Thursday, February 14, 2013

In Which I Tell You That I Went For a Bra Fitting

Peeps, I've got an interesting story for you today. We can even call it Valentine's-themed though, in truth, that's just an accident.

For starters, I received the Miss Mandalay Amelie and, no question, it's GORGEOUS. It's beautifully-made, it's sexy, it's old-school. But it is not firm. I'd go so far as to say, if you've got dense breasts (at any size) and you're moving into middle-age (when breasts often increase in weight, if not size), then it may not be the style for you. 
 
Look, I've only got my own tits to go by, so by all means, buy it and tell me I'm wrong! The thing is that the material used has a lot of give. In some instances, even stretch. So if you're breasts need some big lift (by the combination of band support, firm cups and straps), it's potentially not optimal. By contrast, the Miss Mandalay Paris is super-firm and supportive - and also gorgeous (though by no means as luxe as the Amelie). You can find them both here.

The Amelie fits small in the cup - but generously in the bottoms. I considered whether to reorder a larger size, so appealing is the design, but I couldn't tell if I'd need to go up one size or two. To be honest, I don't have the stomach for anymore online bra purchase returns in the near future. So I sent the set back. (Let me say it again, LCL is an excellent vendor which I totally recommend.)

Given this experience - and many others of late - I won't lie. I was perplexed. I was confused. I was unhappy. WTF is going on with my boobs, people?? Or my sense of sizing? Am I no longer the queen of bra fit?

There was only one way to find out. I went out and got re-fitted at a bra boutique. 
 
I'm not going to get into details about which boutique because I have a number of issues with it on the basis of officious corporate policies. (Plus the prices are outrageous.) But I have never doubted this store's commitment to excellent fitting and the skill with which the fitters approach their role.

It was a fascinating - if outrageously expensive - experience.

Some things I learned:
  • I am decidedly in a 30 band at this point. 32s are too loose.
  • Cup sizing is very different from brand to brand. I mean, of course I know this, but I was very surprised to find myself in a smaller size (than my presumed standard) in every bra I tried on in store - despite my challenges with online shopping skewing to the "too small" end, at least as often as "too large".
  • None of the bras I tried in store was a Freya. Apparently, perhaps one reason why I've been experiencing numerous bra woes on the online front is because, so the fitter told me, Freya (the brand I order online most frequently) has gone pretty low with the materials and manufacturing over the last 3 seasons. I can corroborate that every bra I've bought in the brand - for the last year - has been narrow in the cup and the wires are short (compared with those in the same size from previous years). The fabric is also cheaper-seeming. Look back over my lingerie posts. You'll see a record of this.
  • I will not be buying Freya online again anytime soon. Not unless I've tried on the bra at a store first.
  • You know that lingerie blogger question du jour: Are my breasts full on the top or full on the bottom? I have vacillated in my opinion about the distribution of my own breast tissue many a time. According to today's fitter - and she does see more real-life, unclothed boobs in a day than I do in a year - my breasts are neither. The density falls squarely over the mid line, says she. Which is probably why I refer to my breast profile as "deep" far more often than I refer to it in any other way.
  • My breasts are also close together (in the scheme of close set vs wide set). Add mid-breast depth to close set and you have a shape that challenges wires to lie flat at the breastbone. This has only just occurred to me though I've had difficulty with gore placement forever. In the past, I've blamed it on shallow fit. But it's more specific than that. "Shallow fitting" bras are often shallow at the midline, but still too wide at the sides. Hmmm...
So, what did I try on? Mainly Empreinte. Why? Well, Loves, when you go to the bra store on Feb. 14 (just a fluke, I swear!), your choices are limited. The only remaining options are mega-expensive ones. Which when you're already dealing with an expensive boutique is, frankly, scary. Furthermore, while this is a brand I have wanted to try for many years, I wasn't willing to pay for it before now, so I knew well enough not to bother. (What good could have come of that??) I have tried to order it from Europe on a couple of occasions, at a discounted rate, but they're serious when they say that trade agreements prevent the online boutiques from shipping it to customers out of the EU. If you want this shit, you've gotta pay.

I bought 3 bras and a pair of undies* and it cost me $615.00.

I'll let that sink in for a minute.

Yeah, I spent a plane ticket's worth of money on 3 bras and a pair of undies. Amongst them, these**:

Inadequate photos from here and the one below is from Figleaves UK
The two bras above are the same - the Empreinte Lola  



This one is the Empreinte Kaela (couldn't find an even vaguely decent shot of the undies). What is it with this brand and the bad photo options?? This material is awesome...

On the plus side, these offerings do make my tits look like something out of a French film or a pin up calendar from 1958. They fit SPECTACULARLY. OMG, I was really starting to wonder about whether my perfect-fit bra days were behind me. Of course, it would be lovely if Freya could go back to the old ways and make affordable bras that look this good on me. In the meanwhile, who really needs a college fund?
 

*You may wonder why I didn't get the undies to go with 2 of the bras. One is black (and the undies cost $175.00). The other is "basic beige". I have undies galore that can act as reasonable matches for each these. Though it's not my preferred way, I couldn't justify spending another 200 bucks, before tax, on 1/4 yard of fabric.
 
** I will discuss the fit of these - and the qualities of the textiles - in more detail in another post.

28 comments:

  1. WOW I mean of course it's expensive, but I didn't realize Empreinte was such a good brand for deep, close-set, and neither top or bottom heavy boobs. This is good info. Doesn't apply to my 30F wide-rooted boobs, but I bet some bratabase users would be thrilled if you'd enter these bras' measurements and pics into the database. You're right about the dearth of decent pics. More details, please.

    Good for you for supporting a true lingerie boutique, not to mention setting aside, at least for the moment, your past bad experiences with them. I wish some store closer than five hours away from me would carry Fauve half cups. I live in a major metropolitan area (SF Bay Area), and the lingerie scene here is appalling.

    Congrats on getting some great bras! You really look like a pinup girl??! That is totally the look I'm getting with my Fauves. In the past three weeks, I've bought nine! I returned two, as the moulded cup Evangeline didn't fit at all, and the embroidered mesh on the Sabine half cup was not sewn down properly. Soon I will be able to wear these scrumptious boob hugs everyday! They really bring my boobs front and center. For a girl with a wide base and lots of side tissue, this is a miracle.

    In other words, I will never criticize or even hint at criticism when you buy bras that make your boobs (and therefore your clothes and your entire appearance) look great. Brava!

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    1. Another SF Bay Area reader here: where DO you go for your lingerie needs? I am a Nordstroms's gal (I was fitted 18 months ago and was very pleased with the time, attention, and results) but could use some other options!

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    2. Anon: I did used to support this (and other) bricks and mortar stores exclusively. But the prices are through the roof - for all brands. And I can't believe you've got 7 new bras. Woohoo!

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    3. Margaret - I sure hope someone can provide you with good feedback. Nordstrom is where my mother goes, but there's not a lot of options, IMO, in the 30 bands or in cups above an E.

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    4. Margaret, I'd been buying 30Fs from Nordstrom Valley Fair and Palo Alto, because they carry Fantasie, Panache, and Freya. Kristin, you are correct the offerings are quite limited. They have only a handful of 30 bands and cups above an E. I'd say their prices are reasonable and, if your size makes it to the sales, quite attractive. I got the Freya Piper half cup longline for about $45, for example. I got two Fantasie Rebeccas in a gorgeous purple color for about $45 each.

      Unfortunately Nordstrom doesn't carry Fauve in stores or online. I've had to search high and low online for Fauve bras. I was even thinking of ordering from an Australian store with a $25 shipping fee! (I'm going to add the online retailers I've used to the Bustyresources wiki page at the abrathatfits subreddit at reddit.com.) Margaret, the answer to your question really depends on what are your most common sizes? Let me know, and I'll try to give you a better answer.

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  2. Ah!! Finally a good albeit expensive ending!!

    And girl, I bet you can make those drop dead gorgeous undies to go with these bras for less than 1/10th of that price! Really? $175 for one undie?? I wonder where they get their fabrics from.. and if that fabric company ships to Canada.

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    1. I've never found lace fabric that approximates this in weight or drape, unfortunately. But I am keeping my eyes open!

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  3. SAY WHAT!! It really shouldn't cost that much for well fitting bras :(

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  4. Oh my goodness! I hope they last (and last and last)...They do look great.

    Without knowing what size you are, there's a store over here in Australia selling a couple of those bras for $35 and $40. It could be worth the postage!

    Sam

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  5. I'm a dope. I forgot to include a link in case you do considering buyiing:
    http://www.morethanahandful.com.au/manufacturer/15-empreinte.aspx?pageindex=1

    Sam

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    1. Thanks so much Sam. I went to the site and the prices are great. Alas, they really don't have many 8 band sizes - and none of the 8s are in the styles I really love. (That's the band I need...)

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  6. I'm thrilled that you have been fitted, and got what you wanted/needed (albeit at a price)!

    This is incredibly timely for me - I haven't been fitted in a bra shop for years (much the same reasons as you). But tomorrow I'm planning to go to a boutique to find a potential wedding-dress bra... I need to start on a muslin but need the underpinnings first, and can't be bothered to deal with shipping times...

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    1. Sometimes you need to know it fits and you need it now. That's why we have bricks and mortar. I sense that, until I figure out the changes in my staple brands, and my own changes, that I might be buying in store more often in the near future.

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  7. I'm glad you were successful. I went for a fitting a few weeks ago at a local botique. I was not impressed with the fitting (done with my shirt on), but the bras were nice. I have embarked on bra making as my sewing chalenge in 2013. I think you should consider this, as well. It would result in custom fitted bras, not to mention that if you made them, they would be gorgious.

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    1. Do you mean that they took the initial band measurement with a shirt on? Or that they tried to put the bras on you with a shirt? (That's bizarre, if yes.)

      V, not sure if you've been reading for a couple of years, but I did make quite a few bras. Even very nice ones. But they weren't sturdy enough because the fabrics and notions I have been able to find are inadequate by comparison with those in high-end RTW. I did set this as one of my long-term goals - when I find better materials and as I learn more about my specific fitting needs (fitting for close set breasts is quite challenging).

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    2. I guess I haven't been reading long enough to have experienced your bra making! They did the initial measurement with my shirt and bra on. They got pretty close to what I had expected from reading, but they seemed to be using the old add 4-5 in to the underbust measurment.

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    3. Oh, that's too bad. The 4-5 at the underbust is SO wrong (99 per cent of the time).

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  8. Gravity and time both only work in one direction. So, if the bra fits, the cost is worth it. I've paid that much in the past. Plus, these are all so pretty! Good that you found out what the story is with Freya. Nothing like a series of bad shopping experiences to make you feel off your mojo!

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    1. Ain't it a bitch!? And I am so happy to have figured out that it's not simply me. I mean, I might be in a phase where I need more hands-on purchasing. That's ok. But I was really starting to wonder what the hell was going on.

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  9. I find in depth lingerie posts endlessly fascinating and this one is no exception, thank you! Thanks for the inside info re Freya bras, I've had great success with them in the past but I'll be inspecting the quality of their materials like a hawk from now on. I'm really making myself NOT investigate Empriente bras after reading this post as I know I'll be tempted to buy, buy, buy. Glad you found your perfect match. x

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    1. I do too! I read all the lingerie blogs! I urge you to stay away from the Empreinte Jane. No good can come of it. Especially with your propensity for the best bras :-)

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  10. You have such great taste in bras!

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  12. hi, u can purchase Empreinte bra styles from the year before for like $50 on e-bay, new with tags attached. Ships from France. I bought like 4 of them for 200 bucks, it was a steal. I am in Canada and I didn't have to pay customs either, so it was pretty great.
    The seller I buy from is called zazie78.
    I love empreinte, best bra ever.

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  13. I do know about Zazie78 - excellent vendor. The key is to get there while the sizes are still available :-)

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