Bra adventures: Finding the right bra size

I know, this isn't about makeup. But honestly, I wanted to share this, and perhaps may extend my posts about clothes, and not just makeup.

And right now, I want to share my adventures in finding the right bra for a plus size woman.

I'm pretty sure every woman is frustrated when she wears bras that are ill-fitting. It's just so painful to wear bras with too tight bands or too small cups. I'd know.

I'm a really chubby girl and I am aware and I don't hate that fact! What I DO hate is hunting for cute clothes in my size, and bras are definitely included in the list of things difficult to find for chubby girls. (And plus size stuff in dept stores in the Philippines? Usually expensive and not cute. And really really expensive.)

I started wearing bras when I was in third grade because of the fat. Then I stopped and started again around fifth grade. By the time I was in high school, I was wearing a 36 band size. I think I was a cup B at second year? And college I've been a 38B, transitioning to a 38C when I felt too uncomfortable with how small my bras felt.

And my bras still felt uncomfortable despite the upping of cup size and my Hanes bras definitely felt bad, and all my underwire bras felt horrible. I absolutely loathed underwire bras because they never feel right and never fit right.

So I decided to try the bra size calculator my friend Ella recommended! And it did help me detect the size I needed.

(I honestly dunno if it'll be helpful for anyone out there if I give out the measurements, but anyway:
the five measurements I got are these:)

After calculating my sizes, I thought that I was probably doomed to not ever find a bra my size because in the Philippines, there's barely any store that carries extended sizes. My friend Ella told me that she had to play with the band and cup size in order to find her size, so I kept in mind that I should do that while hunting for bras. So I decided to look around in Landmark, Trinoma one day to see if there are sizes available for me in Wacoal and Triumph.

I asked if they had extended sizes but they admitted they don't carry anything bigger than D, and even the D's were very scarce. So I tried just testing out the D's and C's since I'm pretty sure E's and F's are too big for my boobs. 

In Wacoal, they gave me a 42C wireless bra (which I had in 38C and felt okay enough to be worn everyday) and it did fit well! Except I really didn't feel like spending around Php 1400.00 for an ordinary t-shirt bra. So I looked at Triumph. They didn't have 42 band sizes so the saleslady asked me to try a 40 band size, supposedly in D but they let me try the C. It didn't fit. My boobs felt weird in them.

And, scrunching my nose, I decided to head to La Senza. I knew they were pretty expensive.

BUT!

I saw the "BUY ONE GET ONE" sign and immediately rushed in. I asked if they had extended sizes and deflated when they said the biggest band size they had was a 38. The saleslady said, "Oh but ma'am, don't worry! Our sizes are actually pretty big. You can buy an extender if there's a problem with band size, but with regard to cups, the cups are big!" then she dug through their cabinets and showed me a 38C and 38D. "Here, ma'am!"

And they were big! And, thanking her, I tried them on and THANK GOD! I fit in a 38C in La Senza, despite my initial belief that bra sizes were constant. I had a 38C underwire Wacoal (convertible to strapless) I had felt horrible so initially I tried the 38D from La Senza but it felt too big. And the 38C felt comfy! My boobs are there! They don't feel squished, and they feel properly supported!

Despite it being really pricey (2 for Php 2195.00), I bought the bras (if you look at the compilation of the 5 bras, the upper right and the middle were the ones I bought). I loved how cute the grey and pink lace bra looked, and I desperately needed a nude convertible-to-strapless-bra so they were the ones I got.

And afterwards, I decided to buy bras from La Senza again since I planned on disposing my ill-fitting bras. So I went to Atrium, hoping there was a sale, and, thankfully, there was one in the Megamall branch! Php 495.00 EACH BRA!!!!

 

True, the styles they had were the sexy lacy ones but I desperately needed well-fitting bras! I got the other 3 in the picture below. 2 of them felt too tight in the band so I bought bra extenders (3 for Php 495.00) 

Right now I'm pretty happy to find really good bras in my size, and I was able to dispose my ill-fitting bras this evening.

I hope all girls out there find the right bra in the right size! And if you're here in Metro Manila and you have enough money, I recommend you go to La Senza, Megamall Atrium ;) Hopefully the sale is there till Easter Sunday!