If you need some help with the fit of bras, let me know. Just make sure that your taking your underbust=band size as a starting part so you get enough support.

You might be interested in these blogs:
http://broodsbigbrasblog.com/
http://branightmares.blogspot.com/
http://fullerfigurefullerbust.wordpress.com/

all of them show the fit of lingerie on plus-sized figures and give a lot of tips on buying lingerie. The author of broodsbigbrasblog actually owns an online store that sells lingerie (of all sizes not just plus-sized) and she models the lingerie so you can see it on a real model, just just someone perfect.

You also might be interested in the Curvy Kate Star in a Bra competition. It takes women of all ages/sizes and the winner gets a one year modelling contract. Right now they're voting on the top 30 and it includes girls from a UK size 8 to UK size 16 (so about a US 4-14 not the widest range but they didn't have a lot of women entering at the higher end). You can see the models all carry their weight differently and they aren't all the standard model figures either (some are short, some are over 30 etc).

But everything is vanity sized so the sizing is really 16 or 18 and up.

I did consider myself plus size at size 14. My BMI was in obese category.

Also check out Ewa Michalak. I LOVE their bras (extremely HIGH quality) AND they use a wide range of models of all shapes and sizes (they just added a new plus-sized model!).

lin were they talking about a UK size 6??? because I'm a size 6, sometimes 4 and is definitely NO model or anything close to it! Don't get my wrong, I'm pretty happy with my body but nobody would pick out my body to be a model.

Ditto. I was about a 10/12 when I entered into overweight from being obese before. I don't have a problem with a 14 being considered plus-sized. That being said I wish they could include 20's+ with the models for plus-sized clothes/lingerie.

Running...I am 148 pounds right now (145-150), size 10. 140 will bring me down to size 8 and "normal" BMI. Right now I don't feel plus size anymore. I totally agree, I wish we were to see (tall) size 20+ or 5' size 16 and up.

Then I'm glad you feel better for the rant. We all have those moments.

A.

I'm not saying that 14 shouldn't be considered plus size; however there IS a difference between a 14R and a 14W. My grandma actually attested to this -- she went to a department store, found an item of clothing she liked but it wasn't in a 14 in the regular section, but it was in a 14 in the Women's section. She tried on the 14W and it was too big. But then again, every woman is built differently. My grandmother is 5'11 and weighs 160lbs, so she's the right weight for her height, but her proportions cause her to be in the double digits instead of the single digits.

Same goes for models, I've always thought. A girl in the modeling world might be a size 14, but how tall is she? I have friends who are in the "obese/overweight" category for their BMI, and they wear 12-14s, but they aren't visibly fat because they're tall, so the weight evens out a bit more. They might BE overweight, but they don't look it. And I think that's what the modeling industry looks for -- as for plus size models, girls who are thicker, but not visibly overweight. I'm not saying that bigger girls can't be sexy or whatever, but it's just a fact of life -- it's gonna be a rare find to have any kind of model with any kind of obvious visible flaw that can't be easily edited out.

I often think this myself! I've lost almost 60 pounds and I still don't look anywhere close to what those girls look like. Granted,I'm shaped completely different. Most of those models,have fat distributed equally throughout their bodies. Where as all of my weight sits at my belly. They don't choose models with belly fat. Bigger thighs are fine,bigger boobs are fine,but belly is not acceptable in the fashion world! I agree with you that they should use real plus sizes women,not just the average women!

Size 12 is the norm in the United States, not in Europe or Asia where people don't deep-fry all their food and where exercise is a part of their normal daily activities...
Don't forget that if you live in a place where the obesity level is up to 35%, your perception of what is "normal" is probably distorted.

I just put on a pair of jeans from Target today, size 12S. (S for short, regular women's sizes). They fit and I have an obese BMI. I tried on a pair of size 12 gap jeans that I had in my closet from five years ago and I cannot even make the sides of the waist meet to try to button them.

My point is that the vanity sizing is what is making this discussion hard. Back when my mom was a young woman, size 14 was considered the hot, sexy size. But that was a very different 14 than the 14 of today.

The OP is right and her points are well made and thoughtful.

I will never understand how a size 8 is considered plus size. There are plus size models who have the bodies that I want to have. I would never want to be a skinny stick, it's just not feminine to me. It's frustrating, I feel it.

People who originate from those places also have smaller bone structures, so even if most of the country dropped the extra poundage, we wouldn't be able to match their size.

I am currently a size 12 and while i'm not stick thin, I do have an athletic build and am fit. I'm just blessed with naturally big hips. So for the fashion industry to say I am considered plus size, is insulting because we aren't all built with a banana shape on a 5 foot frame

I'm in between 5'8" and 5'9". My freshman year in college, I unintentionally dropped to 108 pounds. I was a size 6. Still couldn't button anything smaller over my hip bones. (for the record, 108 is NOT a good look for me. )

Sometimes the whole size discussion makes me want to scream. I hate all the vanity sizing talk because admittedly, it's just depressing. It doesn't matter how much weight I lose, I will never, ever be anything smaller than a 6 in today's sizing. At 130 and 17% body fat, with lots of weight training, I am still lucky if I can squeeze into today's size 8. Which, if we go back to the sizes of yore, translates to a size gigantic. I get it, sizes have crept up. But, selfishly, I'm glad. Otherwise even super healthy me would be in plus sizes forever.

I'm a former plus size model and when I modeled, I was anywhere from a size 14 to a size 16 depending on the cut of the clothing. I still did some work when I moved up to a size 18, but there was some pressure to come back down to a 14 or 12 from my agency, with the help of colonics and saunas before shoots and shows.

Sometimes the industry of plus size can be even more brutal than high fashion, not to mention there are obstacles for plus size models as many designers will look down their nose at producing plus size lines.

In high fashion like in Milan and Paris, sometimes anything above a 4 or 6 is considered plus size, depending on the market, but there have been a lot of legislative changes recently in the fashion industry that is forcing high fashion models to gain weight just to be able to work.

Totally frustrating with photoshopping, but it wouldn't really make sense to not photoshop plus size models, if they photoshop the size -0 models (which is so completely stupid I don't even know where to begin)! It bugs the crap out of me too, cuz my hubby likes bigger girls and comments on how hot models at Torrid are or on an ad. Meanwhile I'm just thinking -- they may be bigger, but they still look PERFECT! Just a curvier version of the skinny models -- no cellulite, stretch marks, etc. Of course it wouldn't matter what size I am -- I'm still always gonna have cellutlite, stretch marks, etc, so I guess it doesn't matter, lol.