Sexy support at Silk

Yes, it’s a problem some women do have to deal with, and no it’s not as good as it sounds.

Lauren Kilmartin, owner of lingerie shop Silk By Lauren in Chorley Old Road, Bolton, realised there was a demand for such difficult sizes.

She brought in Curvy Kate. The range comes in back sizes 28-40 inches and from DD-H cups. What’s more it is reasonably priced with bras at £28 and briefs at £14.

Lauren said: “In the current climate I didn’t want to spend money on trial products but the demand was there.

“I saw the range at the Harrogate Lingerie Show and I was pleased with it. We believe that fitted bras work — there is a tremendous amount of repeat business and a huge satisfaction that we are doing our job.”

The range has certainly stood up to the test. A dozen different brands were tried by industry magazine Lingerie Buyer and Curvy Kate came out on top in terms of fit, functionality and style. The range comes in black, white and nude, but more excitingly, pretty colours such as blues, lime green, grey and pink.

So we got sales support worker at The Bolton News, Helen Cafferty (who wears a 30F size bra), to give the range a try. She said: “They are really nice and colourful. A bit different. There are not that many places to go to fit my size, I usually go to Marks and Spencer or Debenhams. But, it’s only the last couple of years I’ve been wearing the correct size bra. I used to not bother with sizes”

Helen, aged 26, said she was always blessed with her boobs, something most women would be envious of. She said: “You just don’t get as much variety. Now I’ve got more choice and I may as well go to Lauren as you get better service. The bras are about the same price I would normally pay.”

It’s not just Helen who is happy with the range. Her husband Jamie loves it too. Helen said: “He really likes the blue set as I don’t usually wear colourful sets. We thought boys might like the grey set as it’s frilly, but he likes the blue.”

Lauren said women wearing the wrong size bra isn’t the biggest problem in Bolton. She said: “The worst is when some women who don’t like the wires in their bras, just take them out themselves.

There are plenty of non-wired bras on the market.

“When women come in to be measured they usually know there is something wrong — they have that four boob look. The whole point of coming to an independent shop is for professional advice and unbiased information. I believe that when you’re fitted properly it will fit better and make the silhouette better.”

And Helen agrees: “They just give you more support and look really nice. I will be going back and will be telling my friends.”