WHEN the nation’s leading smalls supplier, Marks & Spencer, earlier this week launched its long overdue J-cup, it proved what we’ve long suspected - breasts are getting bigger.

But the change in the nation’s bra size has nothing to do with silicone and the surgeon’s scalpel. With each generation breasts have naturally increased in size, and the average bust size in the UK is now a 36C, compared with a 34B just ten years ago.

“We noticed a definite trend among younger women needing a larger cup size,” says Soozie Jenkins, head of M&S’s lingerie design. “But these sizes are more difficult to come by, and up until now women had to seek out specialist fitters to get their bras custom-made.”

For years, larger sizes all-too-often equalled unfeminine and unsexy bra shapes as manufacturers struggled to cope with the physics of keeping a bigger bust from drooping without reverting to thick, unsightly straps and reinforced cups. Bigger-breasted girls didn’t have it easy.

But while M&S has got the high street market cornered, increasing its current range by three sizes from the previous G-size, right up to the in-demand J-cup, high-end boutiques have also responded

to the changes in women’s body-shapes. La Senza now stocks up to an F-cup in a variety of styles including those for smaller backs. And independent lingerie boutique Boudiche has long catered for the bigger-chested female - a quarter of all bras they sell are now a D-cup or above.

“Over 50 per cent of our customers are D-plus cup size. It’s a huge market, and has been since we opened over two years ago,” says Clare Thommen of the Frederick Street store. “There’s a lot of confusion with bra and cup sizing - some people, for example, think that Jordan is D cup which is absolute rubbish. In fact, a D cup is not actually that big and it’s really, really common - especially in the Capital.

“Our best-selling size is a 32E, and we actually go up to a GG cup size for lingerie and bikinis.”

When Clare and her business partner Fiona McLean opened their boutique back in 2005, the girls spent months researching the market and found that an increasing amount of women have small back sizes and fuller cup sizes.

She explains: “Shapes are changing and the trend is increasingly with smaller back sizes and bigger cup sizes such as 30Es 30Fs, 32Es and 32Fs.”

The change in shape has occurred over the past 15 years. It’s partly to do with the fact that more women are now on the contraceptive pill, resulting in an increase in the hormone oestrogen which can increase breast size, but it’s also because young women these days are much better nourished than in the past.”

Edinburgh image consultant Amy Jones believes another rise in the demand for larger bras in the Capital is down to a better education about correctly-fitting bras.

“Women are often surprised at how different their actual size is from the size they were wearing, and normally find they’ve gone up a cup size or two.

“Many of the bra fitters in the city will say off the record that nearly 90 per cent of the women they see have been wearing ill-fitting bras - and they’re always too small.”

Jo Lee of Bravissimo, a brand which specialises in bigger sizes agrees, and adds: “TV shows such as How To Look Good Naked and Trinny And Susannah Undress The Nation are encouraging women to think about how their bra fits them.

“This, combined with more retailers like ourselves preferring to fit rather than use tape measures to establish bra size, means women are finding the size they’ve been wearing up until now is often much too big in the back and too small in the cup.”

Larger breast sizes are in line with the growth of general vital statistics - since the 1950s women’s waists, hips and height have steadily increased in size. Back then the average size was a 12, while now most British women are around a 16. And even in the last 20 years there’s been significant changes, with the average British woman’s body shape now measuring 36C-28-38, compared with 35B-24-37 in the 1980s.

“Women’s skeletons are generally sturdier than they were because they are better nourished and more athletic,” says professor Stephen Gray of Nottingham Trent University, who spent three years surveying 8000 British women aged from 18 to 90.

“With athleticism comes an expanded rib cage and more muscle; that means women are no longer strictly hourglass-shaped.

“Diet is a huge factor too. In the 50s, British women were eating a much healthier diet as a result of post-war rationing, so they were significantly smaller.

“Then there is the question of exercise. While women of the 50s were walking to the bus stop, millennial woman is driving to work.”

So with bigger set to stay, where can a girl shop?

BOUDICHE
15 FREDERICK STREET

The luxury lingerie boutique is tipped to win the coveted title of Lingerie Retailer of the Year at the Drapers Awards 2007, the Oscars of the retail and fashion world, beating heavyweights including M&S, La Senza and Rigby & Peller.

And a peak inside the boudoir-like store reveals why. It’s all about understated glamour, luxury and decadence, with prices to suit most budgets. But the best bit is the size selection, ranging from a petite back size 28 through to a 36, and a GG cup size. Prices start at around £20.

MARKS & SPENCER
PRINCES STREET AND THE GYLE

The department store is currently offering the J-cup range online. And G, GG, H and HH bra sizes are available in Princes Street and The Gyle.

Instead of the thick straps, thick materials and frumpy looks many bigger-breasted women have had to endure, the M&S range includes soft lace, pretty detailing and feminine styles, for under £20.

LA SENZA
PRINCES STREET, THE GYLE, OCEAN TERMINAL

La Senza has for long been the destination for those in search of affordable sexy lingerie sets. Silks, satins and lace in a plethora of styles, shapes and colours throng the shop, and there’s a wide range of sizes too.

There is a big demand for the larger sizes and the shop now goes up to an FF in selected styles. Bras start at £10.

LA JOLIE MADAME
22 MORNINGSIDE ROAD
Established in the Capital more than 14 years ago, the independent retailer stocks a wide range of lingerie brands and sizes and has a professional fitting service.

This boutique has stocked larger cup sizes for years, offering everything from an A-cup to a J-cup, as well as a wide range of back sizes. Expect to pay at least £25 for a bra.
KEEPING ABREAST OF LARGER MATTERS

1. Select a bra with a proper supportive band which will anchor wires under the bust securely and make for a comfortable fit.

2. Straps should be quite rigid with a small amount of “give,” no more than two fingers’ width.

3. More than 80 per cent of a bra’s support comes from the band so straps should never dig into the shoulders. If they do, it doesn’t fit.

4. Wear your bra on the tightest possible fastening for added support.

5. Replace your bras every six months. After this time they will have lost their ability to support you properly.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 at 8:20 pm and is filed under Fashion, Modeling, Sexy Lingerie, Sexy Girls. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.