Where Are the Plus-Size Bras?

Sizes above 38DD are hard to make, but we could soon see 52N

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted May 7, 2010 11:58 AM CDT

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Why Don’t More Designers Make Plus-size Bras? -- The Cut — A model walks down the runway February 5, 2001 at the Lane Bryant fashion show at Studio 54 in New York City. (Getty Images)

With American women’s breasts getting bigger and bigger, one has to wonder where the plus-size bra section at your local Target is. You’ll be hard pressed to find bras larger than 38DD (though the national average is 36DD) at most retailers, which is “totally crazy,” one design director tells New York. Stocking only sizes 32 to 38 “leaves out two-thirds of the population.”

So why the dearth of DDDs? Mostly because they’re a risky, and time-consuming, proposition. One company spends up to 2 years developing a 44H bra—which must support two 12-pound breasts. It pays off for some, but Frederick’s of Hollywood's president still calls it “a big risk.” Even so, sizes keep rising: The design director has heard talk of 52M and 52N.
(More underwear stories.)

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