Finding the perfect bra can be a bit challenging. Most women do not find that perfect bra until their mid-late 20's. In fact, almost 80% of women are still wearing ill-fitting bras.
For me, I have always had a love-hate relationship with bras. When I hit puberty I was forced by my mother to wear a training bra. I would also go outside and play football with the boys, with no shirt on. So this training bra requirement, I was not with it, at all. Most of the girls in my class couldn't wait to get a training bra. They would obsess over the many different patterns and designs 😒 Me, on the other hand, I would take mine off in the bathroom when I got to school and hid it in my backpack.
I can't help but wonder, do young girls even wear training bras nowadays? And what was the training bra training us for? Was it getting us prepared to endure through a lifetime of uncomfortable, tight, and itchy bras. Sadly, YES!
I didn't find my correct size until a few years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. I had just finished finals and wanted to treat myself to a cute bra and panty set. So I decided to go shopping at Victoria Secret. But little did I know this would be a very unpleasant experience and my last time shopping at VS. At the time I wore a 36C, or so I thought. I knew I was probably wearing the wrong size but hey, if the girls looked good in it, I was fine with it. Did I have that 4 boob look going on? Of course I did, I didn't care. So I picked out about 4 bras to try on, all in a size 36C. I walked back to the fitting room and the attendant gave me a room and waited for me to try on the bras. I quickly noticed that I had gained a bit of weight. I don't know about most women but when I gain weight I gain it in my breast. And when I lose weight I lose it in my breast as well. So when the band of the bra didn't fit all the way around, I asked her for the next size up. She gives me this weird look and suggested that I get properly fitted and measured so she could pull the correct sizes. She does all the measuring and says "you've been wearing the wrong bra size, you are a size 40DDD." 😳
What!? I look at her and made sure her calculations were correct. I said "well I knew I was wearing the wrong size but woooowza. Ok, fine. Can you grab these designs in my size, please?" She looks at me like she's trying to hold back laughter and she says what seems to be in slow motion and very loudly "we no longer carry your size, you may want to try Lane Bryant" 🤯 She then grabs all the bras and escorts me out of the fitting area. Like I was exiled off the island of Victoria Secret for exceeding their size limit, to never return again. At the time I was so embarrassed for some weird reason. I left not feeling too good about myself. After a few days passed I started to search online for boutiques that offered bigger sizes. I looked for cheap options like Target and Walmart and they didn't carry my size either. I decided to talk to a few of my heavy-chested friends and ask them where they shop for bras. The name Lane Bryant popped up again. At this time I was not familiar with LB, I thought it was a clothing store for older women.
My friend decided to tag along and go shopping with me, to show me the ropes of bra shopping the proper way. Little did I know, this shopping trip would change my life forever. I was very skeptical at first, but I picked out a few bras all by Cacique to try on and they fit like a dream. For the first time I had real support and reinforcements. The straps weren't digging into my skin, my breast were sitting inside the cups instead of pouring out. No more 4 boobs here. I even did the jumping test, no more bruised chin, I kid 😂 I was so happy to have found a new and better bra. I couldn't believe I had never came across Cacique bras before. I was thinking there had to be a catch. I looked down at the price tag and thought ohhhhh, I figured. These bras were around $70 a pop. I was definitely not used to paying that much for a bra. A basic black bra, but if it meant me getting rid of back pain and having excellent support, I didn't mind shelling out the coins for it. Now, I'm a 44DDD Lane Bryant credit card holder and I rack up Real Women Dollars every month. 🤷🏽♀️
I can laugh now at the VS experience but in a weird way the fitting room attendant helped me find my perfect bra. 😉