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A petite girl in her quest for support: Part 2

off-shoulder-style

As promised, I am back with part 2 of my blog series where I talk about my quest to find the right bra for my petite yet busty frame. In the part 1 blog, I talk about why I had been wearing the wrong sizes and my bra-shopping journey so far.

Cut to 2017, I am in the USA and looking for strapless bras for several of my off-shoulders and dresses and I have more hope since this is the land of Victoria Secrets, right? Wrong, Victoria Secrets sized me and told me that they have nothing to offer me. Why? Because I was a size 32F according to them and they did not have that size. So they kindly referred me to Soma , another specialized bra boutique in Michigan and Nordstrom.  Soma and Nordstrom were in the same complex so I decided to visit them. Soma failed and then I pretty much thought that there was no hope for a combination like mine 32F. Why I say combination is because of the 2 variables involved- the number and the letter in the size. The number say 32, 34, 36 measures the band which goes around the torso under the bust and the letter say A,B, C,D measures the cup size.  The problem is that mainstream bra-makers just assume that women with bigger chests also happen to be plus sized so the cup size (what the letter stands for) increases in proportion to the torso size (what the number stands for). If you do a search for F cups on the internet, more often than not you will find images of plus sized women because of this assumption.

To go back to story, I went to my final resort of the day- Nordstrom. My life finally changed so to say as I found the right strapless bra which would give me much needed support without distorting my shape. Of course I could not have done it without the expertise of the fitter. She patiently worked with me till I was satisfied with the fit all the while bringing me different styles and sizes to see what worked best for me. It felt liberating to know that I can finally wear all the off-shoulders of the world without worrying about the bra suddenly dropping in the middle of a party or a run to the bus-stop.(true-story, by the way).

white-off-shoulder-wide-leg-pants

From now on, I trust her blindly with regards to bra-fitting and would recommend you to get yourself professionally fitted every 6 months. As painful as the process of trying on is, bra sizes can change with changes in body, weight and age so it is imperative to get yourself sized when you have major body changes or life changes which can lead to the former.

The strapless bra that I am raving about is this one. It comes in 3 different colors and can be worn in 3 different ways. I would buy these in all 3 colors because the have stood the test of time for me. Even though the bra is lined, it does not make my chest look bigger than it is. I highly recommend this for you and so are other women who have rated it at 4.7 out of 5. Check out the reviews if you need any more convincing, plus with Nordstrom you have a very smooth returns process so you can take it back if it is not the right size.

bra-for-offshoulder

If you live in Michigan or in Kolkata and want to be professionally fitted, please reach out to me for the contact details of the fitters who I have found genuinely helpful and knowledgeable. If have had such great aha moments with a professional fitter or lingerie brand please do let me know in the comments below. We could all benefit from the information.



24 thoughts on “A petite girl in her quest for support: Part 2”

  • Most women don’t wear the correct bra size. Hard to find a good fitting bra. Glad you finally found some that work. You look great by the way

  • I gave up on Victoria’s Secret years ago! Whenever I went in none of the staff could fit me properly. I’ve found a Hanes outlet a few cities over where the staff actually work with you to make sure your fit is perfect. Thank goodness for them!!

    • I am glad they sized me correctly and were honest about not having that size. They saved me time and money and gave me good recommendations so I am super grateful.

  • Glad to see your search for support ended well! The strapless bra you ended up with looks very similar to mine, still with the moulded cups but much much better than padding. I am still continuing my hunt for the perfect unpadded unmoulded strapless bra! I had such an issue earlier this year when I wanted a bikini last minute; I tried every shop in our shopping park and every time I mentioned my bra size (32f like you) to the sales ladies I just got turned away. In the end it was a supermarket chain that came through and I got a very pretty one-piece that actually fit me! I hate that they assume having a bigger bust means you must be a plus sized woman, it means I always have to cheekily mix and match the bikinis in the shop.

    • Oh, I am glad to know you found not only the perfect bra but also a bikini. I do not even want to get started on the bikini search- so exhausting mentally. Which brand is your bikini?
      I remember you told me your bra is the curvy Kate one. Is it available in any brick and mortar store?

      • I buy my bras from a website called brastop.com they have all the curvy Kate’s there and a great selection of swimwear. My one piece I actually managed to get from Asda! Which came as a great shock. But yeah, non padded bikinis are definitely as rare as non padded strapless bras 😒

  • I’m with you in US bra makers not understand bigger chested women. I’m a 32D and you can almost never find that size. They can’t imagine that a woman with a bigger chest would have a small back. So frustrating.

  • My friend and I were just talking about heading to Nordstrom to get fitted for bras since we can’t find any that fit correctly after nursing babies.

  • Girl, I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve dropped a lot of money on a bra that claims to support a bigger chest size only for it to fall flat. I get so mentally exhausted trying to find the right bra (don’t even get me started on strapless bras!). I’ve only gotten fitted at Victoria’s Secret and they were WAY off 🙁

  • You’re right actually, it’s very important to get correctly fitted and by a professional who knows how to measure your correct siZe. Recently I went to Victoria’s to buy a bra and they told me this and I was sort of surprised because all my life, I’ve been wearing whatever I felt was the right fit for me. You look lovely in your pictures by the way 🙂

  • Awesome, you are so pretty :)), i’m sure there are people who will contact but not me because i’m not close to the cities you mentioned :))

  • Indeed, it is a challenge to find the right bra especially for busty women.
    I ditched wearing it for years and never looked back (its okay coz mine is small).
    I love your whole outfit here 🙂

  • I gave up on bras a few years ago. Luckily, I don’t personally need them. I always found them to be uncomfortable and way too expensive. I’m sure getting fitted would have helped with the issue of comfort. XD

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