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于“C”，那么你就不能指望自己的文胸有很多的款式，胸部丰满的女性只能买得到那种结实耐用的“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，越来越多的文胸商店开始供应全尺寸的式样迷人的文胸。洛杉矶（Los Angeles）时尚社区银湖区（Silverlake）有一家开张一年的店铺，店名非常地一目了然：“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.

珍妮特文胸店供应适用于各种体形女士的欧洲文胸，顺应了如今的一个大趋势：女性的胸部似乎越来越丰满了。

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.

美国文胸专营店的销售数据显示，大号文胸销量很大（最大的有K罩杯）。市场研究机构NPD Group的调查显示，丰腴型文胸（'full-figure' bra，胸围在40以上，罩杯在DD以上）的销量在2009年上升了3.3%，是文胸整体销量涨幅的3倍。业内人士预计，美国文胸的平均尺寸已经从十年前的36C上升至如今的36DD（有些厂家标为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公司的设计总监罗克珊娜•阿瓦罗斯-丹斯内（Roxana Avalos-Dessner）说，大尺寸文胸如今很受关注。该公司刚刚开展了一次针对“有料”女性的营销活动，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.

这种变化同整形丰胸并无关联。文胸销售商表示，他们的顾客中很少有人是做过丰胸的。原因之一是，人们的体形在变大。肥胖症在美国非常普遍，平均的着装尺寸也在变大。另外，随着人年龄的增长身体会变得松弛。婴儿潮一代如今年纪渐长，开始需要支撑胸部，而在她们年轻的时候也许用不着。

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.

也可能是美国人现在醒悟过来了，意识到能有更适合自己的文胸。不久前，“Mad Men”等一些电视节目令全尺寸文胸流行开来──或许促使一些拥有傲人胸部的女性将目光投向了大众零售商那些没多少尺寸可选的均码文胸之外。欧普拉(Oprah)在几期节目中讨论过文胸尺寸问题，令苏珊•内瑟罗(Susan Nethero)迅速走红，内瑟罗号称“文胸呵护者”，在全美开有九家内衣店，售卖的文胸罩杯从A到K，包括运动文胸和哺乳文胸。

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，美国生产的大罩杯文胸多数都是针对那些体形也丰腴的女性。那些体形瘦削、胸部丰满的女性就没有多少选择了。

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.

有些消息灵通的女士会跑到伦敦去买合意的文胸，比如Rigby & Peller内衣店，据说伊丽莎白女王和Lady Gaga都是他们的客户。British Bravissimo内衣连锁店甚至有KK罩杯的文胸。一直以来，欧洲文胸的尺寸都比美国文胸要丰富。

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.

不过最近以来，美国的零售商也开始有所反应了。Bare Necessities and Bra Smyth网站上有一个特殊的分类，供应“DD+”文胸，其中有一款名为“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过50美元，通常是接近100美元的价格。为什么会这么贵呢？文胸所体现的工程学原理堪与吊桥相比。钢圈、肩带等工程学构造将胸部的重量平均分布于文胸的下扒。

Playtex公司的阿瓦罗斯-丹斯内说，文胸有提升和支撑的作用，需要平均分配重量。设计文胸就是挑战重力作用。

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个着力点。接缝线起到支撑应力点和塑形的作用。撑条保证腋下的部位不会起皱。罩杯顶部的弹力花边看似只是一种点缀，实则也是有其实际功用的：当胸部的尺寸与文胸大小不是完全一致时，有了这个花边，看起来也会比较合身。肩带不会直接承受胸部的重量，不过必须跟下扒紧密相连，以分散下扒对身体的压力。

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.

因为有了这些工程学设计，文胸商家都建议文胸要手洗。即便是放到内衣清洗袋中，机用洗涤剂也会对蕾丝、松紧带和其他一些材料产生影响。珍妮特文胸店店主珍妮特•戈尔茨坦（Jenette Goldstein）说，一副好的文胸应当有至少两年的寿命。

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.

戈尔茨坦是一位演员，曾出演过《异形》（Alien）、《泰坦尼克号》（Titanic）等影片。她说自己以前想买尺寸合适的文胸都得费很大的劲。她原先以为自己是36DD，后来发现其实是32G，再后来就开了这家店。她还专程去伦敦接受了培训，她相信像自己这种情况的女性肯定有很多。

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.'

如果一位胸围32英寸的女士买了36英寸的文胸，文胸就会老往上跑，导致胸部下垂。戈尔茨坦说，“这就像一个跷跷板，你把肩带弄得越紧，文胸就越爱往上跑。”

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.

顾客埃琳娜•艾特萨蒂（Elena Eghtesady）说，自己是在消费参考网站Yelp上发现詹尼特内衣店的。她说自己老是买不着合适的文胸，真的很烦；以前都不知道自己穿的文胸尺寸都不对。如今她已经知道了自己的真实尺寸是36E。上周她又来珍妮特内衣店给她母亲买了一个新文胸。