雙語閱讀:豐滿女士的福音(圖)

Once, if your bra size was deeper into the alphabet than 'C,' you couldn't expect much style in your bra. Busty women were presented with sturdy 'grandma'-looking contraptions.

以前，如果你的文胸罩杯尺寸大於“C”，那麼你就不能指望自己的文胸有很多的款式，胸部豐滿的女性只能買得到那種結實耐用的“老奶奶”型文胸。

Now, more retailers are looking to offer attractive bras in all sizes. The name of a year-old shop in Los Angeles's hip Silverlake neighborhood says it all: 'Jenette's Bras: The Alphabet Starts at D.'

如今，越來越多的文胸商店開始供應全尺寸的式樣迷人的文胸。洛杉磯（Los Angeles）時尚社區銀湖區（Silverlake）有一家開張一年的店鋪，店名非常地一目瞭然：“珍妮特文胸：D罩杯以上”（Jenette's Bras: The Alphabet Starts at D）。

By selling European brassieres that are designed to flatter a wide variety of figures, Jenette's Bras is responding to a broader change: Women's chests appear to be getting bigger these days.

珍妮特文胸店供應適用於各種體形女士的歐洲文胸，順應瞭如今的一個大趨勢：女性的胸部似乎越來越豐滿了。

Specialty bra stores in the U.S. report brisk sales of large sizes up to a K cup. Sales of 'full-figure' bras -- those with a band size of 40 or larger or a cup size that is DD or larger -- rose 3.3% in 2009 -- three times the rate of bra sales overall, according to NPD Group. People in the bra industry estimate that the average bra size in the U.S. has grown to a 36DD (also known as a 36E under some bra makers' sizing systems), up from a 36C a decade ago.

美國文胸專營店的銷售數據顯示，大號文胸銷量很大（最大的有K罩杯）。市場研究機構NPD Group的調查顯示，豐腴型文胸（'full-figure' bra，胸圍在40以上，罩杯在DD以上）的銷量在2009年上升了3.3%，是文胸整體銷量漲幅的3倍。業內人士預計，美國文胸的平均尺寸已經從十年前的36C上升至如今的36DD（有些廠家標爲36E）。

'There's huge interest in larger-sized bras,' says Roxana Avalos-Dessner, Playtex's director of design. The bra maker just launched a marketing campaign that features 'real-sized' women, including some with large cup sizes.

Playtex公司的設計總監羅克珊娜•阿瓦羅斯-丹斯內（Roxana Avalos-Dessner）說，大尺寸文胸如今很受關注。該公司剛剛開展了一次針對“有料”女性的營銷活動，包括那些罩杯尺寸很大的女性。

The reason for the size change is not, in fact, cosmetic augmentation. Bra sellers say few of their clients are unnaturally endowed. Among other factors, people's bodies as a whole are getting bigger. Obesity is epidemic in the U.S., and the average clothing size is expanding as well. Moreover, older bodies tend to sag. As the baby boomers age, they need support they may have dispensed with in their youth.

這種變化同整形豐胸並無關聯。文胸銷售商表示，他們的顧客中很少有人是做過豐胸的。原因之一是，人們的體形在變大。肥胖症在美國非常普遍，平均的着裝尺寸也在變大。另外，隨着人年齡的增長身體會變得鬆弛。嬰兒潮一代如今年紀漸長，開始需要支撐胸部，而在她們年輕的時候也許用不着。

It may also be that Americans are wising up, realizing they can get a better fit. Recently, television shows like 'Mad Men' have popularized fuller figures-- perhaps encouraging some curvy women to look beyond the few-sizes-fit-all fit of mass retailers' bras. Oprah, who has devoted a couple of her TV shows to bra-fitting, has helped make a star of Susan Nethero, who is known as the 'bra whisperer' and owns nine Intimacy stores around the country that carry sizes A to K, including sports and nursing bras.

也可能是美國人現在醒悟過來了，意識到能有更適合自己的文胸。不久前，“Mad Men”等一些電視節目令全尺寸文胸流行開來──或許促使一些擁有傲人胸部的女性將目光投向了大衆零售商那些沒多少尺寸可選的均碼文胸之外。歐普拉(Oprah)在幾期節目中討論過文胸尺寸問題，令蘇珊•內瑟羅(Susan Nethero)迅速走紅，內瑟羅號稱“文胸呵護者”，在全美開有九家內衣店，售賣的文胸罩杯從A到K，包括運動文胸和哺乳文胸。

Until recently, most American bras that came in large cup sizes were made for women with large torsos. This left women who had narrow torsos with few alternatives.

直到最近，美國生產的大罩杯文胸多數都是針對那些體形也豐腴的女性。那些體形瘦削、胸部豐滿的女性就沒有多少選擇了。

Some in-the-know women traveled as far as London lingerie stores like Rigby & Peller, whose clients are said to include both Queen Elizabeth and Lady Gaga. The British Bravissimo lingerie chain carries bras up to cup size KK. European sizing systems have long accommodated more variety than the U.S.

有些消息靈通的女士會跑到倫敦去買合意的文胸，比如Rigby & Peller內衣店，據說伊麗莎白女王和Lady Gaga都是他們的客戶。British Bravissimo內衣連鎖店甚至有KK罩杯的文胸。一直以來，歐洲文胸的尺寸都比美國文胸要豐富。

But now, U.S. retailers are responding. Bare Necessities and Bra Smyth offer special sections on their websites for 'DD+' bras. One Bare Necessities bra called 'The Goddess' is offered in an L cup.

不過最近以來，美國的零售商也開始有所反應了。Bare Necessities and Bra Smyth網站上有一個特殊的分類，供應“DD+”文胸，其中有一款名爲“女神”的文胸有L罩杯的尺寸。

A well-made bra tends to cost more than $50 and often closer to $100. Why so much? Bras are engineering challenges that have been compared in the industry to suspension bridges. In a bra, the wires, straps and other engineering features redistribute the weight in the bra to the band around the torso.

一副做工精良的文胸一般都要超過50美元，通常是接近100美元的價格。爲什麼會這麼貴呢？文胸所體現的工程學原理堪與吊橋相比。鋼圈、肩帶等工程學構造將胸部的重量平均分佈於文胸的下扒。

'There's lift, support, and managing the distribution of weight,' says Ms. Avalos-Dessner of Playtex. 'As we design a bra, we challenge the forces of gravity.'

Playtex公司的阿瓦羅斯-丹斯內說，文胸有提升和支撐的作用，需要平均分配重量。設計文胸就是挑戰重力作用。

Good bras can have more than two dozen working parts. Seams support stress points and create shape. Rigid stays prevent the fabric under the arm from crumpling. Stretch lace at the top of the cup looks decorative, but it has a function as well: It ensures a smooth fit even when a woman's breasts aren't exactly the same size. The straps don't actually support the weight in a bra, but they do need to be firmly anchored into the band to distribute tension.

一副好的文胸有二十多個着力點。接縫線起到支撐應力點和塑形的作用。撐條保證腋下的部位不會起皺。罩杯頂部的彈力花邊看似只是一種點綴，實則也是有其實際功用的：當胸部的尺寸與文胸大小不是完全一致時，有了這個花邊，看起來也會比較合身。肩帶不會直接承受胸部的重量，不過必須跟下扒緊密相連，以分散下扒對身體的壓力。

All that engineering is the reason that most lingerie stores advise washing bras by hand. Even putting bras in a lingerie bag won't protect them against machine detergents, which take the life out of lace, elastic and other materials. A good bra should last for at least two years, says Jenette Goldstein, owner of the Jenette Bras shop.

因爲有了這些工程學設計，文胸商家都建議文胸要手洗。即便是放到內衣清洗袋中，機用洗滌劑也會對蕾絲、鬆緊帶和其他一些材料產生影響。珍妮特文胸店店主珍妮特•戈爾茨坦（Jenette Goldstein）說，一副好的文胸應當有至少兩年的壽命。

Ms. Goldstein, an actress who has appeared in films from 'Alien' to 'Titanic,' says she struggled to find a bra that fit well for most of her life. She opened the shop after discovering she wasn't the 36DD she thought she was. She turned out to be a 32G. She went to London to be trained in fitting, believing there were probably a lot of women like her.

戈爾茨坦是一位演員，曾出演過《異形》（Alien）、《泰坦尼克號》（Titanic）等影片。她說自己以前想買尺寸合適的文胸都得費很大的勁。她原先以爲自己是36DD，後來發現其實是32G，再後來就開了這家店。她還專程去倫敦接受了培訓，她相信像自己這種情況的女性肯定有很多。

When a woman with a chest circumference of 32 inches buys a 36-inch bra, the band often rides up in back, leading to sagging in front. 'It's the see-saw effect,' says Ms. Goldstein. 'The more you crank the straps, the more it pulls up in back.'

如果一位胸圍32英寸的女士買了36英寸的文胸，文胸就會老往上跑，導致胸部下垂。戈爾茨坦說，“這就像一個蹺蹺板，你把肩帶弄得越緊，文胸就越愛往上跑。”

Customer Elena Eghtesady says she found Jenette's Bras on the consumer-reference website Yelp. 'I got so disgusted with not finding the right bra,' she says. 'I didn't even know I was wearing the wrong size.' Having found out she is a 36E, she returned to the shop last week to help her mother buy a new bra.

顧客埃琳娜•艾特薩蒂（Elena Eghtesady）說，自己是在消費參考網站Yelp上發現詹尼特內衣店的。她說自己老是買不着合適的文胸，真的很煩；以前都不知道自己穿的文胸尺寸都不對。如今她已經知道了自己的真實尺寸是36E。上週她又來珍妮特內衣店給她母親買了一個新文胸。