Soft Serve Your Hard Balls

So! You've been properly fitted and you've probably jumped up a few cups and down a few backs sizes, yes? YES. And with that revelation may come the discovery that your new size is hard to find in your old style, padded. Bra firms tend not to include padding or moulding* in cup sizes past a D/DD. You don't need anything extra, you got the goods already. But this is strange, right? At first, you may find yourself very self conscious of the soft cup. Because, yes, if the temperature drops quickly you need to check your own mountains for snow mounds.

I always fit customers into a soft cup bra because they can see themselves if they are filling the cup without any help from padding. I tend to get people to put their top back on so they can see the shape a soft cup affords you; no ghastly outline where the padding stops; no funny 'side boob' action going on under the arm.

Plus, SOFT CUPS ARE GOOD FOR YOUR BOOBS! It's true. I swear it. In a moulded/padded bra our boobs just rest, lazily on the padding. In a soft cup, however, the upper pectoral muscles get a work out and your boobs, over time will regain strength. Boobs sink. And that sucks. But they shouldn't start to head south until you're at least in your late thirties and even then you can minimise the droop with good soft cup bras. Child birth has a HUGE effect on your boobies so make sure to get fitted before and after breastfeeding so that the tissue doesn't lose any more of it's elasticity.

I have a few faves, the Simone Perele Celeste is my go to, as is the Freya Jolie and Arabella. Make sure the band is snug and that you are filling the cup comfortably. We're all lopsided. The left breast is always bigger than the right and common thought is that it's because our heart lies behind it (sweet, hey?). This imbalance can be fixed by adjusting the shoulder straps.

I noticed the difference within about six weeks.

So, to strengthen your fledging bosom, strap on a soft cup. They're prettier anyway ;)

Ninja, x

*There is a distinct difference between padded and moulded. Padded gives you 'oomph' by way of having in-built chicken fillets alound the side and underside of your boobs. Moulded bras have a thin layer of padding across the whole cup.

Two customers. Two nationalities. Two "size 34B"s.

So it turns out M&S et al aren't the only ones who can fit for sh*t. Also joining that club are Canadian lingerie firm la Vie en Rose and department store Nordstrom in the States .

First out of the gates, Canada. Lovely customer who said she regularly bought Elle Macpherson at home but the prices were three times higher than they are in the UK. Miss Mac clearly doesn't like Canada, talk about a raw deal. Anyway, she told me she'd been fitted at LVER as a "standard 34B". I told her to try on a fresh one and shout me in. Bang on a 30D. "Let me just grab another style for you madam". Thirty seconds later, "Oh, that fits perfect!" "Madam, that's a 30D" "Really? But it fits so well..." And then came the explanation of what she was looking for in a fit and where the support should come from and la di da. I asked her if this had ever been explained to her; "No, they just told me my size and handed me a bunch of bras". Great. But she left happy! And with two Elle Macs, a Simone Perele and an order for a Mimi Holliday.

Next, a girl was in the department clutching a few bras and I approached her to ask if she needed any help or advice with regards to size. "Nope" came the rather snooty reply "I'm a bra fitter" I took said bras from her, peeking at the size and put them in a fitting room for her. "Just let me know if you'd like me to double check the sizing" "I'll be fine, thanks". Disgruntled that she was a) wearing the wrong size; b) potentially telling other people to wear the wrong size and c) ignoring me (I'm sorry, I'm female, never forget we can't be ignored) I stood and waited for her to finish trying on. "Excuse me, can I try this in a 34C?" She called, thrusting a Dentelle bra at me. "Of course, madam" My chance! I must take it! I scooped up the offending Dentelle 34C (I love the bra, loathe the size) and grabbed a Simone Perele for her too. "Try the black one (Simone P) on first and give me shout". Two minutes later the door cracked open. "This fits perfectly, I guess I'm a C now". Now, this could potentially have been awkward. The girl had never actually asked for a fitting. And in fact had actually specified she didn't need to be fitted. But I couldn't help myself. I feel like I've taken a sort of hippocratic oath never to harm anyones boobs "Actually, that's a 30E" Deep breath. "Oh, really? Wow. You're good. Thank you". Smiles all round. Phew. I'm not getting my P45 for offending a customer.

She bought the Simone Perele. At the till I asked her where she worked, Nordstrom, and how they fitted. They fit with a measuring tape. (cue look of reeling disgust) and use a Chantelle bra to measure the cup. Bizarre. As she left I apologised for being sneaky, she laughed and said she shouldn't have been so stubborn in the first place. All's well that ends well. With any luck, they'll head home and spread the news!

Ninja
xx
#34Bdoesntexist