I’m in a foul mood today. Why? Well because I happened to stumble upon a Parfait by Affinitas bra on Modcloth.com, and Modcloth totally bungled it.
I already have a love-hate relationship with Modcloth, but it leans more and more toward hate the longer I browse the site. First, it really annoys me that they don’t list the real brands or names of the items they sell. For example, the bra in question is the Parfait by Affinitas “Charlotte” in peach, but Modcloth just calls it the “Dressing Parlor Demi Bra.” The red version they call “At Your Armoire Balconette Bra.”
Worse, they often bump the price of those same items up higher than the suggested retail price. But since they don’t list the brand, you can’t search the internet for it to compare prices. The “Blueberry Buckle” dress is on my wishlist, but it’s $94.99. Way too much money. I found the original, made by Hell Bunny, for about $64. Why does Modcloth charge $30 more?
Anyways, back to the bra…
Look at the sizes Modcloth offers. The only 30 band is 30D. The only 32 or 34 is D and DD. Where are E, F, FF, and G? I feel that this is emblematic of American stores that sell bras available in small bands with large cups: the stores so often don’t offer the full size range. They seem to think that such sizes simply don’t exist, or that their customers won’t buy them. I think this is a huge contributing factor to the feeling young women often have of being “freaks” for not fitting into “normal” size bras, not to mention the fact that the majority of American women are wearing the wrong size. Even the manufacturers who make the fringe sizes can’t get the items into stores.
If Modcloth wanted not to offer small bands with large cups, then why bother with Parfait by Affinitas bras at all? Stick with the regular Affinitas line!
The sizing instructions are also just terrible. It says this bra runs true to size, but that is simply not true. Parfait bras run a band and a cup size small. Even the reviews on Modcloth attest to this. Further, Modcloth notes that this bra uses UK sizing, but nowhere do they tell you the difference between US and UK sizes. One of the reviews even states that US and UK sizes are the same, which is patently untrue!
Additionally, for whatever reason, 36 and 38 go from DD to F, but 40 goes DD to E to F. What happened to 36 and 38E? And look at this worthless size chart:
It doesn’t even list all the sizes Modcloth offers. Or worse, the chart from the “Additional Sizes” listing of the same bra:
What does that even mean? Your bust measurement dictates your band and your cup? What the what?? According to the first chart, I’m a 36D and 36DD; on the second I’m 36E, 36F, 36FF, and 36G all at the same time! For someone unsure of their size and lacking proper bra-fitting and UK size knowledge, selecting a size from Modcloth would be little more than a guessing game.
And worst of all, Modcloth does not allow me to share my knowledge of this item. I’ve tried leaving reviews before on things I had happened to purchase elsewhere before seeing them on Modcloth, and they took my review down and sent me a message saying only people who’ve purchased it directly from their site can write a review.
I wrote an angry letter to Modcloth briefly outlining everything I wrote here (though with a slightly more cordial tone). I’ll update if they respond.
Ugh! I’ve looked through Modcloth often but never purchased anything from them (a lot of the stuff is pretty expensive! and so frustrating how they will leave things listed long after they’re sold out)…this definitely turns me off to ever purchasing from them!!
As someone who shops a lot at Modcloth (although I had no idea they did lingerie) I’m bothered by some of the same things. I really love the stuff I get from Modcloth but I don’t think their system is fair to the designers. I get why they do it and I can’t really blame them for wanting to make more money and to not highlight the competition, but still. That said, I think they’re one of the best sources for affordable and decent quality dresses online for busty women so I’ll keep buying anyway.
At first when I started reading this, I optimistically thought “Perhaps they are only selling what they have in stock now and will get the rest of the sizes in another shipment.” Because after years of reading blogs like yours that’s now how my mind works: sizes just don’t stop at DD. Then I read about their naming, pricing, size chart and review policy and can only say… um… what???
Whaaat, are they even allowed to not “give credit” to where the bra is from?
And nothing bugs me more, than to see bras that I know come in a bigger size-range, and then only sold in the same limited range as other bras. Why bother with those bras then, if they are not going to take advantage of the pros?
A local store here, stocks Freya and Fantasie, but only in D-F and sometimes FF… Why?! They won’t even order bigger when I ask! That makes me more mad, than if they simply stocked brands that stopped at FF… I feel like they are not deserving of selling those brands if they aren’t as dedicated to providing the full range as the brand is!