WestConn (she's going into the Music Ed program) for her senior cotillion dress. She's a 00! I didn't even know dresses ran that small.
This is the one she's getting:
http://www.tjformal.com/Zoom.aspx?spv_id=713072&spt_id=3
Posted by: Flynne at March 15, 2010 7:19 AM
I have to tell you, it's a HUGE savings for me to buy Empreinte bras, which are hugely expensive. They last years and years and years, where other bras wear out. When in France, I hang like a buzzard at Galeries Lafayette, waiting for one of those in-store sales. The economy has been terrible, so we haven't gone, but last time there, I bought only sunblock and bras -- a girl's got to have those staples!
Posted by: Amy Alkon 
at March 15, 2010 7:20 AM
Wow, Flynne...classy!
Love a simple, elegant dress in a beautiful color.
Some Academy Awards actresses would do well to dress like your daughter!
Posted by: Amy Alkon
at March 15, 2010 7:20 AM
Thank you, Amy! She had a different one picked out that had a little more flair to it, but they didn't have it in her size, so she opted for this one. She has silver, strappy high-heeled sandals to go with it, and is borrowing my silver fringed shawl. She says she doesn't want flowers, but I'm getting her a wrist corsage anyway. Orchids, I think. I'll try to post a picture of her all dolled up! The cotillion's this Friday.
Posted by: Flynne at March 15, 2010 7:41 AM
I have a simillar problem with shoes. I have wide splayed toes and have to buy shoes that are atleast one and a half sizes too large leanth wise otherwise I wind up with ingrown toenails, on multipule toes.
And custom fit shoes are EXPENSIVE.
Posted by: lujlp at March 15, 2010 11:31 AM
Took me years to convince my wife to go to a lingerie store and get fitted.
She was mushing her endowment into her chest in an attempt to minimize. It threw her posture off.
And in typical female style she didn't feel she "deserved" expensive European stuff. I told her: if testicles were as prominent at breasts - all the money men spend on cars would go into jock straps.
One good fitting and a set of European-made bras made a great difference. And she didn't look as busty as she feared (we are Orthodox Jews). Just well-proportioned.
And yes, the better-made French and Swiss stuff seems to wear a lot better than the mass-market US bras she used to order through stateside relatives.
Also MUCH sexier. I don't know how they do it but it supports her generous proportions while still looking alluring - unlike the American "support" numbers that resemble Aunt Sadie's orthopedic truss.
Posted by: Ben-David at March 15, 2010 1:43 PM
This is so much more pleasant a subject than... uhh... what?
Did you know that long trips on a motorcycle and in some cars can be made miserable by putting the wrong cloth between your seat and the vehicle's?
Posted by: Radwaste at March 15, 2010 5:53 PM
I don't know how they do it but it supports her generous proportions while still looking alluring - unlike the American "support" numbers that resemble Aunt Sadie's orthopedic truss.
Ha! You're right, I have never understood why there are so few nice-looking bras in larger sizes. Or why the ones that are nice don't really do their job. I'm not huge, but those frilly sheer bras that are so pretty tend not to have the right support, or at least the right support for those of us whose breasts are nature-made.
I think I mentioned this on another thread, but I love watching the episodes of "Oprah" and the like where they have someone come in to fit bras for audience members. I am always amazed that these women are, like Ben-David said, stuffing their assets into bras that are obviously not the right size, just because they wore a 34B at one point. I saw a woman go from a 36B to a 32D, and it made all the difference in how she looked in her clothes. Foundation garments are an important fashion expense. Most of the time my bra is the most expensive thing I'm wearing.
Posted by: NumberSix at March 15, 2010 8:27 PM
Amy, please, more talk of large breasts generally, and yours specifically. Thank you.
Posted by: Scott at March 15, 2010 8:54 PM
Lou, sincere though he may be, almost derailed this with toe-talk. But look what happened... We set aside our petty differences... The team pulled together in recognition of our commonality, our shared interests, and now we're back on track! This choo-choo's gonna chug up that mountain, down that deep, deep, valley, and up the sister peak!
Good work.
Posted by: Crid [CridComment at gmail] at March 15, 2010 11:37 PM
Amy, please, more talk of large breasts generally, and yours specifically. Thank you.
Heh. Will do my very breastesses.
Posted by: Amy Alkon
at March 16, 2010 12:38 AM
My guess as to the lack of support for the well-endowed woman in the US? Attitude.
If I may blog-whore...
From my trip to Sweden in 2006: http://blog.corbino.org/archives/276
I think the sign says it all.
Posted by: brian at March 16, 2010 5:57 AM
Mmmmm, breasts. Nice topic to come back to after 6 weeks interstate for work.
NumberSix, for some reason I had you pegged as a bloke, obviously I was wrong. Maybe you just seemed too rational...
Posted by: Ltw at March 16, 2010 12:37 PM
NumberSix, for some reason I had you pegged as a bloke, obviously I was wrong.
What makes you think you're wrong? Actually, I can honestly say that's the first time I've been mistaken for a dude (to my face, anyway) since I was a baby and had no hair. Maybe it's my handle, since the sci-fi references do tend to come from guys.
Posted by: NumberSix at March 16, 2010 7:14 PM
No sci fi guys would use a lady sci fi moniker, NumberSix
But I suppose a non sci fi-er wouldnt know that
Posted by: lujlp at March 16, 2010 7:34 PM
I haven't watched BSG (shame on me, I know), and my moniker is actually a male one, albeit maybe slightly lesser-known.
Posted by: NumberSix at March 16, 2010 7:57 PM
Ah, well then did you see the remake?
I really didnt care for it
Posted by: lujlp at March 16, 2010 8:16 PM
I did not see the remake, for that very reason. I read reviews that said it was kind of dull, and Ken on this board has said it wasn't great. It seems to me (from the previews and what I read) that they tried to do too much, like how they took the charmingly creepy resort that provided the backdrop in the original and made it into those uniform houses, thereby making it look more like a prison. I might break down and watch it someday, because I like Jim Caviezel and love Ian McKellen.
Posted by: NumberSix at March 16, 2010 8:24 PM
Most of the time my bra is the most expensive thing I'm wearing.
I more or less assumed I was wrong from this, although I suppose I should have considered the possibility you're a transvestite. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But nonetheless I apologise for the mistake. Maybe we should petition Amy to upgrade her comments section to include profile photos...
Posted by: Ltw at March 16, 2010 8:48 PM
No need to apologize, Ltw, and thanks for the "rational" compliment. Now that I'm noticing the "s for z" thing and the "bloke" comment, may I ask where you're from? Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa? You have a charming accent.
Maybe we should petition Amy to upgrade her comments section to include profile photos...
Imagine the fun we could have with that.
Posted by: NumberSix at March 16, 2010 9:32 PM
Thank you NumberSix, I appreciate the compliment! Well spotted on the s for z stuff - I'm Australian but spent 2 years in Ascot London when I was 4 years old, started school there which left me with an almost but not quite undetectable slightly posh accent. And everyone here thinks Americans don't know anything about the rest of the world - you nailed the four most likely countries first time.
Imagine the fun we could have with that.
I often think Amy should just turn this into a dating site, there seems to be a higher proportion of level-headed and sensible people around here. She could market it as "meet sensible people for a change rather than emotional basket cases"! Of course because of that you all tend to have stable and long term relationships, so maybe that won't work after all...
Posted by: Ltw at March 16, 2010 10:11 PM
Imagine the fun we could have with that.
The ideal use for profile photos just hit me - a wet T-shirt competition! How about it Amy? Despite my rapidly-approaching-middle-age spare tyre I'm game...
Posted by: Ltw at March 17, 2010 12:18 AM
Your use of "tyre" reminds me of a book I just read. I picked it up at the local half-price bookstore, and it was the British version (author himself is British, too). I didn't really notice until there was a whole run of car stuff and he started using "tyre" and "kerb," which freaked me the hell out. I knew about tyre, but the kerb thing is just weird.
Posted by: NumberSix at March 17, 2010 12:40 AM
If you want to nail down the accent of an english(as a first laungage) speaking person when it isnt patenly obvious have the say four words
Huge
About
Australia &
Johannesburg
9 times out of ten you'll be able to peg their country
Posted by: lujlp at March 17, 2010 5:29 AM
Does that work on Scots lujlp? I only ask because they, especially Glaswegians, really don't speak English as a first language...
Posted by: Ltw at March 17, 2010 6:02 AM
Ive never met a Scottsman that could possibly be mistaken for anything else
Posted by: lujlp at March 17, 2010 6:58 AM
In an industry where n number of designers are born everyday and the number of designers who fade away in darkness there are few who leave a mark. In this case we may say leaves his footprints behind for others to take an example and follow.
Posted by: Leather Suede Shoes at May 3, 2011 10:01 AM
Så fort jag observerade denna hemsida gick jag på Reddit ha en del av den kärlek med dem
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