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Picking up something I wrote on Rav:
Regarding the idea of "Some ridiculous percentage of women are wearing the wrong size bra":
I actually find it kind of annoying that this issue is always presented as “Women are choosing to wear the wrong size bra” as if it were a free choice. It’s like saying “people are choosing not to purchase fresh organic locally-grown fruits and vegetables for every meal.” Sure, if you have an infinite grocery budget, you can pick whatever you want, but the rest of us are in the frozen-foods aisle because we’re trying to feed 3 people for $75/week.
I’ve noticed that almost all the stories of “I was wearing the wrong size!” start with “I was wearing (size you can buy at Wal-Mart for $15)” and end with “but I really should be wearing size 36 3/4 omega-Z, which is only available at the store where they fitted me, and costs $200 for three bras! What a bargain!” (And yeah, amazingly, when you pay umpty-three dollars for a bra, it does feel nicer than a cheapo one.)
Not all women are lucky enough to live where they can be fitted for a bra. Not all can afford to make a special trip to be fitted. And even once they know what size they “should” be wearing, they may not be able to afford those bras. If your bra budget is $15, I don’t think it’s foolish to buy one that sort of fits rather than have no bra at all.
And my personal note: I bought bras 8 weeks ago in size 40DDD. They cost $35-40 at regular price (I got some on clearance).
And lately? I'm looking at the 38D size, which costs $10-15 and comes in pretty colors.
I think that kind of cost range makes it perfectly freaking obvious why women choose a 'wrong size' bra. It's not because they're silly or vain, it's because they're broke.
Regarding the idea of "Some ridiculous percentage of women are wearing the wrong size bra":
I actually find it kind of annoying that this issue is always presented as “Women are choosing to wear the wrong size bra” as if it were a free choice. It’s like saying “people are choosing not to purchase fresh organic locally-grown fruits and vegetables for every meal.” Sure, if you have an infinite grocery budget, you can pick whatever you want, but the rest of us are in the frozen-foods aisle because we’re trying to feed 3 people for $75/week.
I’ve noticed that almost all the stories of “I was wearing the wrong size!” start with “I was wearing (size you can buy at Wal-Mart for $15)” and end with “but I really should be wearing size 36 3/4 omega-Z, which is only available at the store where they fitted me, and costs $200 for three bras! What a bargain!” (And yeah, amazingly, when you pay umpty-three dollars for a bra, it does feel nicer than a cheapo one.)
Not all women are lucky enough to live where they can be fitted for a bra. Not all can afford to make a special trip to be fitted. And even once they know what size they “should” be wearing, they may not be able to afford those bras. If your bra budget is $15, I don’t think it’s foolish to buy one that sort of fits rather than have no bra at all.
And my personal note: I bought bras 8 weeks ago in size 40DDD. They cost $35-40 at regular price (I got some on clearance).
And lately? I'm looking at the 38D size, which costs $10-15 and comes in pretty colors.
I think that kind of cost range makes it perfectly freaking obvious why women choose a 'wrong size' bra. It's not because they're silly or vain, it's because they're broke.
