Bravissimo

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'''What started Bravissimo and what is it?'''

If you go onto www.bravissimo.com you can learn all about them. To start with it would be good to read the 'our philosophy' section.
It starts by saying: "Bravissimo is a company that provides a wide choice of lingerie and swimwear in D-K cup, as well as clothing designed especially for big boobed women so that they can celebrate their curves and feel good about ...
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'''What advice do Bravissimo give?'''

They give you step by step instructions on how to properly fit yourself, where you should be measuring from, and the do's and don'ts of adjusting bras. It's a very complicated business so it's great to have help from people specifically targeting larger boobied people.
If you go to the FAQs on the website they answer questions in depth, such as in the Fitting category: '''What's ... more

How it was before Bravissimo

I don't think people realise how important it is to wear a proper fitting bra, especially if you're still growing. It's very important to wear a proper fitted one, as badly fitting bras can lead to poor posture, neck and back problems, and even damage to the breast tissue, as well as looking unflattering and lumpy under clothing.

Im 20 at the moment, and in my life i've only had one properly fitting bra. I think it came down to being self conscious, lots of women like me tend to hide away really, it's not our biggest priority to get a good bra, even though it really should be. My main problem was I'm lazy, I'm not a big shopper, and that results in being self conscious because I don't buy lovely clothes and lovely bras, I especially didn't want to go to a shop and get my boobs out to be measured. The only way it can really be accurate though is if you get your boobs properly fitted by staff at a shop, preferably one you trust, as it can be quite embarrassing, and you'd rather get it done once properly than having to do it a few times.

I always assumed I was a C cup when I was 15, because I didn't know anything about cup sizes, and my older sister was a C, so I decided I was! So I just wore whatever bra and didn't really think about it, then I started growing and I think I got measured once but it was over my bra so not very accurate, it turned out I was a DD when I was 16 which was a shock, so I ignorantly just bought a bra for DD without really knowing there are many more factors into having a good bra than just the cup size.
Soon this bra didn't fit so think I just let it for a while, in the back of my mind I was aware this wasn't good, and my main concern was I'd get saggy boobs if I didn't look after them and support them as they were quite big for me and compared to my body.
A year or so later I got fed up and got fitted, to be told I was FF now, or maybe G another shock as I was 17 and still growing, and growing fed up of boobs really!
Basically I was always very ignorant and lazy when it came to boobies.

Shopping before Bravissimo

I used to go to maybe M+S to buy bras, where ever it was I always found bras in my size were mainly aimed at older women with bigger boobies, a very boring selection really, big beige ones or black or white, not a great selection if you're an older bigger women either really, as if fashion stopped mattering after a certain size..
Buying bikinis was the worst, the tops that fit me came with huge knickers, and knickers that fit me came with small tops, I used to mix and match until the shops seemed to all get a new policy where you couldn't do that. So I was stuffed really and a bit depressed about it all.

Discovering Bravissimo

Thankfully my mum came across an advert or something a couple of years ago for a company called Bravissimo. This is a lingerie company for the bigger sized woman, whether you're large breasted through being overweight or just naturally large but with a small body size. This discovered a whole new bra world for me, where it became clear that bras were designed to be beautiful and comfortable for any sized lady, after all we do come in all sorts of funny shapes and sizes, there is never a one size fits all with bras.
We ordered a magazine that we receive monthly now, and it shows off their enormous range of bras and underwear, it tells you what sizes each piece of clothing comes in, the bras go from a size D all the way up to a K.
So now I have no excuse not to wear a properly fitting bra!

What started Bravissimo and what is it?

If you go onto www.bravissimo.com you can learn all about them. To start with it would be good to read the 'our philosophy' section.
It starts by saying: "Bravissimo is a company that provides a wide choice of lingerie and swimwear in D-K cup, as well as clothing designed especially for big boobed women so that they can celebrate their curves and feel good about themselves!"
It tells you about a lady called Sarah Tremellen who set up the business in her own living room because she was so frustrated about not being able to find a bra in her size and "was fed up of being offered enormous matronly contraptions more suitable for landing parachutes" so something had to be down about it. The company started very small, but now over half a million women have contacted them since they began in 1995, and what started as a small living room business, has turned into a multi-million pound award-winning company. They mainly retail by mail order through their website or catalogue, and they have 20 high street stores.
The website looks very impressive, feminine and friendly. That's the one thing i've always noticed about this company, they seem more personal, maybe it's because they are aiming their stock to people like me, and people like me are so used to not being helped by these companies that we're just so greatful when a good one comes along! They mainly do lingerie, but at the back of the catalogue and on the website there is a selection for clothing made for larger boobed women, nightwear, sports and swimwear. I've never tried their clothing really, but what I like is they have designed tops with hidden support, so for us with big boobs we can now wear tops without having to worrying about a horrible bra underneath. So far i've had no complaints from this company.

What advice do Bravissimo give?

They give you step by step instructions on how to properly fit yourself, where you should be measuring from, and the do's and don'ts of adjusting bras. It's a very complicated business so it's great to have help from people specifically targeting larger boobied people.
If you go to the FAQs on the website they answer questions in depth, such as in the Fitting category: What's the best way to put a bra on? How often should I check my bra size? If my bra is not supportive enough, should I tighten up the shoulder straps? These are quite important questions really, if you don't know the answer to these, then you're probably doing something wrong, or wearing the wrong bra.
They have questions in different categories such as sizing, delivery, website problems and info, miscellaneous and information on payments, ordering etc'.

How I use the company

We subscribed to their catalogue, it comes once a month and we aren't charged for it, so it's nice to see each months selections, there are lots of colourful selections and sections. One thing I don't like is the models they use, I end up looking at their faces and funny smiles instead of the clothing, but thats just me - and apparently my mum! The models they use have a minimum size breast of D or DD, so if you think the bra looks good on the model, it will probably look good on you, so the photos are accurate. I've never visited their shops, they list where they are located, so I know the closest one is in Cambridge.

I've ordered a few bras from the catalogue, the first one I ordered one was perfect, I'm wearing it now! The other was too small even though it was FF I think, sometimes I've noticed that you could have three bras in the same size, yet they won't all fit you. So we sent it back with no complications and they offered us a refund or the option to order a replacement, so we did and paid the difference, trouble was it didn't fit either, so we got a refund for that, again with no complications and friendly service.
We've now decided the best thing to do is actually visit the shop itself to be able to try it on, that's originally what I thought would have been best, seeing as from experience I know how hard it is to get a good fitting over the shoulder boulder holder.
I think using the shop would have a bigger benefit, be more efficient and less time consuming, I've never had a problem with their customer service, any email I've received has always been friendly, I can imagine though staff in the shops can potentially be really nice or horrible.

The catalogue

I think the catalogue comes across as very friendly, so does the website but I generally use the catalogues so far. They have tips on each page about bra fittings and general advice, for example: If you would like your bra to be invisible under sheer tops of T-shirts, try a bra that's closest to your skni tone, rather than matching it to the colour of your top.
They also have customer comments printed on some pages, for example: "I popped into one of your shops to get fitted and what a fantastic job they did. I cannot believe the assistants can work out your correct size so quickly. I was really surprised to find I am a 32FF when I was wearing a 38G, what a difference a well fitting bra makes" - Jayne, 32FF, Flitwick.
I highly recommend subscribing to the catalogue, not only is it free, it's nice to look through, the variation between bras is great, there should be something for everyone from Bravissimo.

Looking after your boobs

This shows where this company differ from the others, not only are they trying to provide great clothing that fits you well, they try to educate you, in this months catalogue it says on one page how to look after your boobs. "Bravissimo girls are lucky enough to be blessed with great boobs so it's important that we take care of them. Here are some tips to pamper, tone and flatter your assets this autumn...''
This is what I like about this company, they make you feel good about yourself for having large boobs, and not feel silly and frumpy when you try to find clothing.

Prices

Underwear -
As there is such a large selection prices do vary. For bras the prices tend to be £20 - £35 maybe with some exceptions. The good thing is you can buy the bra seperately from the knickers, the knickers tend to be cheaper, you can buy knickers, thongs or shorts, so the prices vary from £10- maybe £15, again with some exceptions.
I think though, if you're going to buy a bra, you buy one that fits well and supports you well, so these prices are reasonable, especially if you're bigger boobed you'll just be happy to have a fitting bra that looks and feels nice.

Swimwear -
These range from bikinis to swimming costumes of all shapes so again prices vary, it's hard to tell but I think it's around £25 to £45, but again probably worth the money as having large boobs and trying to find suitable swimwear is one of the the hardest things to do!

Clothing -
The clothing I think can be anything up to £90 really, but that's mainly for work clothes and it's all going to be good quality made to last, I've never tried their clothing but some of it does look nice, lots of it seems to be mainly smart casual wear.

Sporting -
They have sports bras that seem to range between £25 and £35, I'd like to try one of these as I haven't been able to run comfortably in years!!

Contacting them

To Order call them on 01926 459 859
Monday - Friday 8.30am to 8.30pm
Saturday 9am to 5pm

Visit www.bravissimo.com (I recommend this)

Fax 01926 459 959

Customer Service

Bravissimo,
PO Box 2622,
Leamington Spa
CV32 4XA

customer.services@bravissimo.com

Conclusion

I recommend looking at this company if you have larger boobs and are continuously having trouble finding clothing, underwear, sports or swimwear. Wearing the proper fitting clothing makes the world of difference to how you look, how you feel physically and more importantly how you feel about yourself.
There's no losing out if you just go onto their website, from there you can subscribe to their catalogue, I look through their catalogue to know what is available in their shops, as it's a long journey for me to drive the the closest store to not have what I want.
You'll love the range and feel of their clothing. It's definitely worth it and will make you feel a lot better about yourself.
Not only is this a company that is designed for the bigger woman, in weight or boob size, it's designed to make you feel sexy, and special for having big boobs! So instead of finding my body a burden, I now appreciate what I've got, because finally there is a company there for me. I've learnt alot about how to measure myself, and how to find the right bra for me, so I'm no longer ignorant about boobs.

Hooray for boobies! 

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