Specialist size D+ British lingerie brand, Panache, have released new research into women’s life in bras as they launch a new campaign to encourage women to get fitted more regularly when buying a new bra. The findings revealed that the average woman owns seven bras but only wears five of them, and also went on to reveal that 68% of women have wasted money buying a bra they have never worn, with middle aged and older ladies most likely to abandon their purchases.
The majority of women believe the impact of a poorly fitting bra is discomfort (76%) and being able to visibly tell it doesn’t fit (63%), with fewer realising that a badly fitting bra can impact on your health (65%). Nearly half of women (45%) have been put off going to be fitted despite knowing they’re wearing the wrong bra size because they’ve worried about their bust getting bigger or smaller. This is most prevalent among women under 30, who worry most about being bigger than their current bra size (35%).
With nearly half (47%) of women surveyed never having had a professional fitting, Panache wanted to understand why. The top reasons included:
- It’s unnecessary and you can do it yourself – 40%
- Embarrassment of being topless in front of the fitter – 41%
- Not having time – 26%
- Worry the fitter won’t have something that fits – 12%
- Fear of finding out real size – 9%
Fantasie
Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, known for her body image work, commented: “When it comes to body image we tend to get hung up on numbers. We are socialised into feeling better about ourselves depending on the number we see sewn into our dress label or on the scales that weigh us and increasingly even our bra size. As a consequence we avoid thinking about what size feels right, and this is particularly concerning when it comes to things like bras as wearing the right size can impact not only comfort but potentially breast health. We need to let go of our obsession with the perfect number and focus more on what fits and feels right for us as individuals.”
Despite the fears associated with them, many women do change their bra size after a professional fitting, although almost a quarter of older ladies who had been fitted admitted they had continued to wear the wrong size anyway. To help women find their fit, Panache’s team of expert bra fitters has created an online guide for women to check the tell tale signs of a badly fitting bra at www.panache-lingerie.com/findyourfit. Leigh Norris, Marketing Director at Panache Lingerie added, “We want to demonstrate that the fitting process is nothing to be embarrassed or nervous about and that our fitters are approachable and here to help. We want to encourage more women to have the ‘wow’ moment when an expert fitter introduces a woman to her ideal bra shape and size.”
