(Bracketed notes and strike-throughs added March 19, 2012.)

I had such good luck finding Andrea [my original 34E fit model] through Craigslist that I thought I’d post an ad for an H-cup model. These responses made me smile:

“Hello, I saw your ad on craigslist, and I’m interested. The one thing I’m confused about is that you listed looking for an H cup? I’m hoping that that means B, since b is under h on the keyboard. If you meant H, then I am out of the running. If you meant B, I’m very interested.”

“I wondered when I saw the post–are you actually looking for a H cup or do you mean a B cup.”

“I may not ideally fit your measurements but I don’t know if a H Cup even exists ;).”

Needless to say, I’m still searching.

We large-breasted women get used to people’s surprise at our measurements. That’s why Bravissimo, Bratique Helene Carissa Rose (a company whose shirts I’ll be reviewing soon) and Red Violet Campbell & Kate are so important. By providing beautiful products that fit, we offer, at the very least, a path to self acceptance, and at our highest level, a path to self appreciation. Two stories I heard this past week made me realize this need more than ever.

First, there’s the manager of my original patternmaker. She asked if she could take a good look at Andrea because she had never seen anyone her size before. She also said that she has a friend who, when she was fitted for a bra recently, was told she was “sister size” and that she’s always telling that friend to lose some weight. It’s an uphill battle to self-acceptance when your own friends blame your breast size on what you eat.

The second story is a little sadder. In the restroom of my mother’s church in Florida a year or so ago, a woman I’ll call “Judy” complained that she could never find anything to fit her large bust. Even though she’s slim (or has a “darling figure”, as my mother would say), she was unhappy with her body. My mother called her this week to tell her about my blog, but Judy wasn’t interested because she has decided to get breast reduction surgery.

Stories like these make me want to move faster to fill this sizing niche. We full-breasted women don’t need to lose weight or have surgery to get beautiful bodies. We simply need clothing to fit the beautiful bodies we already have.