Why "Burn the Minimisers"

I want to set the record straight (if the record ever got curved) that I'm not against the concept of looking smaller. I'm not.

The thing I love the most of a well fitting bra is that my boobs are in one place, which makes them look compact. Not to mention the amazing miracle that they now stay in one place!

What I'm against are the minimisers...

Truimph Minimiser, which I wore from the ages of 15 to 17. Yes. As a teenager.

My blog's name is inspired by this amazing post over on Venusian Glow. It must be read, but this bit really pushed into action:

"They [minimisers] flatten the breasts, smearing the breast tissue all over the ribcage. This flattens the breasts while also optically fattening the wearer. The excess boobage doesn't just disappear, it goes all over the place, making the torso look bigger. A minimiser gives a woman the figure of a brick. This is the opposite of what a well-fitted bra does -- lifting the breasts and optically removing pounds."

This exactly summarises my feelings on minimisers. Firstly, I find it incredibly disturbing that a young teenager was told that her body was so disturbing that it needed to be minimised. No choice. My body was revolting. I had to wear the minimisers and look like a bloody brick. A brick that wobbled and ached whenever I moved. I couldn't run, I couldn't dance. I wored several layers of clothes to flatten by body and a jumper that was too big. There was a girl in my school who on no-uniform / colour days, used to wear low cut clothes. They used to call her 'Busty', as in that was her name. Now, firstly, she was about as busty I am, and secondly, I lived in fear of being defined by my breasts. 

Now I know that my bras were far too small - I was in a 34DD when I measured at the time 28FF and now 28GG.

But why the hate on minimisers, not just everywhere that insisted I was a 34DD. The Minimisers are the bras that I was forced into wearing because all other 34DDs hurt. They squished me. I looked like a boob brick. Urgh urgh urgh. Look at the wires. They were bendy. They bended over my boobs. The thing was sitting on me. Look at the gore in the middle... also soft wires so the fact it was moving around wouldn't hurt.

I would be in pain all day every day. I went home in the evening and the first thing I would do was rip it off. I couldn't run. I couldn't move quickly. My breasts had to be minimised. That was the only option.

That's just so urgh urgh urgh.

It makes me so mad that these bras are designed for women who need a larger cup than the brands that make them offer. It's disgusting.

It's not even a cost thing. Since wearing the right size, I have found bras that fit me for 5 euro in brick and mortar stores, but I simply was never aware they would. Minimisers cost about 40 euro! Women who need a larger band size (like my mother, who is 34FF) can even be catered for in Tescos!

My fitting story:

So I was talking to my aunt, who told me that the back of the bra provided support (unlike the minimiser... my shoulders hurt a lot). She gave me a 32E she had lying around. After that, I purchased a larger size bra in Tescos, 34E, and decided to research into the topic, found the Bra Matrix, measured myself as a 28FF.

Unlike most people who were fitted, I wasn't surprised. I knew my bras were wrong. A 28FF made sense. I had measured 28 inches around my back. Then for cups, I measured 36 (exactly 8 cups up)... FF is the eighth cup.

I remember my first 28FF. I could run. I could wear tops that were tight. My boobs looked like they fit me, not just a blob of boobs stuck to my chest. Now I've grown and I wear a 28GG.

If you're interested in being fitted:

Bra Matrix

A Bra That Fits