I haven’t hosted a guest post in a while, but after a few comments and requests from some of my readers I am very happy to share this offering with you. It’s a testimony from my beautiful friend of 14 years. She has quite a different problem when it comes to bras and she’ll take you through her journey in this post:
I am pear shaped. I am not short enough to be classed as petite. I have curves. I don’t have big boobs but I do have a good bum. These are all thing that I tell myself on a daily basis.
I’m 5’5, my measurements are 31”, 25”, 33”. In reality I am not an extreme pear shape, but when I measure round my bum and the tops of my thighs my measurement there is 40”. I have struggled for years to come to terms with this and at 17 was told by my mum that I had child bearing hips – not something that has come into use yet – as a result I have tried numerous diets, exercises and have even tried some awful slendertone ‘fat burning’ shorts, not something I would recommend.
I would say that it’s only been in that past few years that I have really learnt to dress for my shape and this has helped me to become so much more comfortable with being a Pear.
A year ago I finally got down to a weight that I had been trying to achieve for a long time and with the weight I lost I also lost several cup sizes, or so I thought. I decided to get myself fitted properly and went to House of Fraser, I have to say the lady that fitted me was absolutely amazing. She asked me what size I was and at the time I had estimated myself to be a 34 A to which she tutted and wondered off muttering about how tiny my underbust was, and came back with several 30 C’s and a 32C. Looking down at my chest I was surprised she had picked a C but as I’m not a bra fitter or expert in those matters, I didn’t object and instead tried it on. I was immediately amazed at how much better it felt, the back was so much more supportive and my boobs actually looked bigger! After buying all three matching sets she had picked I strutted off home a happy customer. Below is one of the sets that I bought, to this day I still love it.
Since then I have always stuck to shopping in HoF for my underwear. I have ventured a few times into La Senza, Topshop and New Look, but as the high street brands don’t tend to go down to a 30 my trips have been unsuccessful. This is changed just before Christmas when H&M brought out a new campaign for their ‘super push up’ bra’s and I have to admit I was completely sucked in.
I tried the two above sets on, as pictured above and they did not disappoint. I tried them both on in a 32C in desperate hope that the band wouldn’t be too loose, and knowing that the cups may be a tad small. Just my luck, the band with three hooks and eyes was the perfect fit and had great lift, even without the straps.
The bottoms are high-waisted which help give you the whole pin up girl, retro feel, plus it means no risk of the elastic band digging in at the hips.
The pink and black lace set is my favourite of the two, with detachable bra and suspender straps it means you can wear it lots of different ways, I’ve been wearing it mainly without the straps as I’ve found it has replaced my strapless Wonderbra. I am so impressed with the lift of this bra and how comfortable it is. The bottoms are super comfortable as well, but as you can see from the pictures they don’t come as high on the model.
The other set, which I bought in black, had the same great lift, strong band and three hooks and eyes. The only problem with this set is that the straps are thicker than the usual bra straps, but with the cute diamante detail I’m easily won round.
After having such a success with H&M I would definitely recommend trying them out if you should also be blessed with a perfect handful. I also have to admit that my outlook on high street brands has is starting to change, and rather than immediately assuming they won’t cater to me I’ll definitely go in and try the item on. Being petite with a smaller chest can throw up as many problems as being larger with a voluptuous chest, and it’s not the easy shopping experience that many envision. A great fit is important, no matter what your size, and I’m so glad I have found sets to cater to mine.
You can follow Heather on Twitter here and on Instagram here.
Fuller Figure Fuller Bust 
I really like the look of that first H&M set. They only go up to D cup in selected models, I think?
I still don’t know the experience of walking into a shop and being able to try on bras that fit 😉 Once I discovered what my real size was, all my bras are now ordered online, because there’s just no stores here (Portugal) that have my size.
I remember I once picked a day and went through every lingerie store in the downtown area, just asking for my size. It was fun 😀 In some places they tried to convince me to try on 34C or 36B, because “there’s no way you’re bigger than that”. In others (like intimissimi) they just said – “Oh, we only have B cups here”. They make only B-cup bras for Italian women?? You’ve got to be kidding me!
Oh well. I guess it’s still better to order right size online, than shopping for wrong one in actual store 😀
Sorry about long and random ramble!
Oh! Thanks so much for this guest post! I have similar measurements to Heather, but have been trying to pull off double A cups for years. I figured that since I am a tiny person, I didn’t have much of a bust, but after reading your blog I went and got fitted and found out I am a B cup (so silly, no wonder bras had been so uncomfortable!!) still here in the US it’s hard to find 30 or 32 bands so I will check out H&M next time I am there! Thanks again!
Thank you so much for this. I love your blog, but often can’t relate to your lingerie reviews as I am extremely pear shaped. After you posted this I went to H&M and almost cried when I found some bras that fit – and even give me a little cleavage! You two (Heather and Georgina) have changed my life so much. xXx
Wow your body is amazing.
This is a big reason why we came up with the Rixie Clip bra band tightener, because its sooo hard to find the band size you need in stores. Its frustrating when most stores go down to a 32 and thats it. Look us up on Facebook or ebay. Only avail in 2 hook option now, however, later this year will have the 3&4 hook options available so everyone can enjoy a proper fitting band!