Honestly, my boobs have always been something that have annoyed me. For as long as I can remember I have had a large chest and at 14 I was teased quite a lot because of it. On a school trip to Germany other kids made fun at the size of my bras and it made me feel awful about the size of my boobs. At the time, I was around a 36D and they haven’t gotten any smaller since.
Now, at age 32 I wear size 22 clothes with a bra size of 46D. I cannot remember the last time I was able to buy a bra, whether it be nice or basic, in a supermarket.
So, over the past couple of weeks I have noticed advertising from 2 major supermarkets about their lingerie ranges. The supermarkets in question are Sainsbury’s and Asda, which is no surprise really seeing as they are merged now. TU and George are boasting that their bras are inclusive and for everyone… but they’re not.
TU’s tagline is All Boobs Welcome while George say We Are For Everybody. Both of these statements couldn’t be further from the truth.
The smallest size available is a 32A while the biggest is a 42GG. These sizes are available online but not necessarily what is available in every store. The thing is, Sainsbury’s offers clothes from a size 6 up to size 28 online and I think at least size 24 in most stores but their bras don’t reflect this. My local store has a sort of okay selection when it comes to bras but obviously due to the sizing mentioned above, I have never been able to shop there. There’s no point in me even looking. My boob are certainly not welcome in their lingerie department!
Both TU and George have, however, done a great job of using more realistic models in their advertising. It’s great to see such a diverse range of woman modelling the underwear and not everyone is stick thin and without cellulite. I think both brands are going in the right direction but I think their choice of words are unfortunately. They imply that everyone is catered for and they have thought about all shapes and sizes when they haven’t.
I do understand that some sizes are not as in demand as others, which is why there are more specialist places to buy them. I personally shop at Simply Be for my bras because I know I can get my size but that’s a specialist plus size shop. I actually have no problem at all with supermarkets not stocking larger or smaller sizes. I just don’t think they pretend to cater for everyone when they clearly don’t.
PIN IT FOR LATER
