A New Fitter that I Like
Don’t be jealous, but I had a giant treat yesterday. June from Braless in Brasil landed at JFK for a 12-hour stopover, and I got to take her bra shopping! I’ll let her share her fit discoveries, but I’ll share my latest fitter discovery: Maritza at the Town Shop is great. When I thanked her for spending so much time with us (an hour), she said, “Thank YOU for letting me.” Town Shop customers tend to want to get in and out as quickly as possible, but sometimes a good fitting takes time. It means identifying specific breast shape issues and experimenting with different styles and brands. Martiza did this plus help me figure out what was wrong with two bras that I brought in for an expert opinion.
(Since June is traveling, her blog posts may be a little erratic, but be sure to check out her latest review of the Freya Active Top that we’ve all been waiting for.)
Why I Would be Bad at Selling Lingerie
Our next stop was Magic Corsets in Forest Hills, Queens, on the way back to JFK. While I waited for June to try on the adorable Fantasies and Freyas that were close to her size (sadly only a beige Deco fit perfectly, and she already has a ton of beige), a full-figured customer inquired about strapless bodysuits to wear under a dress for a wedding she was attending. The store didn’t have anything in her size, and the woman began muttering things like, “These mom and pop stores never have anything. What a waste of time. I bought one before, etc., etc.” Initially I sympathized with her since I’m ALWAYS looking for bodysuits that go above an F cup, but since I’ve never been able to find one, I tended to believe the saleswoman.
The saleswoman began pulling out shapewear that the customer could wear with a strapless bra, including a Rago girdle. “Ooh! How retro!” I exclaimed. “I’ve seen a blogger look amazing in this,” I told her, thinking of Georgina Horne.
“I don’t care what it looks like underneath,” she said. “I’m just going to throw it away after the wedding.”
Not care how it looks? Just throw it away? I had to focus on June in the fitting room so that I wouldn’t become argumentative, but I kept an ear open to the conversation. I heard the saleswoman continue to talk to the customer in a low and pleasant voice until the customer’s own voice softened. When the woman left the store, she no longer looked defiant.
On our drive to the airport, I mentioned how rude the customer was and how amazing the saleswoman was not to have lost her cool. June, on the other hand, totally understood the frustration and disappointment the customer must have been feeling. I think June would make an excellent lingerie store owner. (June also mentioned a thought-provoking blog post by Erica of Sophisticated Pair about how she works with customer’s fit misconceptions. I haven’t been able to locate it, but I’ll link to it here once I do.)
Dresses that Fit a Large Bust
There have been some helpful blog posts about dresses recently. Check out Transitional Dresses on a Budget by MissUnderpinnings and Bust-Friendly Dresses Roundup by Boosaurus.
I found two Laundry by Design dresses last week–one is another faux wrap, but the other is a shirt dress that I’ll write about after I attempt an alteration on my mother’s sewing machine when I’m down in Florida next week. Century21 had other great full-bust flattering knit dresses from this brand for those of you who wear a smaller size than I. (Does anyone know if “Laundry by Design” is the same as “Laundry by Shelli Segal”?)
What’s Your Narrative?
Autumn of The Beheld published a thought-provoking post last week on The Problem with the Body-Love Therapeutic Narrative. It made me wonder if it was even necessary to publish those reassuring thoughts for busty women observing Fashion Week. I wonder where you are on the spectrum she describes. Have you always accepted yourself? Have you come to accept yourself? Or are you still working on accepting yourself? Did you used to accept yourself and then think you shouldn’t so you stopped? I agree that we are inundated with the assumption that all women travel an arc from body-shame to body-acceptance, but it’s refreshing to consider that (a) not everyone does; and (b) we don’t have to keep traveling this arc.
Thanks for the mention, Darlene! When I get a shout out on Hourglassy, it always makes my day.
For the record, I think you’d make a great fitter! You tell it like it is and that’s the most important quality. 😉
Here’s A Sophisticated Pair’s post on dealing with bra fitting misinformation: http://www.bralessinbrasil.com/2012/08/guest-post-traversing-bra-desert.html
I had such a great time and I hope to get back to NYC soon! It turns out Figleaves has the covet Fantasie Tina bra that I’m in love with for cheaper than the UK sight, woohoo! 🙂
I need to get up the reviews on the bra fit experience, hopefully sometime in the near future. What a fantastic experience there. Oh, and I’m not sure if I’d be the best fitter either, it seems like such a hard (and under-appreciated job). But, oh, so needed.
Honored to be included! And I like the way you raise the point of how remembering the existence of other narratives helps us see that we can change ours, whatever it might have been so far.
I’m a customer of Erica’s at A Sophisticated Pair. It is such a treat to go there – on two recent visits, she had a wonderful selection available in stock -many times what e.g. Nordstrom has and offered to special order anything I wanted to try with no obligation.
Before she opened her store, I would wait until I had to visit relatives in Tucson, where there are a couple of boutiques. Her selection is better by far, except for swimwear, which she doesn’t carry in stock yet.