Having been blessed with big boobs for many years now (or maybe more accurately lumbered with them) I was resigned to a life of wearing ill fitting, unsexy granny bras (I'm only 26 :( ). They didn't ever fit quite right, managed to be too small (bulges in all the wrong places) and too big (riding up your back) all at the same time! My only experience of a bra fitting was some 60 year old woman in marks and spencers coming at me with a tape measure and exclaiming, "my you have big breasts!" oh really? I was wondering what these things sticking out my chest were? I didn't go to many bra fittings after that, I generally just tried a few bras on and took the ones that fitted best.

I discovered bravissimo a few years ago having been introduced to it by my mum, after shed been introduced to it by a friend, word of mouth is a wonderful thing. Bravissimos philosophy exclaims that just because you have big breasts it doesn't mean you can't wear well fitting, pretty and delicate bras! I whole heartedly agree with that philosophy.

Bravissimo was started in 1995 by Sarah Tremellen. After being frustrated at how hard it was to get nice bras in her size, she started up Bravissimo as a mail order company that was based out of her living room The company has since expanded to having 21 high street shops and an extensive website that offers lingerie, swimwear and even clothing to fit the big-boobed lady.

I have experience with bravissimo stores and ordering bravissimo online, both good in different ways.

~Bravissimo~

Bravissimo stocks a variety of bras in sizes D-KK. These include sports bras, t-shirt bras, everyday bras, nursing bras, basques and bodies, strapless bras and softcup bras. They also do matching underwear and various bra accessories. As well as bras they do swimwear; bikinis, tankinis and swimsuits. They have also expanded in the last few years into doing clothing, including strappy tops that have inbuilt bras in them, as well as nightwear with boob support. They also have the "Pepperberry" range of clothing, this includes tops, dresses, coats, skirts and trousers, The clothing is designed with big breasted women in mind with more room in the chest area than normal clothing.

Expect to pay between £23 and £36 for the bras, pricey I know but it really is the going rate for large cup bras, and yes I do get slightly jealous when my friends tell me they have gotten 3 bras for a tenner out of primark, but these bras are well made and built to last, so you do get a good quality item for your money.

~The Stores~

There are stores located in:
Aberdeen
Brighton
Cambridge
Cardiff
Chester
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Leamington
Leeds
Liverpool
London x3
Manchester
Milton Keynes
Newcastle
Norwich
Nottingham
Oxford
Reading
Solihull

So there is likely to be one near to you!

I have only been to the one Bravissimo store, in Glasgow, but I imagine they are all very similar. The store in Glasgow is brightly coloured in pastel shades with large windows and is very inviting. Once inside there is a lot of room to move about with bras and clothes grouped together by style, eg strapless, sports bras, softcup ect, making it easy to find what you are looking for. The staff are very helpful and if you find a bra you like, but they don't have your size, you can just ask them and they will check if they have it in the stock room, if not they can order it in for you.

In the Glasgow store there are 2 floors, the bottom floor containing the shop and the top floor containing the fitting rooms and the stockroom. You can pick items you like and take them upstairs to try on, if they have located an item in the stockroom for you, you can pop upstairs and they will go and get it, or you can go up for a bra fitting. Now having a bra fitting in a Bravissimo store, that is an experience!

~Bra fittings~

You can book yourself in for a fitting in advance and choose a suitable time/day or you can just turn up and ask for one, they will take your name and you just need to wait to be called. Upstairs, outside fitting rooms, there is a seating area for you to wait in and for any shopping partners to sit and wait for you, it is furnished with squishy sofas and seats with a selection of magazines to read and is usually full of disgruntled men waiting for their partners.

As I said before, my only previous experience with bra fittings is some old biddy coming at you with measuring tape, the Bravissimo fitting experience is completely different and something they pride them selves on, no measuring tapes in sight!

When your name is called you are led into the changing rooms which are bright and modern. Each individual room has several mirrors, a dressing gown, a Bravissimo catalogue and a t-shirt in them. To get started you need to have a wee look through the catalogue and chose a couple of bras you like, the fitter then gets you to take your top off and has a look at how your current bra fits you and what size it is (if you have never had a fitting like this before it can be a bit omg, but they are very professional and the Bravissimo philosophy believes in no tape measures and just using trained staff to look and see if your bra is fitting correctly) they then use this as a guide to what size you should be in.

The fitter then gets a few bras for you to try on, a few different sizes and styles to find one that fits you well. I have had several fittings with different people, some of them will put the bra on you to make sure its on correctly (again slightly omg if you've never been for a fitting before) and some will turn their backs or step out of the room while you put the bra on, of course you can always choose what way you prefer, I am not really fussed either way. The fitter then adjusts the bra straps and checks to see how well it fits, you can also put on the t-shirt to see how it looks under a t-shirt if you weren't wearing one when you came in, particularly useful if your buying a t-shirt bra and are wearing a blouse!

Congratulations, you have now discovered your correct bra size (my first time I discovered I was wearing a bra 3 back sizes too big and totally the wrong cup size), you are of course under no obligation to buy any of the bras you had fitted, but once you have found a bra that fits you so well it will be hard to resist buying up the whole store!

All you need to do now is collect up the items you want to buy and take them down to the till, they will then be packaged up in a pretty little bag for you and you can go merrily on your way.

~Online and catalogue~

I don't live in Glasgow any more unfortunately and I don't have a Bravissimo store near me so I make use of the website and the catalogue. The catalogue comes out every few months and you can have it delivered for free (like me), I have never actually ordered from the catalogue, preferring to order online, but I like looking through it as it is easier on the eyes than trolling through the website.

The catalogue is like most clothing catalogues, glossy with large pictures of what's on offer. The items are grouped together much like in the stores with similar things on the pages near each other. All the items tell you the price, the sizes and the colours they come in. There is an order form at the back of the catalogue, you can also order by phone.

The address of the bravissimo website is www.bravissimo.com

The site is well laid out and is very colourful and girly with lots of pictures. It is easy to navigate with several menus at the top and the side so you can find the particular part of the site you wish to visit. Once you click on a certain option it is further subdivided, like the lingere option is divided into different types of bras, eg sports bra or t-shirt bra so you can find exactly what type of bra you want. There is also a search box, you can type in a catalogue number for something you specifically want, or something more general like "white bra". There is also a "perfect fit guide" on the website, for those of us that cannot get to a store or do not want to have a fitting in a store, it gives you pointers on how your bra should fit and is definitely worth a read.

To order anything from the website, like most online stores, you need to register. All you need for that is a valid email address, then you can fill in your address details and card details when you want to make a purchase. Delivery is pretty fast and they offer next day special delivery as well, if the order is placed before 2.30, so you can get it even faster. Returns are free and you have 28 days to return your items for either an exchange or a refund, I have returned several items before when they haven't fitted, with no problems at all.

~Overall~

I love Bravissimo, like actually love it. I think I would still be wearing completely the wrong bra size if it wasn't for that place. A well fitting bra is just great, it can make you look thinner, improve your posture and literally take a weight off your shoulders (a bras main support should come from the strap round your body, NOT your shoulder straps, learned that from bravissimo).

So to all you big breasted ladies out there, if you haven't all ready given this place a go then I recommend you try it out, your boobs will thank you for ever :)