There is often one part of the lingerie buying market that is neglected by buyers like myself and that is bras that are backsize 40 plus. I know from experience that this used to form a large part of what I was buying when I first started out as a lingerie buyer, but when Just Bras ventured into shops and our staff started fitting customers for bras, it soon became apparent that many women who believe themselves to be a 40, 42 or 44 back are generally in reality a 30 something back, but far larger cup than they had previously been wearing. The feedback from these newly fitted customers was fantastic, they found the correctly fitted bras to be comfier, more supportive, very often slimming, in that properly fitting bras help clothes to hang better and show off the figure, not to mention putting boobs where they should be, rather than "gone south". So as a result I changed my out look on the stock to purchase and concentrated on back sizes upto a 38.
So what about those customers who are genuinely a 40 plus back, or those ladies who having worn the wrong size bra for most of their life and prefer the size they have always worn, well perhaps its time for a re-think. Certainly not a re-think in how we fit in store, as 99% of customers prefer a properly fitting bra, but for those who want a bra that doesn't touch, is comfortable, and not restrictive and mustn't have wires (Customers comments not mine) then there has to be something on offer.
Many manufacturers stop at a 38 back, some will go upto a 40 or 42, very few go higher than this, so sourcing such bras is not the easiest thing in the world. From experience I know that many ladies who are looking for a 40 plus back size in their bra, prefer a softcup bra rather than an underwired bra, and the bras that are available tend to reflect this. Their are a few labels that offer underwired bras including Panache, Elomi and Fantasie, but the vast majority of available bras are none wired soft cup bras. The top selling bra is the Triumph Doreen that has been around for over 40 years and although it definitely does the job, it is perhaps a little dated, other options would include Royce and the Vanity Fair Fully range. Vanity Fair have just increased the size range of their
Wire Free Cotton Comfort Bra (535) which is now available up to a G Cup and goes upto a 48 back. So for those of you who are looking for a bra to fit in the 40 plus range, their are options their for you, you just need to look in the right place.
