Friday 8 March 2013

Mothercare fitting review



Now, if there is one time in their life when it's especially important for a woman to be wearing a good bra, it's when they are pregnant or breastfeeding, right? Expanding, sore boobs and a back that is already taking the strain for a growing bump mean it's really important to have great support. So, time to check out Mothercare...here's our review:

The shop was quiet and as I looked at the bra display I was approached by a friendly lady and asked if I needed any help. I said that I was interested in a fitting for a maternity bra and she asked now far along I was. I said nine weeks and she said I was likely to grow again, probably around twelve weeks, but she was happy to fit me now and if I had changed size I could come back. I said I had heard that I should not wear wired bras during pregnancy and asked why this was. The assistant explained this was because as I changed size they were likely to dig in and be uncomfortable.

I was asked to go into the changing room and strip down to my bra. I spotted a fitting guide on the wall including ‘add four and five’ guidance and my heart sank! The very helpful assistant measured around my ribcage and declared me a 36 back size. I measure 31 inches so I presume she added five. At least she pulled the tape tight! She then measured over my boobs and declared me a 36C. I was wearing a Panache 32H which was slightly too big in the back but other than that a good fit so 36C was quite a change!

I was brought a ‘support bra’ in a 36C to try. Oh my word, it wasn’t pretty. I could have got both hands under the band and I had boob escaping from top, sides and bottom. Amazingly it wasn’t that uncomfortable thanks to the sheer stretchy uselessness of the bra! The assistant agreed that it was too small in the cup (ya think??) and brought me a 36D. There was hardly any difference and she then advised me to go straight for an E.

Well the 36E was an improvement in that it did cover most of my breasts. The band was very loose of course. I asked the assistant what she thought of the band fit and she put two fingers under it and declared it fine, although she also said she would be happy to bring me a 38 if I was finding it uncomfortable! I said the bra did not feel as supportive as the one I had been wearing and we agreed that it was probably because it wasn’t underwired. In fact the bra made no difference to my boobs at all- I may as well not have been wearing one.

I said that I would take the assistant’s advice and come back after 12 weeks in case I grew again. She said not to worry as they went ‘right up to a 42’ and had all back sizes available ‘even up to G’. I didn’t bother pointing out that I was wearing a H and ‘up to a G’ was not going to cut it.

I must say the assistant who fitted me was absolutely LOVELY and couldn’t do enough for me. She didn’t give me any hard sell and she made me feel comfortable in an intimate situation. She admitted at the start that she hadn’t done a fitting for a while, which didn’t fill me with confidence, but she did her best. She was just using outdated methods and clearly didn’t know what to look for to get a good fit.

Mothercare- not recommended!

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