boobiusmaximus (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} boobiusmaximus) wrote,@ 2009-04-20 07:12:00 |
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Bravissimo Clothing Sizing, and More Busty Clothes from an Unlikely Source
Way back during the winter I ordered some "professional" clothing from Bravissimo--suit jackets and matching pants and skirts. While Bravissimo gives a (fairly accurate) measurement chart for their fitted tops and jackets (I wear a 12RC in their tops), they don't say anything about the sizing on their pants and skirts.
Normally, in order to get your UK size, you would add 4 to your American size. So if you wore size 12 pants in the US, your British size would be roughly size 16. I tried asking Bravissimo in advance of ordering about their sizing for pants and skirts, but got nowhere.
So here is what I found after ordering multiple pairs of bottoms, and racking up tons of return shipping fees: the sizing for Bravissimo bottoms runs WAY large. I wear I size 10 or 12 in American-sized pants and skirts, and in Bravissimo skirts I found I also wear a size 12. The pants seem to run slightly smaller than the skirts, so I went up to a 14 in them. My advice would be that if you're ordering a skirt, order 1 size up from your American size, and if you're ordering pants, try 2 sizes up. This isn't an exact science, however, since each style of skirt and pair of pants I tried fit slightly differently. In one skirt, the size 10 actually fit best (!?).
I was pretty happy with the suit separates I got from Bravissimo, but I needed a few more suits, so I kept looking elsewhere for something fitted that would accommodate my chestage, and I found some really good suits in a somewhat unlikely place: the Victoria's Secret online catalog.
Much to my surprise, Victoria's clothes are much more boob-friendly than her bras. I got a really nice 3-button suit jacket with matching skirt for less than $100 on sale. The one I got was this (click on pic to go to the product page):
FYI, the suit looks a heck of a lot better in person than it does on the model in the picture, who seems to be wearing the wrong size and standing really oddly. I ordered and tried on a bunch of different things before I hit on this one. In the hope that maybe some of my toil will be useful to others, here's a list of things I found out:
1. Their "seasonless stretch" material is very nice, even though it sounds like a scary franken-fabric, whereas their "stretch cotton" material is scary (all thick, stiff, and oddly shiny) even though it sounds normal.
2. Their 1-button and 2-button jackets do my figure no favors, even though they do fit. They just don't nip in at the waist (or anywhere else) enough to flatter a large-busted figure, I think. Their 3-button jackets, however, go in at all the right spots. A big plus for me is that they make be look much smaller than my other suit jackets; my boobs literally seem to disappear.
3. Another thing I liked about the VS jackets was that I could wear a normal bra with them. With some "normal sized" off the rack jackets, I have to wear a bra (usually the Fantasie #4520 seamless) that minimizes or puts my boobs down lower than I like in order to fit the line of the jacket. With the VS ones I could wear my trusty Panache Harmony bras, my Freya Arabellas, my Kalyani bras, and even my Masquerade balconettes and the jacket looked great, with no gaping buttons.
4. Yet, despite trying several of their pants, I couldn't find one that fit well-- they all seemed to be ridiculously flared. If anyone knows a VS style that isn't, let me know!
5. So, I opted for their skirts instead, and found they fit very well. Again, go for the "seasonless stretch" material. It's pretty much just normal suiting material with a little stretch to it.
6. Sizing weirdness: in every single other clothing line, I need to buy a jacket that is the same size or larger than the matching pants or skirt. In VS, I had to buy a SMALLER jacket than skirt: I got a size 10 jacket and a size 12 skirt. I could fit into the size 10 skirts too, but I thought they seemed too tight to look professional. Yet, each size 10 jacket I tried fit great-- not tight at all. Whereas I was swimming in the size 12 jackets.
7. So, how to find your size in VS? I'm really not sure. The sizing chart they provide is completely wrong-- the measurements they gave put me at a size 14 in their clothes. So, maybe measure yourself and then go down 1-2 sizes from what their chart tells you. (FYI, I'm about a 40" bust, 30" waist, and a 41" hip.) Or, you could order one size down from your normal size in their blazers, and your normal size in their pants/skirts.
I hope some of this has been helpful, and if anyone has any other secrets to finding (or making!) busty clothes, please let me know!
Way back during the winter I ordered some "professional" clothing from Bravissimo--suit jackets and matching pants and skirts. While Bravissimo gives a (fairly accurate) measurement chart for their fitted tops and jackets (I wear a 12RC in their tops), they don't say anything about the sizing on their pants and skirts.
Normally, in order to get your UK size, you would add 4 to your American size. So if you wore size 12 pants in the US, your British size would be roughly size 16. I tried asking Bravissimo in advance of ordering about their sizing for pants and skirts, but got nowhere.
So here is what I found after ordering multiple pairs of bottoms, and racking up tons of return shipping fees: the sizing for Bravissimo bottoms runs WAY large. I wear I size 10 or 12 in American-sized pants and skirts, and in Bravissimo skirts I found I also wear a size 12. The pants seem to run slightly smaller than the skirts, so I went up to a 14 in them. My advice would be that if you're ordering a skirt, order 1 size up from your American size, and if you're ordering pants, try 2 sizes up. This isn't an exact science, however, since each style of skirt and pair of pants I tried fit slightly differently. In one skirt, the size 10 actually fit best (!?).
I was pretty happy with the suit separates I got from Bravissimo, but I needed a few more suits, so I kept looking elsewhere for something fitted that would accommodate my chestage, and I found some really good suits in a somewhat unlikely place: the Victoria's Secret online catalog.
Much to my surprise, Victoria's clothes are much more boob-friendly than her bras. I got a really nice 3-button suit jacket with matching skirt for less than $100 on sale. The one I got was this (click on pic to go to the product page):
FYI, the suit looks a heck of a lot better in person than it does on the model in the picture, who seems to be wearing the wrong size and standing really oddly. I ordered and tried on a bunch of different things before I hit on this one. In the hope that maybe some of my toil will be useful to others, here's a list of things I found out:
1. Their "seasonless stretch" material is very nice, even though it sounds like a scary franken-fabric, whereas their "stretch cotton" material is scary (all thick, stiff, and oddly shiny) even though it sounds normal.
2. Their 1-button and 2-button jackets do my figure no favors, even though they do fit. They just don't nip in at the waist (or anywhere else) enough to flatter a large-busted figure, I think. Their 3-button jackets, however, go in at all the right spots. A big plus for me is that they make be look much smaller than my other suit jackets; my boobs literally seem to disappear.
3. Another thing I liked about the VS jackets was that I could wear a normal bra with them. With some "normal sized" off the rack jackets, I have to wear a bra (usually the Fantasie #4520 seamless) that minimizes or puts my boobs down lower than I like in order to fit the line of the jacket. With the VS ones I could wear my trusty Panache Harmony bras, my Freya Arabellas, my Kalyani bras, and even my Masquerade balconettes and the jacket looked great, with no gaping buttons.
4. Yet, despite trying several of their pants, I couldn't find one that fit well-- they all seemed to be ridiculously flared. If anyone knows a VS style that isn't, let me know!
5. So, I opted for their skirts instead, and found they fit very well. Again, go for the "seasonless stretch" material. It's pretty much just normal suiting material with a little stretch to it.
6. Sizing weirdness: in every single other clothing line, I need to buy a jacket that is the same size or larger than the matching pants or skirt. In VS, I had to buy a SMALLER jacket than skirt: I got a size 10 jacket and a size 12 skirt. I could fit into the size 10 skirts too, but I thought they seemed too tight to look professional. Yet, each size 10 jacket I tried fit great-- not tight at all. Whereas I was swimming in the size 12 jackets.
7. So, how to find your size in VS? I'm really not sure. The sizing chart they provide is completely wrong-- the measurements they gave put me at a size 14 in their clothes. So, maybe measure yourself and then go down 1-2 sizes from what their chart tells you. (FYI, I'm about a 40" bust, 30" waist, and a 41" hip.) Or, you could order one size down from your normal size in their blazers, and your normal size in their pants/skirts.
I hope some of this has been helpful, and if anyone has any other secrets to finding (or making!) busty clothes, please let me know!
