Friday 14 August 2009

Where are the boob-friendly brands?

The end of season sale catalogue arrived from Evans the other day and I've been drooling.

From the £2,300 Pinarello to the £15 C02 pump, I want it all. Mr Weenie rolled his eyes when he came home to me reading it as he'd been wondering when I'd spot it. He encouraged me to get the jersey I wanted though.

I haven't got any real jerseys so I bought one. Shockingly though I'm an XL in Pearl Izumi tops. I'm a size 14 and a bit top heavy so I was a little offended that it was classed as an XL. Luckily I checked the sizing chart supplied on the Evans website, ironically because I was unsure whether to get a medium or a large. I have a pair of Pearl Izumi arm warmers. I bought a large and they're quite tight but I thought that was just to keep them on, apparently not.

A size 16 woman would be classed as XXL and they're not listed any bigger than this on the site. In fact, I know from experience that finding anything above a size 16 can be very difficult. At my heaviest I was a tight 16 but my boobs were an issue in most brands, particularly cycle gear. Now that I've lost weight it's less of a problem but I still find it disappointing.

Surely women who want to lose weight should be catered for in sports clothing, including cycling. Apparently you can order bigger stuff from the states but why should we have to. I love the jersey I've bought as it's quite stylish and that's unusual and it was on sale but I'd think twice about the brand in the future.

5 comments:

  1. It's white but with pink and brown detailing and mid-bicep sleeves (far more flattering than cap sleeve!)

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  2. LOL at your post title! Sadly, fitting my boobs into clothing has never been an issue for me, but if it's any consolation Pearl Izumi runs small(ish) in the States too. I ordered a jacket from them on clearance that was one size bigger than what I usually wear (which was not available). Was worried it'd be way too big, but it was only a bit long in the arms.

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  3. Astonishingly, I was able to fit into a pair of Pearl Izumi bike shorts
    (I love that they pretend I have a waist)

    I'll just have to face facts that it'll be a good year or two before I'm ever in a jersey!

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  4. Pearl Izumi are notoriously small-fitting. I'm almost always a "small" in cycling stuff but a medium in Pearl Izumi. It comes up short, too (and I say this as a shortie myself - on an averagely tall person, their jerseys would be crop tops.)

    I heartily recommend Northwave as a boob-friendly brand. Also bum-friendly and thigh-friendly.

    And I don't want to hurt your bank account but I notice that Minx-Girl.com are having a sale...

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