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BraTopia and my first 28DDs
The moment bras started making (slightly more) sense was when I stumbled across a blog post on pinterest that explained proper bra sizes. I ended up right-click opening so many new tabs, my browser almost crashed. I stayed up until the birds started chirping, reading about boob holders. I subscribed to r/ABraThatFits. I measured myself.
Then, armed with my theoretical new size, a strange and foreign-sounding 28DD, I found a little boutique in my city that carried the mythical small bands I'd been reading about.
My experience was somewhat on the unpleasant side. Let's start with customer service. The employee who helped me was friendly enough. She grabbed armful after armful of 28DDs and 28Ds and 30Cs to try on and helped me check fit. That was good. What I didn't like was the changeroom.
It provided only a flimsy little curtain for privacy, which left about 5cm of open space between wall and curtain when closed all the way. The employee would occasionally stand right in front of this slit and watch me try on bras. Not even subtly. I made deliberate eye contact with her at one point, hoping she'd look away and she just calmly looked back at me. Too socially inept to say anything, I hurriedly tried on the rest of the bras with increasing embarrassment, wanting nothing more in the world than to not be watched. It was incredibly uncomfortable and I don't mean the bras.
Secondly, aesthetics. I can't stand bright neon colours and kitschy prints. Unfortunately that style seems to be all the rage with brands that make my size. *Cough* Freya *cough* Cleo. I just want some plain seamless nudes and the occasional sexy little black lacey thing.
One of the best fitting bras I tried on that day was a 28D Freya Flourish longline. It fit me just right and was perfectly comfortable. It was also straight up the ugliest bra I'd ever seen. I couldn't bring myself to see past the pink and yellow floral cross-hatch scribbles ruining an otherwise acceptable standard boring white.
The Cleo Lily in 28DD was another one that seemed to fit, but again I could not get over the idea of parrots decorating my boobs. I ended up checking online for both of these hoping to find alternate colours, eventually settling on a cotton candy pink and blue Lily which was, disappointingly, the least obnoxious option.
Anyway, my third quibble, and the most problematic one, was price. The absolute nicest bra I tried on, both for fit and aesthetics, was a delicate 28D (or DD? idr) Mimi Holliday Snow Leopard with sheer lace cups and a reasonably (but not overly) subtle leopard-printed band. This one: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=91008414
I loved it. I didn't love the $120something price tag. Honestly, I could have cried, it was so pretty and so comfortable and so so so expensive.
I ended up leaving the store with just a $20 discount 28DD Curvy Kate Daily Boost, which was both the cheapest and the only nude bra I tried on. I didn't even want it, I just bought it so I wouldn't feel bad walking out without buying anything after trying on half the bras in the store. I should have shelled out the money for the Mimi Holliday instead because the Daily Boost is, frankly, the worst fitting bra I've ever owned despite being the correct size. I recently donated it to Free the Girls, along with several old 34 and 32Bs.
Despite the considerable range of sizes, I probably won't be returning to BraTopia on account of the social anxiety caused by not having a proper solid door on the change room. I am also permanently wary of Curvy Kates, but still interested in Freya longlines, unlined Cleos, and especially Mimi Holliday. *sheds Tears of Poverty*
Filed under Bras ups and downs
17 comments
I totally hear you on the bright colors and kitschy prints. There are a couple bras I've been recommended that I took one look at and went, uh, no I don't really want to wear that. Maybe they'll come out in better colors later?
I tried on a Betsey Johnson Retro Glamour at a Nordstrom Rack, and even though it fit perfectly in the cups, I didn't buy it (it was $9, was I nuts?) because I couldn't stand the pattern. It was butt ugly.
I'd kill for a bra with something like skulls on it. Just something that isn't so overtly feminine and frilly.
I've seen Mimi Hollidays at the Rack, but none of them were my size, so I passed them sadly.
The lack of privacy in the store changing room sounds awful! I'm sorry you had to deal with that.
I definitely feel you on the unappealing aesthetics thing. For a while Cleo was the brand that fit me best, but not a single one of the prints or colours was really attractive enough to make me *want* to buy it.
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