Monthly Archive for November, 2010

Bra retailers and universities in the UK have launched a national association to improve bra design and breast health in the UK, aiming to end the confusion over bra sizing.

The Bra Retailers Association (BRA) was founded by ASDA’s George Clothing following the publication of the Which? report Bra fitting? No it isn’t which found that less than one in three consumers receive the correct sizing and fit advice when purchasing a bra.

High street stores’ bra fitting services are busted, says consumer champion Which? An undercover investigation revealed that fewer than one in three measured up and no shop’s service was good enough to recommend.

Which? sent 11 researchers, aged 25 – 75 with a DD cup size or larger, to a total of 70 specialist and high street stores to buy an everyday bra. A quarter of the fittings were appalling with our experts suggesting the volunteers would have been better “picking something off a market stall.”

As we know at Bra Selector, badly fitted bras don’t just look awful – they can also cause neck, shoulder and back ache and poor posture!

Jenny Driscoll, from Which? said:

Whatever their bra size, women want to look good and feel good. Heading to the high street for a fitting might seem like a simple solution, but the results we found were shocking – one bra was so poorly fitted there was room for a pair of socks in the cups!

“If stores are going to offer this service to customers they need to up their game: do it properly or don’t do it at all.

In the Which? report John Lewis and Bravissimo received the best overall scores, but still weren’t deemed good enough to recommend. Some other familar high street names dien’t do so well when the undercover undergament police were sold bras with a very poor fit.

So what’s the industry going to do about it? Well, Karen Flude, garment technologist in ladies’ lingerie and swimwear at George Clothing, said:

We want the marketplace to be a lot less confusing for the consumer. As it stands a woman could be one size in one shop and a completely different size in another. That sort of confusion makes it much more likely she will be wearing the wrong size bra which, in turn, could affect her health and comfort.

It’s time we worked together across the bra retailer sector to use best-practice from current research and, working with designers, come up with bras designed for women’s health and comfort.

Will we be fitted for bras when we visit the supermarket next?

The BRA intends to broaden understanding on best bra fit, raising awareness of breast health from puberty to old age. The scheme will advise schools, providing advice to young women on the variety of bra styles available for different body shapes. The ultimate aim of BRA is to provide a ‘fit assured’ kitemark on approved products, creating a national bra fit standard.
Continue reading ‘Is the B.R.A the solution to bra retailers’ boob?’