'Seven out of ten women wear the wrong bra size and are uncomfortable buying lingerie'

Many women are not aware of the issues caused by wearing the wrong size of bra

KARACHI: Seven out of ten women around the globe wear the wrong bra size, and are not comfortable buying their own lingerie, according to a spokesperson for lingerie brand Triumph Pakistan.

Maliha Bhimjee, spokesperson for Triumph Pakistan, told The Express Tribune, “It is not often the wearer who comes forward to purchase it. It is either a mother, a sister or even men!” The result is that many women end up wearing undergarments that are either too large or too small for them and never get to know what the right size is.

According to Maliha, a bra that is too small constrains the breasts, creating lumps that lead to breast cancer. She added that one that is too small causes the breasts to sag and leads to blood circulation issues. Lingerie stores are equipped with trial rooms where they can be measured for the right size, but Maliha suggests that women do not take advantage of them.

Maliha believes that time and education have a very important role to play in changing mindsets. "In the West, wearability is a strong consideration when it comes to inner garments, but in the East, this is still a relatively new concept,” she said.

She admitted that with time, the situation has improved, but there is still a lot more to be done. According to Maliha, younger women are developing more interest in intimate lingerie and Triumph is due to launch a collection of crop-tops for seven-year-old girls. Its most popular range remains its cotton and fancy lace ranges, while the new T-shirt bra models are gradually gaining favour with young teens.

The Triumph brand started out in Germany in 1886, manufacturing corsets in a small barn. Today, the brand has a strong presence in as many as 120 countries around the world. When Triumph was first launched in Pakistan in 1971, it was only restricted to one cup size, but gradually expanded to include the entire range of sizes.

A selection of the brand's best designs were showcased to selected female journalists in an intimate event on Wednesday.