You’ve been professionally measured and spent a fortune on new bras – but they still don’t fit. Now, experts believe they know the reason...
You’ve been professionally measured and spent a fortune on
new bras – but they still don’t fit. Now, experts believe they know the
reason why.
Surprising as it may seem, the sizing
system used by the lingerie industry dates back a hundred years – and is
based on men’s measurements.
Sue McDonald, a bra
fitting specialist who has researched the system’s origins, said bra
sizes were developed from blouse sizes, which were in turn based on male
military uniforms from World War I.
Critics say the
measurements are not suitable for women today. Atul Khanna, a consultant
plastic surgeon, said that while women back then were typically slimmer
and may have had boyish figures, the female shape today tends to be
much fuller.
Some 60 per cent of women in the UK are
now overweight or obese – meaning millions will struggle to find a bra
that fits them properly.
Joanna Scurr, an expert in
breast health from Portsmouth University who carried out separate
research into bra measuring, said that the cup-sizing system was never
designed to go above a size D.
‘Our research shows that as breasts get larger, the measuring system gets less accurate,’ she said.
‘Bra-fitting
becomes more of an issue as the breasts and the body get larger. We
know that within the UK and in many other parts of the world, women are
getting bigger and we are seeing an increase in breast size as well.
‘I’ve seen reports of ZZZ-sized females and the system was never designed for that.’
Mr
Khanna, who performs breast-reduction operations on women who are in so
much pain that surgery is the only option, asked a group of overweight
women if they suffered from common symptoms of an ill-fitting bra such
as back and neck pain.
Nine in ten said their bra was
painful – even though most of them had been professionally fitted.
Rashes were the most common problem, with two in five saying their bra
chafed.
Some 35 per cent had sore shoulders, 20 per
cent had neck pain and a similar number suffered back-ache. Mr Khanna,
who is a member of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic
Surgeons, also found that a bra that was the wrong size according to the
traditional system was often a better fit than one that was supposedly
the right size.
But it is not just overweight women who
run into difficulty – for slim women with large chests are also likely
to find lingerie shopping tricky.
This is because a
quirk in the sizing system means that they will be pointed towards bras
that are very small around the back, which makes them extremely tight.
The
current system involves taking two measurements – one under the bust
and one over it. The under bust number gives the back size, such as 32
or 34, while the difference between that and the measurement over the
bust gives the cup size, such as C or D.
Mr Khanna has
co-designed a bra range called Optifit, which takes three measurements
instead and is said to be a better shape for the modern woman’s body.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
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