May 30, 2004

The truth about bra sales and breast size.

Instapundit links to Living in Europe about how big breasts are getting in Denmark. The news comes from a lingerie company: ""We can clearly see a development. Where the standard size earlier was 75B, these days we sell at least as many C- and D-cups. It's my impression that young women today generally have much larger breasts. Many are slim and even use up to an E- or F-cup."

Well, good luck to big breast fans, but, quite aside from the fact that the "impression" is coming from a company that is seeking (and getting) publicty, you can't use the brassiere sales statistics as the measure of the size of breasts among women generally. The larger your breasts are the more likely you are to have to wear a bra every time you leave the house. The smaller they are the more optional it is: it's a matter of social convention and fashion. If social convention or fashion changes and there are fewer times when you feel you need to wear a bra just for the sake of wearing a bra, the ratio of large size bra sales to small size bra sales will increase. The large breasted woman needs a substantial collection of bras. A smaller breasted woman might go years without buying a new bra. Maybe there is a trend among small breasted women to resort to a bra only for the occasional somber occasion or sheer blouse or there is a trend toward regarding fewer occasions as somber or away from caring that a top is sheer or clingy enough to make it visible that you aren't wearing a bra.

1 comment:

Katie said...

Yet I keep reading that most (up to 85% of women) are wearing the wrong size bra. The Band is too big and the cup is too small. So women thinking that they are a 36C could be a 32DD. Bra companies of course would like more women to wear bras, but mfg have made costly adjustments to address the discrepancy.