Those American Apparel ads...

Hi BecStar Rae

Im a D or E cup with a wide back but being 5ft 1in with a narrow waist and short back I can't get dresses or tops to fit. And to top it off I've got legs that are too long for standard hoisery.

Erm, think thats why I started making my own clothes LOL!!

Marks & Spencers is probably best for fitting but bit pricey. Primark are getting better but don't rely on their sizing too much. The styles vary so much I go up a cup size x

Debhenams seems to have the best range of sizes and, having been mismeasured twice by M&S fitters, I trust their bra-ladies more. If you have the time to browse TK maxx stock a range of sizes but there's no guarantee, it's just what they have in on the day!

we have lasenza, a bit more expensive at $30 a bar, but they range in sizes from AAA to G cup

and they make very nice plus sized bras

BecStar - i have the same problem i have really small boobs but plus size waist so shirts are either too tight on my stomach or i need to wear a tank top under shirts because the boobie part is too big and i feel like i am flashing everyone! we have lane bryant, a plus size store, in the states and i don't buy a lot of their clothes because they are very expensive but they do make really nice bras with a long band and small cups

Hi Heather

Have you tried bra expander straps to make a longer band. They can add a good 4 inch to a standard bra and work out cheaper than bying a specialist one. You can also wear the pretty ones that smaller women wear.

We have a la senza here too, but my local la senza don't seem to do larger back sizes than a 38. Which isn't enough for me. Their range of cup sizes are fine, however I tend to have the problem of being too big for a B (they are like popping out) and a C being not big enough (they fit "as such" but there is a little room at the top).

I'm glad it isn't just me. I went to Asda's in Hatfield yesturday and they seem to be getting slightly better with their bra sizes.

Laurel - How awful... that must be the most annoying thing on earth!! I'm lucky that my leg size is regular. I hope you get some luck soon, M&S are crap. Try Asda maybe??

You'd figure that American Apparel is trying to get more women to buy their product. Since they know this site is visited mostly by women, they figured they'd advertise here. What they failed to see was that naked women do not spur most women on to buy a product, duh.

Hunting W makes a good point and from the posts on this page it seems that there are many women that wouldn't choose to because of issues of style, taste and more importantly the sizing.

Some women are lucky enough to buy off the peg. When will the main stream lingerie designers realise that there is a wider market (no pun intended) with money to spend on the right products

@squizita: i'm sorry, i didn't know that. i'm being taught at school that the amount of oestrogen produced has to do with how much fat there is on your body. it also has to do with genes, i think..it's kinda logical. but i thought, breast size has to do with oestrogen production. oestrogen production has to do with amount of body fat (having 0% body fat is also unhealthy i think.). so i thought, logically seen, breast size has to do with body fat. but of course genes also have to do with it. and around me i noticed, a friend of mine that was as a kid not super skinny got bigger breasts than a kid that was very skinny.
i didn't think about those girls having had breast surgery. i thought they'd worked out a LOT. or something like that. i don't give a d*mn about things like that. i you love yourself, it shows on the outside. then you look good anyways, whether you are overweight, underweight, medium weight, whatever. and if you feel so bad about a part of yourself (like big ears or something) that having that changed improves your life? fine by me. its your life.

I think what we need to do is get women and young girls to learn how to love their bodies

i agree with michelle. in school, i see especially first grade girls(12 yr old) walking around either in clothes that fit badly with low confidence, or walking around believing they are the queen of the world wearing clothes that make them look kinda sluttish. nicely said.
and no one actually loves everything about their bodies. nobody does. i for example dislike my left eardrum. its got a hole in it. i get into trouble with it hurting every winter again. so i don't like that bit of my body.
i have an okay confidence level. i'm happy with how i am. but lots of people aren't, and i hope they will be happy with themselves someday.
and then i don't give a thing about how they became happy about themselves. for me, it was going sailing with vera and then i got my confidence all good.
people wear masks, and if you wear to many of those you lose the mask-less you. that happened to me, and now i got her back again. thanks to vera and sailing =P
and if you can't find you, then how can you be happy about you?

those ads definitely shocked me the first time! lol
It was two ballerina girls with thong body suits...i was like WOAH

I've watched Gok Wan stuff, like "how to look good naked" which I don't think is a bad idea altogether. They were trying to get body confidence type learnings into the UK cirriculum - I don't think they got too far. But I think it should, perhaps in P.E or (as most of you would know it) gym classes, as they try and get people to be activley/physically fit, but they should also incorporate mental fitness which could be anything from confidence to... well whatever (I haven't really thought it all through!!).

Schools should teach confidence to girls AND boys.

THEY'RE CLOSING THE CADBURY FACTORY?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

I am never moving back to the USA--they destroy everything worth living for. x.x

They are moving some Cadbury production to Poland from I think Birmingham. We are keeping the creme egg but still means job losses