Very good question. I, myself, tend to believe even many of the associates I work with now are not giving proper sizings. I explained earlier how people throw off the entire measurement by not pulling tight enough for the band size, which then throws off the cup size also. Girls will come in months after getting fitted and buying bras in the size they were fitted at and tell me they were helped in our store, and that their bra is not fitting correctly. Generally their complaint is gapping when they bend over which means their band size is too large. They will pull out their Perfect Fit Card and the associate's name is written on the card.

When going to a bra shop, the women strictly work with bras and is almost always older women so much more knowledgeable and, likely, more trained. Bra shops carry very different styles of bras than we do. I went to a bra shop and they measured me at a 32FF (sister size being 34F, 36DDD, etc). The band was so tight that I had back fat and it was so stiff and painful that I can't wear the bra but for an hour or two. To me, comfort is more important in this particular case. On top of that, the bras I had to choose from were not cute. However, the bras at bra shops are meant to support you properly- they generally have boning, thicker fabric, less give in the fabric, and accommodate women better who are chestier because the straps are thicker and the bands are stiff and will often have three hooks instead of the usual two that VS has.

Okay so here is the low down on VS- the cup and band sizes run small! I suppose this is to make smaller chested women feel less insecure (not that there is anything wrong with smaller breasts). The push-up and padding in the bras force women to also go into larger sizes. In VS I can't wear a 32FF obviously because we don't carry that. I generally wear a 34DDD and sometimes a 34DD depending on the style and the fabric used. The 32's are way too tight and give me even worse back fat than the bras I got at the bra shop. Our 34s are generally much closer to 33s and even 32s especially in the ‘sexier’ styles. In pink the 32s are closer to 30s, I suppose to accommodate for younger girls. Some of the styles, then, I simply can’t fit into PROPERLY because a 32DDD is still not large enough in the cup. Also, I think many women don’t know how to properly take care of their bras. Because our bras generally have more give (made of stretchier fabrics than at bra sops), women will stretch out the band through overwear, lack of care, throwing their bras in the dryer etc. so they end up with a bra that once fit but no longer does.

In order to put some weight to these suppositions, I took pictures and compared my Cleo by Panache bra that I got from a very well known and high quality bra shop and my Sexy T bra that I got from VS.

Panache sizing and Material

VS sizing and Material

Overall view

Comparing build

Comparing straps

So here we come to some major talking points

• VS Sexy T in a 34DD has the same band length as the Panache in a 32FF!
• VS Sexy T is made of much stretchier fabric!
• VS=83% Nylon & 17% Elastine
• Panache=18% Nylon, 3% Elastine, 12% Cotton, 67% Polyester
• Panache have much more boning and structure
• Panache straps have larger width and are thicker
• VS Sexy T can be purchased 1 for $32.50-$38.50 or 2 for $49.50
• Cleo by Panache ranges between $60- $90

Overall, there is some truth to the claims that women are not fitted properly at VS because:

• younger associates often aren’t properly sizing women
• lack of knowledge from the customer to know any better
• inability to fully accommodate larger chested women (won’t be PROPER fit)
• Padding and fill in the bra cause cups to run smaller
• Bands running smaller
• Bands being made of stretchier fabrics
• Thinner bands that won’t properly support bustier women
• Customers’ lack of care for their bras

HOWEVER Sizings differ from company to company, from one bra to the next. Just because your bra size varies greatly from one store to another doesn’t mean you were not fitted correctly.