Style Active Clothing Bras and Undies

Oh, Snap: This Bra With a Waitlist of 1.3 Million Proves Inclusivity Is in Demand

Tamim Alnuweiri

June 15, 2018

Thumbnail for Oh, snap: This bra with a waitlist of 1.3 million proves inclusivity is in demand

Pin It

Photo: ThirdLove

The endless pursuit of finding a bra you like can make you feel a bit like Goldilocks: You try on seemingly all the options before settling on one that's just right (or rather, as close as you can get). This is especially true if you're carrying around boobs on the larger end of the spectrum. Thankfully, as both retailers and customers continue to move toward body positivity and acceptance, brands have begun making huge strides regarding inclusive sizing. Most recently, underwear company ThirdLove, which first won over customers with its novel approach to half-sizes, massively expanded the sizing options for its best-selling bra.

ThirdLove has expanded its popular Classic Perfect Coverage bra by 24 sizes, meaning it now offers band sizes up to 48 and cups sizes up to H, for a total of 70 sizes.

In an industry-pioneering move, ThirdLove has expanded its popular 24/7 Perfect Coverage bra by 24 sizes, meaning it now offers band sizes up to 48 and cups sizes up to H, the brand shared in an emailed press release. Even better, the bra will remain at $68 for all sizes, despite costing an average of 45 percent more to manufacture the larger ones. Currently, just the one bra is available in the fully inclusive sizes, but co-CEO and co-founder Heidi Zak says the company plans to spread the love to its other styles.

With this notable expansion, ThirdLove now carries 70 sizes—almost twice as many as the industry standard of fewer than 40 sizes. In comparison, Victoria's Secret offers 36 sizes, Aerie sells 31, and Calvin Klein just 26, according to the brand. And the move is already paying off for the company: A staggering 1.3 million people are on the waitlist for the bra.

That popularity isn't totally surprising, though, considering that the average American woman wears a 34E bra, Fast Company notes, and many are vastly underserved in the bra market. "Speaking to women who told me that our company didn’t make a bra for them was painful to hear. Women were right to be upset that we didn't carry their size," Zak says in the press release, adding that ThirdLove hopes the expansion mirrors its mission "to have a bra for every woman, to help every woman feel confident every day of her life."

The best case scenario is that other fashion retail companies will also realize how financially lucrative it is to make and sell clothes that reflect the actual sizes of the female population, such as Knix's sports bra for DD-cups and Asos' line of inclusive activewear.

If you're large-chested, you can still find a bralette that is supportive—just make sure you're washing it often enough.