1. Bad News

Yesterday I stumbled upon a blog post called Adventures in Underwear that would depress any full-busted reader who didn’t know better. The writer’s post makes it sound as if our boobs are doomed to a prison of industrial strength granny bras for the rest of our lives.  I know better, so it depressed me for an entirely different reason:  It means there’s a giant percentage of full-busted women in the world who don’t know about the great options available to us.

Last February, I met a woman who wanted to open a bra store in New York City just for D+ women. That was great, except she didn’t realize that a good number of stores in NYC already sell D+ bras. She also didn’t know anything about the vibrant, international community of D+ bloggers. How had she missed this?

For one thing, D+ bloggers may not be doing everything we can to get the word out.  I’m one of the biggest culprits because I’ve been blogging for almost four years without a blog roll. As blog readers, I hope you’ll tell other busty women about Hourglassy and the blogs on my new blog roll.  I know I’ve accidentally omitted some blogs, so please let me know who they are!  Right now the list isn’t organized in any way, but I do have favorites that I hope to highlight soon, and some are far more active than others.

2. Good News

Another bra maker (based in New York) is concentrating on G and H cups and looking for fit models. Are you interested? If so, let me know. I’ll be posting more details as they become available since I don’t even know whether they use UK sizing or the band size range they’re looking for in their models. This is all I have so far:

My company is now looking to expand on our resources for fit models.  We are currently looking for G and H cups.  I’m not sure if any of your clients would be in that size pool, or if they’d even be interested in being “fit models”.  In case you’re not sure, fit models are only used within the design studio and do not show garments to a room full of people.  They would be fitting with the designers and occasionally show a garment to the merchandiser, but not an audience so to speak… Do you think some of your clients would be interested in stopping by our office to be measured/fitted and or open to the idea of fit modeling (compensation is roughly $50/ hr).

May 18: Here’s more information–you can contact the company directly through the email provided below. I was sorry to learn that they use the +4 method . . . I’ve already sent the designer links to the Bra Band Project, but keep in mind that companies that have a lot invested in a traditional way of doing things are unlikely to be able to change overnight–there are a lot of people who have to be convinced.

As far as underbust measurements, btwn a 34 and 44 band size?  We measure the American way so a 29-30” rib cage translates to a 34 band size for us (but of course some of that is based on personal preferences and comfort depending on the woman).  I hope that helps clarify.Also, at the moment I am focusing on finding G and H cup models, but am not limited.  Our size pool is from C-H now… we do have existing fit models, but are always in the market to expand on the model pool/figure types, especially in the larger band sizes like 38 and above (most women at this size are very shy about fit modeling in that range).  If it’s easier for you, they can email me directly at this address: design@prettier.com.

3. More Good News?

Frankly, I’m excited about Wacoal’s recent acquisition of the Eveden Group (Freya, Fantasie, Elomi, Fauve, Goddess, etc.). If Wacoal builds on Eveden’s great fit options while adding its own high quality standards, we are in for some great new products . . . and hopefully all the old ones that we’ve come to love and depend upon. A lingerie store owner that I spoke to recently, however, had a different take. She felt that Wacoal’s distribution is so widespread that G cups will become common in every department store, giving your average bra shopper even more chances of putting herself in the wrong size bra. My take? If the major outlets don’t offer enough sizes to begin with, then that woman has even less chance of being put into the right bra! But I can understand an unspoken concern she might have–do you think bra fitters in small lingerie stores will become obsolete if department store racks become filled with all the D+ sizes we’ve been clamoring for?