s/o Nordstrom bra fitting - VENT

[janegold]

The post below reminded me...Has anyone else been underwhelmed by their Nordstrom fitting experience?

I was fitted at Nordstrom's a couple weeks ago and was a bit disappointed. First, I measure about 30.5 inches around my ribcage. The SA measured me OVER my clothes and came up with 31. And then she tried to put me in a 34 band size. Wtf. She did no double checking of the fit and proceeded to bring me tons of 34s. I finally had to ask her whether the band was actually fitting the way it should. She said I should only be able to pull it out about and inch and the 34 pulled out WAY more than that. The cups were literally gaping on me too. Finally (30 minutes into the fitting and after I begged her to bring smaller sizes), she was like, oh, let's try a 32! I ended up finding a few that I liked, but I was pissed that there was so much trial and error when she didn't bother to actually evaluate the first bra she put on me, and when she gave me a too-large size to begin with based on my measurements. This whole process took about 90 minutes.

I don't know, but I expected more when I was dropping hundreds of dollars at their store for bras. Everyone has raved so much about their bra fittings and I still feel like I ended up basically fitting myself.

[arborgold]

Ugh - that sucks.

Based on your sizing, it sounds like she should have tried you in a 30, as well.

I swear I don't work for this company, but experiences like this are why I always make time in my trips to the city to make it over to Town Shop. The bra snob in me says that if you have to use a measuring tape to determine my size, you're probably not as good as you think you are. I have NEVER seen a measuring tape pulled out at Town Shop. You walk into a private room, the fitter asks you to remove your shirt and bra and turn around, she looks at your back, and determines your band width (crazy, I know, but these women REALLY know what they're doing!). Then you turn around, and she estimates your cup size. And, as crazy as it sounds, they are ALWAYS right. ALWAYS.

I know we send women to Nordstrom because it's often what we think is the best option for them, but I think women might have better luck going to a high end lingerie-only (NOT VS) store to get a better fitting experience.

[janegold]

Damn, I'm going to be really pissed if I just spent $300 on 32s when I should be wearing 30s. I've heard you rave about Town Shop a lot now - I may definitely have to take a trip there soon. I'm in New York fairly often anyway. I also expected her to kind of "evaluate" the size and shape of my breasts more to determine cup size, so I definitely like the fact that they do that at TS. Thanks for the tip!

[misshark122]

Jun 4, 2012 8:48:23 GMT -5 janegold said:

Damn, I'm going to be really pissed if I just spent $300 on 32s when I should be wearing 30s. I've heard you rave about Town Shop a lot now - I may definitely have to take a trip there soon. I'm in New York fairly often anyway. I also expected her to kind of "evaluate" the size and shape of my breasts more to determine cup size, so I definitely like the fact that they do that at TS. Thanks for the tip!

Well there are times when you can wear a different band size, but the cup size will change with it.

[janegold]

Right; I just want to make sure I'm in the proper size overall.

[karebear304]

Jun 4, 2012 9:25:22 GMT -5 @mavjen said:

Sorry for the bad fitting. I had a positive experience, but I zeroed in on an older woman (assumed she had a lot experience and she did when I asked her).

I'd go back and get someone else who really knows what they are doing.

By the way, I was measured on the outside of my bra.

Even for the cup size? I have so much padding in my bras that if they measured me over the cup I'd be a whole different size! (I've never been for a fitting though).

[FormerCityGirl]

I think when I had on something padded the fitter changed me into a non padded style to measure. They really train their people, but there are some who are not as good as others. I do what Mav does and look for older women or women who have a larger chest to fit me. They seem to work out the best. I also try to avoid newer store since I figure they have less experience.

OP, if you aren't happy with the fitting Nordstrom will graciously take them back and give you credit for the right size. I've worn them before for around a month and returned to be fitted again after feeling the fit was off. I've lost a lot of weight and done several fittings there. I've only had one bad experience, but they made good by allowing me to be fitted again and get the proper size without any hassle. I'm sorry you weren't happy, but they will make good when given the chance.

[janegold]

I think I may take 1 or 2 of the bras back. I was also looking for an older woman but they only had young girls in their 20s working the day I went (a weekend, which may have been a mistake).

She didn't even measure me around my bust at all, only my rib cage. She just tried to do trial and error with the cup sizes and tried to tell me that the 32DD looked great, even though the whole top part of the cups were empty. I finally went with a 32D but now that I've worn the bras for about a week, I still feel like there is spare room in there.

Also - I bought all demi cups and they all look more like full coverage on me. Is this a sign that I should be in a smaller cup size?

And arborgold - you convinced me. I'm going to Town Shop next weekend to figure this mess out :-)

Thank you everyone for your help!

[janegold]

Jun 5, 2012 13:40:54 GMT -5 FormerlyRR said:

Best fitting I ever had was years ago. It was an older woman, a rep for a line we carried in the store. There were three different brand reps there and they were comparing fitting techniques. So all three fit me one at a time (in a fitting room so the others didn't know results) and one of hem spanned my back with her hand for the band size, and cupped my breast for the cup size. I was startled, but her method gave me the best fit. And her brand didn't fit me, so she found me some other ones that did fit!

Haha, yes, I kind of wanted some hands-on action! Or at least a bit more "personalized" evaluation like you had. I'm hoping for a good experience at Town Shop.

[arborgold]

Jun 5, 2012 13:51:27 GMT -5 janegold said:

Jun 5, 2012 13:40:54 GMT -5 FormerlyRR said:

Best fitting I ever had was years ago. It was an older woman, a rep for a line we carried in the store. There were three different brand reps there and they were comparing fitting techniques. So all three fit me one at a time (in a fitting room so the others didn't know results) and one of hem spanned my back with her hand for the band size, and cupped my breast for the cup size. I was startled, but her method gave me the best fit. And her brand didn't fit me, so she found me some other ones that did fit!

Haha, yes, I kind of wanted some hands-on action! Or at least a bit more "personalized" evaluation like you had. I'm hoping for a good experience at Town Shop.

You'll definitely get it there. Don't be too shocked if they help you make sure your breasts are fitting into the bra cups "right" by getting a little hands on. There's nothing sexual about it, and you'll leave with fantastically fitted lingerie. Totally worth it.

[Deleted]

I always go to a local shop with more options and they'll even do alterations in store. But I am usually not making recommendations for people in Kansas City, so Nordstroms is next best. We also have a crappy local ship here, so they aren't all equal.