The Right Fit
Photo Credit: Glamour
Bras.
It feels awkward to blog about bras, but I owe it to the bra-wearing women of the world to share my experience.
If you get nothing else from this post ladies, get this: Get properly fitted for a bra. It matters.
Note: not just fitted. Properly fitted.
So six years ago I was fitted for a strapless bra at JCPenney. I was in a wedding, and the bridesmaids dresses were strapless. I had just had a baby five months before, so being measured to make sure I got the right size sounded like a good idea.
Well, I didn’t get a proper fit. The lady measured me, told me the size I needed and got me that size. When I told her it just didn’t feel right, she stood her ground that it was the right size because she measured me.
Ok, fine, I bought the bra.
Since then I’ve guessed at my bra size, sometimes finding an ok fit but never finding anything great. They were all just good enough; they got the job done but that was about it.
Awhile ago, I commented to a friend that she looked great, like she’d lost a lot of weight. No, that wasn’t it, she said; she’d just been fitted for a new bra. The new bra had better lift causing her tummy area to look slimmer.
She was fitted at Victoria’s Secret. Honestly: I’ve never had any luck there finding anything that fits. I’d almost resolved to go there anyhow for a fitting when another friend told me about Soma (which for those in Huntsville, is at Bridge Street). The big difference between Victoria’s Secret and Soma Intimates is class. I don’t mean to put down Victoria’s Secret but their lingerie is a little more racy and skimpy. The items at Soma are intimate, as their name implies, but nice, not naughty, if you know what I mean. Very functional and good everyday wear yet still with simple sex appeal.
Soma employee Stephanie helped me choose my bras and did my fitting. She was very knowledgeable and helpful, and the experience was much better than it was 6 years ago. The thing Stephanie told me that made this experience different is that even after being measured, the fit is still very individualized. The measurements, she said, are a starting point not the ending point. So we started there and tried on different things until I found one that was right.
I walked out wearing my new bra, and I left my old one there. The Soma bra donation event is going on now through Aug 12. Donated bras will be distributed to homeless shelters by the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
Stephanie and I talked about how with most bras the first thing I want to do when I get home is take it off because all day I’ve been tugging, pulling and adjusting straps, etc. But these bras, she claimed, I wouldn’t even remember I was wearing.
I’m impressed.
She was right.
