We’re in Florida for my niece’s wedding. I almost brought my graded samples for my sister to try on, but it dawned on me that the mother of the bride might be a little too preoccupied for fit-testing. And since I brought 3 possible dresses for Saturday, there wasn’t room in the suitcase anyway (sometimes you just don’t know what you’ll be in the mood to wear . . . ).
The subject of weddings reminds me of an exchange I overheard a few weeks ago at a lingerie store where the motto is “AA-J cup and everything in between”. A woman came in looking for a 34G strapless bra and was immediately met with skepticism from the saleswoman. “I don’t know if we have that. You might have to go with a larger back and smaller cup. No, I don’t think we have that, but I’ll check.”
I’m sure the saleswomen didn’t appreciate my murmuring to the customer, “It seems like they should have something like that!” Their attitude toward me afterward was definitely cooler, but they did manage to dig up a 34G strapless bra by Le Mystere.
Here’s my first point: When a full-breasted woman walks into a store that promises to meet her needs, the response to her inquiries should always be either (a) “Of course we have that!” or (b) “We’ll help you find what you need.” If you read my review of Linda’s Bra Salon last November, you already know important I think it is for the saleswomen who service our market to affirm the bodies of their customers.
My second point is that basic function large-cup bras seem to be readily available, but special function large-cup bras not so much. I’d love to see more resources available at the specialty stores that service us, and I’m sure you would, too. Carissa gives a great alternative to the strapless bra in her July 19 blog post, and she identifies another need in her July 28 post. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes from the bitje site that she mentions. Last December I mentioned Marnie, who I met through Fashion-Incubator, and who wants to do something similar. I haven’t heard about her progress in a while, but I’ll keep you posted.
