Why Don't Most Brands Make Bras Above a G Cup?

It began in middle school: the awkward fitting. Before you learn how to do it yourself, you either need your mom or sister or store clerk to help you out (though eventually you’ll learn to do it yourself). You have to know your size before you purchase the right support. But for hourglass women, even in our vast consumer culture, retailers don’t always make it easy to purchase the bras we need. The average bra size in the United States (at least in 2013) jumped to 34DD from a 34B twenty years earlier. You might think maybe companies would take the hint. Retailers do have a few reasons for holding out, though...

The bigger your cup, the heavier your breasts. This affects the way a bra is designed and created. Bras are ultimately about support—everything has to be perfect down to a fourth of an inch. And the more weight there is that must be distributed, the more support is going to be required. We all know that no breasts are alike, but below a G cup, size and shape tend to be at least reasonably predictable. Bigger bra sizes are more difficult to design, and require more material. Creating and crafting a bra is a delicate process, and there’s a fine line between making a stiff and painful breastplate and something comfortable that someone actually wants to wear. This process requires more time and energy, and some companies just don’t want to be saddled with those costs.

Even if companies can afford the time, effort and materials, something else might be holding them back: the risk. Retailers are all about products that will make them money. If there’s no market, and the product doesn’t sell, that’s a huge loss for the company, taking up space for those things that will sell. We all know there’s a market for bras that fit well and look great, but not all places seem to want to catch up with the times. Rigid fashion standards make it so that only the most adventurous retailers want to try anything new. Hopefully, it won’t take too long for retailers to realize that there is a demand for large cup bras, even if it might be a risk at first to try.

Then there’s the dreaded tagline. Companies don’t want to be accused of supporting ‘unhealthy lifestyles.’ We know it isn’t necessarily true that someone with larger breasts is overweight, but it’s a misconception that heavily impacts the fashion industry...and retailers. They may not want to spend the time and money required to defend the reason for offering plus-sized materials. There may be a concern of risking their image or contributing to the obesity epidemic. Yet another roadblock for the G+ cup.

Perhaps mainstream retailers don’t make anything higher than a G cup for these reasons, but don’t despair! There are definitely companies who want to help, by offering good bras that fit well and real support (and don’t look like something your grandmother would own).

Even better, there are places that even have fancy plus-sized lingerie, not something you’ll walk into a mall and find. Hourglass Lingerie is one such company where you can even schedule a fitting if you need. We even offer sizes up to an O cup, the newest size on the chart. After all, we’ve all had the experience of walking into a store and finding that the only cute bras are 3 sizes too small. We can promise that won’t happen when you stop by Hourglass.