Did you know most women are wearing the wrong size bra??? I certainly didn’t until I met the Bra Whisperer (aka Oprah’s personal lingerie fitter!), Susan Nethro (she also trained with the Queen of England’s lingerie fitter). I was invited to her lingerie store, Intimacy, for a private consultation with Susan and was shocked to discover I’ve been wearing bras too big for my frame (which will ultimately causes stress to the breast tissue and may lead to more serious issues later in life!)! Apparently most stores do not know how to properly fit us, they measure with tapes (not necessary) and don’t take into account our frame and body types. Susan spent an hour with me and I tried on what seem to be 100 different bras. Intimacy boutiques carry dozens of mostly European brands (25 more names than department stores!) with 90 different sizes (who knew!). From A cup to K cup and everything in between, I am certain you will find the perfect bra for you. But if you’re like me (I’m actually a 30C, NOT 34B as I’ve been lead to believe) and have a size they do not carry– they will custom tailor a bra for you! I love my new wardrobe of bras– I stand up taller now and I’m not fussing with my bra straps, everyone needs to get fitted at Intimacy– like NOW! Find a location near you here.
Hi Tina
I certainly agree with you that lingerie and department stores in Australia tend to fit you incorrectly. I struggle to get bras to fit and even when they do ‘fit’ you nine times out of ten after an hour of wearing the bra you either have double boobs or the underarm wire is cutting in!
I used to shop in Rigby and Peller in London (the Queen’s fitters) they seem to be the only ones who get it right. You can imagine my lingerie bill everytime I go to London!
I have to say that North American lingerie shops just don’t know how to fit smaller girls properly! I’m 5’1″ and when I lived in North America I was lead to believe I should wear a 34A. When I moved back to HK 3 years ago, i was refitted for bras here and discovered I was actually a 30C!
Wow, this is interesting! I’ll have to look for one nearby. My bra’s never seem to fit right.
Thank you for the tips!
Susanna
I am pretty sure I have been fitted properly, the problem (as a sort of bigger girl) is finding my size 30DD/E, it is a rotten size to find, and certain sports are next to impossible. With such an odd size, I get poorly trained sales ladies who don’t understand the relationship between band size and how the cup sits.
I agree with Fay, Rigby and Peller are excellent. Would love it if Intimacy opened a shop in the Pacific North West.
Susan Nethero dos a great job at spreading the message about proper fitting underwear. Pretty much every woman who comes into my boutique is wearing the wrong size when they first come in.
A great plus size range is Prima Donna and I think they are stockedin the Intimacy stores. Highly recommend them you deffinitely get what you pay for and these are top quality!
Thanks so much for posting this. I’ve had trouble with this for years. I’m going to be just 10 blocks away from the Madison Ave store next month. I am making my reso’s right now!
Very interesting article. You mention that Susan claims that most bra fitters don’t know the proper way to fit (using measuring tapes) but you didn’t mention how exactly she arrived at your size. You also mentioned that you tried on what seemed like 100 bras which makes me wonder if Intimacy’s expert fitting method is as much playing the odds as anything.
I used to work for Victoria’s Secret (whom it sounds like Intimacy is gunning for by saying that measuring with a tape is unnecessary) My clients never needed a hour long fitting, and rarely had to try on more than 3 or 4 bras before we found one that fit well.
I agree with Susan’s philosophy that frame needs to be considered in bra fittings, and of course, that’s something that takes experience to judge, but you may find it interesting to know that the size you ended up with isn’t really far from what you were wearing- a 30C is essentially the same as a 32B. (As you lost inches in the band, you gained them in the cup.)
I’m glad that you found a bra that you were happy with- in the end, that’s all that matters, but I do think Susan’s assertion that measuring with measuring tapes is wrong is a bit presumptuous, and is really meant to be a jab at other retailers. Of course, there are less experienced, or lazy, bra fitters out there who may not know how to correctly fit, but there are also many who do use numbers on a tape to help them arrive at a perfect fit.