As you may know I live in a small town in the middle of Finland called Oulu. We have a decent city centre with a few clothing stores (basicly all are Swedish chains) and a couple of department stores. As you also may know, lingerie shopping in Finland is quite a task since Change is considered as a “speciality store” and anything above D cup is huge. Or so many of us seem to think.
To most Finns lingerie shopping is a task that is done in those Swedish chains eg. H&M and Gina Tricot which offer sizes up to D cup, some even to F (ahem, Lindex). We do not have Bravissimo with affordable cute offerings, we do not encourage women to enhance their curves. This is somewhat depressing as women in Finland do have boobs, a whole lotta boob actually compared to our Swedish sisters, not to mention other Europian nations such as The French. Still, we get stuffed to our D-cups, just increasing the band volume when spilling out.
I have always LOVED British high street, ever since I was 12 and travelled to London first time in my life. Suddenly I just fit in. When it comes to Ireland, things were as sweet as in their neighbour unless the minor fault of the lack of Bravissimo. I was thrilled to go and shop at Marks & Spencer and actually find my size in several different styles. To you my British readers it’s not that groundbreaking, at least when you’re something between D-G, but to me it was a discovery of a whole new world. I mean, bras for 16 quids! Suddenly I had bought three sets with a money that I would pay one set for in Finland.
When it comes to bra fitting department stores are not the best places to get fitted though and it’s something you must keep in mind when shopping for a new size the first time. Customer service was practically non-existent so I recommend warmly fitting yourself before going for the high street. These “fitting experts” can easily just ignore you or have a “different” perception on fitting so save your nerves and get some useful information first.
The sizing can be a bit different to brands like Freya or Panache so prepare to go up a cup size and sometimes down a band size depending on where you’re shopping. I noticed that Debenhams bras usually run true-to-size but some of their bras definitely are quite loose on the band. That is a pitty since they don’t carry 28 backs which would be a huge advantage to their business. Marks & Spencer bras on the other hand run small over-all. The 30 backs we’re quite tight and I would definitely go up a cup size when trying them on. I opted for a 30G on them instead of my usual 30FF. 
Bra in 30FF by Debenhams, 22 € on sale 
Bra in 30G by Marks & Spencer, 16 €
The construction of the bras is very simple, just a basic moulded cup with no seams. Some of you may not like it but for me these bras fit really well due to their great wire width. The wires are quite wide so I would recommend this to someone with wide roots. However I would never ever buy bras from these department stores online since the fit was a bit of a gamble and especially some of the M&S bras had a weird construction in balconette styles which bugged me a LOT since they had so many cute affordable styles available.
Lookswise British high street has a great selection of young and cute styles but boy, have you seen the ones for A to DD cups? They killed me by being soooo cute and quirky. I would have died for some of those styles in my size. So this is a bra doctor’s order: girl with a A-DD bust, go to Debenhams. If you are DD+ girl you will also have a great selection of cute styles but they are still a bit limited to those moulded cups since I couldn’t find any young and classy styles on seamless options.
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This is a bit off-topic but since I got something extra for you my lovely readers, I won’t pass this opportunity. Creme Bralee has offered you a 20% discount code that is valid on their website until 30th of June and it does not require a minimum purchase. 1 code / customer. I think they have some lovely styles with very good prices so go and check their website out if you find something you like. Unfortunately I’m out their size range of 32-46 A-G (US) but take advantage of the offer if you fit in! Creme Bralee discount code: CBLAUNCH20
2COP’s pick of the collection: Colette
I am so mad that when I was in Scotland for a whole 10 days last summer, I was still in my pre bra awareness days. I literally walked past Bravissimo and didn’t even blink. Well, I was already wearing much better size that I was fitted into in a Change store in Toronto, but I didn’t know anything about UK brands and UK being a big bust Mecca of the Western world. I was still not quite happy with my bras, as I think I grew about a cup since getting fitted.
Good job I have a Scottish husband so we are bound to travel to UK again within a year or two. His parents live near Glasgow, and I will likely set aside a day just to go there and visit Bravissimo store! I will probably need to purchase an extra luggage piece just to bring back all the stuff I am planning to buy there. 🙂
Reeeally?!! Me too! I was in Edinbourgh and Glasgow about two years ago and had no idea Bravissimo even existed. So sad..You’re so lucky to have a Scottish hubby, man out there are GORGEOUS 🙂