A... Female rant

This week's topic:  Boobs, bras, and the fact that most women in the United States are not in their correct bra size.

First, let's take a look at a  map of the world

The map you saw shows the average cup size of women globally.  There's just one problem with that map... And that's America (surprise, surprise).  Why do I say this?  Well, here's an article about it.  Oh hey look, there's that map again...   

If you were to go into a Target, Kmart, Walmart, or even Victoria's Secret (the "end all, be all" of lingerie shopping...), the largest cup size you would find would either be a DD or DDD. And most of those would be in a 36, 38, or 40 band size. Even the department store JC Penney does not offer a cup size bigger than DDD in store. They do have more selection in their catalog on online. For the woman trying to get a proper fit, though, this does nothing to help.  But more on that later.

Moving on to Macy's and Nordstrom, they offer more cup sizes than those previously listed, but often the bras are not as... Pretty. Most often they could be described as plain, serviceable bras for everyday use. They're not cute, and they're not something that you would want to surprise a partner with.  Next we move to another lingerie store:  Fredericks of Hollywood. They get some points, because they offer a wider selection of cup sizes and band sizes, and don't automatically assume that D cups and above are going to have a large rib cage.

So, why is this so important?  Why should we care if a woman is sized correctly? Who cares if a woman's bra is too big in the band size and too small in the cup size so long as there are no lines?

Well, there are multiple reasons to care. A properly fitted bra can help a woman look up to ten (count 'em, 10) pounds lighter. A bra that fits right can reduce back strain, neck strain, core strain.... Lots of body strain. A proper bra can even make a woman feel sexy. *le gasp!* There are so many reasons to get properly fitted for a bra, and yet so many women don't.

So why is that?

Well, reread the list of places I listed. Quite a few of them are chains. Said chains do not offer a comprehensive selection of bras, much less an extended selection. Even Fredericks of Hollywood only goes up to 42G

Quick tangent for those of you who do not understand how a bra is sized/fit on a woman.  The numbers are the circumference of the woman's rib cage. The letter is the difference between the rib cage and the fullest part of the breast. Now, here's where things get tricky.  The United States, the UK, France, and other parts of Europe all use different ways to measure cup size (and France and Europe use centimeters instead of inches for band size).  The UK standard has been--in my experience, at least--the most logical of the sizing charts. They use the letter to designate inch differences, and as you traverse down the alphabet you get D, DD, E, F, FF, G, GG, H, I, J, etc.  These all designate an inch difference.

Now, contrary to popular belief, the smallest rib cage size is not 32. Rib cages can be much smaller. One girlfriend of mine has a 28 inch rib cage.  Just stop and think about that for a second...

Back to the main point, though. Without a comprehensive selection of bras for women available in the large stores, they turn to boutique shops to get a bra that actually fits and will give them the support they need to get through the day.  The drawbacks of the boutiques is the price of the bra.  I can easily spend $250 in a bra shop and maybe get 3 bras, if I'm lucky. I don't do online shopping, because each bra maker has minor differences in their bras.  So what one would call a 32GG another might call a 30H or a 34FF, and unless you have the exact bra design memorized and you are committed to wearing one style for the rest of your life (or until the manufacturer decides to stop making that bra)... You're stuck. You could spend hundreds of dollars on bras and try them on, find what fits, and send back what doesn't.  But that's a crapshoot...

So, the next time you go bra shopping or critique a woman's bra, just think about that.  We're dealing with what we have. The large suppliers don't believe in comprehensive sizes, and as a result many women will suffer.