If you are looking for a bra that is something other than a B or C cup, you could be searching extra hard now.
Victoria’s Secret has stopped carrying DDs, and they’re not the only ones. Retailers other than department stores are carrying less of the ‘extreme’ sizes – 32A and below or DD and above. These spectrum end sizes don’t sell in the same volumes, and take up shelf space that is now at a premium.
If shelf space is being freed up by removing these sizes, what is going there? Well, there is a new trend toward half sizes in the mid-range breast sizes.
This same trend is happening in all clothing areas, but it is particularly extreme and noticeable in lingerie.
“There are not enough choices for women in the extreme end,” Targosz says. “Sometimes companies get to the point where they worry about the one size fits all cookie-cutter shape rather than the whole market. If a company becomes too focused on that they will eliminate concern for the others.”
Lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret last spring cleared its stores of all but a few styles in DD cups before customer gripes lead it to reverse the move, several sales associates say. (A corporate spokeswoman denies the chain made such a move.) The bigger cup sizes that do trickle in are snatched up by customers, these salespeople said. Meanwhile, women searching for 32As and smaller sizes, such as AAs, also have reason to complain. They find the retailer no longer offers AAs — and offer only a couple of styles in the 32As from which to choose.
Companies are producing every size, but stores just aren’t ordering them, says Norah Alberto, senior style director of Maidenform, which earlier this year axed the 32C from all but a few styles. The company also offers only a couple 32As. Limited floor space forces retailers to drop some sizes…
If you have difficulty finding your size, here are some tips:
- choose a style and order your size online or from catalogues
- choose stores that have size exchange policies
- go direct to the brand website
- get alterations
- go to specialty stores
When it comes to just finding a bra, you aren’t left with many choices in styles. As the average breast size starts seeing more and more selection in styles and materials, we’ll see less of it in the extreme size ranges.
“You can’t find something that’s fashionable or sexy,” she says. “They want to put them away somewhere and don’t care about what the package looks like. It’s like five straps and a brace.”…
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