Although women have been wearing bras for a century, many are still not wearing the right bra size. A recent survey of more than 1,000 women by British lingerie firm Bravissimo to mark the bra's 100th anniversary revealed that four in five women were wearing the wrong size.

Women here, too, are caught in the same booby trap.

Six bra retailers that Urban spoke to say up to 70 per cent of their customers wear the wrong bra size.

In an e-mail interview with Urban, Ms Laura Loh, trainer of Wacoal Singapore, says more than half of its first-time customers do not wear the correct size. This is usually found out by the beauty advisers of the Japanese lingerie label during fitting sessions, she adds.

Ms Cherlyn Lim, retail executive of Malaysian lingerie brand Xixili, which is exclusive to Tangs, estimates that seven out of every 10 customers are wearing the wrong bra size.

The lingerie labels say this is mainly because women tend to stick to the same sizes and are unaware that the size of their breasts often change over the years due to reasons such as weight loss or gain, pregnancy and hormonal changes.

Triumph Singapore and Sorella Singapore hold regular workshops for customers to educate them on bra-fitting measurements.

Ms Sharon Poh, assistant manager of advertising and promotions at Triumph Singapore, says: "Ideally, we recommend women get themselves measured every six months because of body changes. You may slim down or get pregnant, which will result in changes in your body shape and breasts."

But women here tend to be more conservative and may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about asking for a personalised fitting.

Sorella Singapore's product trainer, Ms Fiona Chen, says: "Customers are usually receptive when we explain to them the necessity of being fitted for at least the first time so they will know how to buy the correct bra in the future."

Read the full story here.

Click on the thumbnails for 6 tell-tale signs your bra is not right for you.

(File photos: ST, Berlei)

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