Bra-buying in Berlin for Beginners

August 19, 2012 3:26 PM

Where should I go in Berlin to buy good bras? What are the good European brands that can accommodate a plus size, busty gal (I think my Euro size is ~85E)? I've recently moved here from the U.S., where I know how to do all this. I'm prepared to spend some money for quality. I don't think I need a fitting, but I need to know where to go and what brands to look for. And what's bra buying etiquette here, i.e., can I try them on in the store? I don't want to do it wrong! Those Karstadt shop ladies can be really bitchy, and I don't want to get yelled at.
posted by anonymous to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

If you have trouble finding stuff in Berlin, I order my bras from brastop.com, which is in the UK and ships worldwide afaik (I'm in Tennessee and they ship here, so I assume they ship to Germany).
posted by joannemerriam at 4:20 PM on August 19, 2012

I'm in the US but mostly wear UK bras because theree are lots of styles in sizes extend well into the alphabet. My favorite brands are Fantasie and Elomi. Any brand can have inconsistent sizing among its styles, so just look for a nice snug band and use the cup letter as a rough guide.
posted by wryly at 4:40 PM on August 19, 2012

Seconding Elomi's plus size bras. They're comfortable, pretty, well-engineered, and surprisingly durable (I've been washing mine in the actual goddamn machine, treatment that no other bra I've ever owned would stand up to).
posted by hot soup girl at 4:48 PM on August 19, 2012

I like Rosa Faia (which is one of Anita's subbrands.) Their Twin and Twin Firm bras are awesome! (their F is closer to a British E so you would probably need to go up a size.) There's a store locator on their site.
posted by vespabelle at 5:18 PM on August 19, 2012

Mrs abbagoochie says:

'Ok, so this bra size converting website tells me you're a UK 38DD. That's not so out of the ordinary in England (I'm a 34DD/E and you probably couldn't skip out of Topshop/H&M clutching bras but we're very well catered for, so I suggest ordering online). My favourite is Bravissimo which does sizes D - L and stocks Freya underwear which is very pretty.

My other go-to is Simply Gok Wan that stocks bands 30-46 in A-G cups. It is really amazingly un-matronly too. Sorry I don't have any experience of smalls-shopping in Berlin though, hope this helps.'
posted by abbagoochie at 11:17 PM on August 19, 2012

Not a Berliner, but a German: Yes, you can (and should) absolutely try on bras in the store! Depending on the place, don't be surprised if a little old lady squeezes into the changing room with you to check if everything's in the right place...

Popular brands for larger sizes are Freya and Panache (both more towards the high end). A lot of bra-fitted women actually order their bras from the UK (the above-mentioned Brastop and Bravissimo) as they have a lot more sizes for a much better price, usually.

For a budget option, you might want to look at Hunkemöller (several stores in Berlin). Or do what I do: find a nice bra from Felina that fits and then look for the model on their Ebay outlet store (just google for "Felina direkt") for a fraction of the price.

I don't know how good your German is, but "Busenfreundinnen.net" is a large and very competent bra-fitting forum and they have reviews for a number of places in Berlin.
posted by Skybly at 2:08 AM on August 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Go back to visit NYC and go to Bra Smyth, which can fit you perfectly and even make up what you need specially. They can probably recommend a good places in Berlin.
posted by KRS at 8:17 AM on August 20, 2012