My grandmother, Goldie, was an incredible seamstress. She could make anything — suits, hats, the most complex dresses. She even made fairy and gypsy costumes for my mother and aunts to wear to their music recitals (I don’t know why they wore costumes to a piano or violin recital, but they did). And she could tailor any item of clothing to make it fit perfectly.
Toward the end of her career, she opened a corset shop. She had boxes and boxes of bras and girdles, and she would custom tailor them to fit every woman who came into her store. The fabrics then were cotton and some kind of elastic, and as is, they did not ensure a good fit. So, customers got personal advice and expert tailoring from my grandmother.
Today, things are different. At most stores, there is no or limited help. I look through the racks for styles and colors that look appealing to me. I must say I have never developed a liking for the moulded cup bras that are so popular now. I’m always searching for lace numbers or soft fabric cups or for balconettes that look French. I go into the dressing room with a bunch of bras from the rack in what I think is my size and buy whichever one seems to fit best. Sometimes it’s a hit, and sometimes a miss. Back in the day, they didn’t have the form-fitting fabrics that we now have that seem to make it easy to find a good fit. But even with “miracle fibers”, I sometimes wonder if I am buying the right bras?
For about 8 years, I moderated focus groups for Vanity Fair Intimates, the makers of Vanity Fair, Lily of France, and Natori, until they sold the business. It was my job to get feedback from women in the focus groups on new bra prototypes that the company was considering bringing to market. Between what I learned from my grandmother years ago and from the merchandisers and marketing folks at Vanity Fair, I thought I knew everything there was to know about bras:
- how they’re constructed
- which ones are for what type of clothing
- what to look for to see if it’s a good fit
- how to take care of them.
But recently, I came across an enlightening article in the Huffington Post in which the secrets of buying and caring for the right bra are revealed. It was an eye opener! It turns out I wasn’t as knowledgeable about bras as I thought. For instance, did you know you’re not supposed to wear the same bra two days in a row? And do you know why?
Here’s the link to the article and the answers: 10 Bra Mistakes You’re Probably Making and How To Fix Them. Hope you find it as useful as I did. Next time I go bra shopping, I’m going to try a different size entirely, based on the method described in the article, and see if I get a better fit. Let me know what you think!
I’m the worst regarding bra washing ..
Once upon a time, I did try the net bag and washed my bras separately with Woolite, but now … the bra has to survive the washer or forget it .. lol.
Monica.
I hear ya, Monica! Most of mine fit that category, except for the lace bras that I love too much to risk wrecking them in my ancient washing machine. Nevertheless, the info on Woollite was a revelation to me. I had no idea it was wrecking the elastic. And I mostly use the Woollite on my swimsuits that I always wash by hand. Hope I haven’t been ruining the elastic fabric! Guess it’s Tide on everything but sweaters from now on!