Bra fitting in the US is one of those things women do not regularly do. The idea of going to get a fitting ramps up the anxiety levels in a lot of women. We are faced with the idea of being topless in front of a stranger, not a comforting thought. So most women just avoid it.
In the breast augmentation world there is an excitement that is attached to your first bra fitting after surgery. Some women will run straight to Victoria’s Secret as soon as the feel up to making the drive. Nothing against VS or their product, but they are not who I’d recommend for your first fitting. I have never been able to give much for personal recommendations as I’ve never been lucky enough to have fittings at multiple places. But one name you’ll see often is Nordstrom. Many ladies will choose Nordstrom as their first fitting. Just recently I was able to see why.
Through a hectic couple of weeks of travel with a baby (including getting my twin sister to try a new size) our final stop was Seattle. The schedule was full, but a few short hours opened up before flying out. So to the mall we went. I was able to have my first fitting at Nordstrom.
Now at the time I was in a bit of a boob conundrum. I had been nursing for 7 1/2 months, but things were going down hill. A change like this is not the best time for a fitting, ideally I would go while nursing was established or she was completely weaned. But you gotta take the opportunity when it happens.
This particular Nordstrom is undergoing renovation. I stopped at the bathroom before heading up to lingerie and the women’s restroom was previously the men’s room and their was a curtain across the urinal wall. Not what I was expecting. From here my expectations dropped to about as low as they could go, but I tried to give the benefit of the doubt. Construction and renovation has to happen, the timing was just bad.
So we make our way around the first floor looking for a directory. Nothing. I’m kind of wondering, maybe it was misplaced with the renovations. So we head to the elevator, a perk of a baby in a stroller. There we found one area no getting renovated that definitely needed it. I had a flash back to my early years. But we also found out which floor the lingerie department was in.
As I walked through the lingerie department my hopes continue to sink. I saw Calvin Klein, Wacoal, DNKY, and other brands. Nothing in my size range. Finally I see some Chantelle, as I keep looking I see one rack with Freya, Panache, and Cleo. My hope comes back only to be dashed by the store associate that approached me. I told her I was looking for 28 bands and that I’d like to be fitted as I was experiencing changes due to nursing. She immediately told me that they no longer carried 28s but offered a fitting.
The fitting was a very simple process. She measured my underbust while I was in my bra, declared that I did need a 28 (measurement was 26 inches), then went to grab a few fit bras. She told me that while they did not have any 28s we could at least establish a cup volume. The first bra was a 30H Chantelle, which is a 30FF in UK sizing. The wire width was great, but the gore was lifting horribly. Because of that she grabbed a few more for me to try, unfortunately nothing was just right.
The last bra she brought for me to try was a 30G Freya Deco. I’ve wanted to try this bra forever. I knew it wouldn’t be perfect, but I really wanted to just try. At this point the fitter and I started talking about specific fit issues I was having. The biggest issue is the lifting center gore, which means to go up a size in most cases. But going up in size until I have a flat center gore results in too much space behind the breast before the wire hits. So here is where I come to a conundrum. Which fitting issue would I rather have? I could feasibly size down to a much more manageable size range, one with different cup construction and more availability. Something that I’ll be seriously considering over the next few weeks.
And just because there is no fitting post that is complete with out some bra pictures, below you’ll see the 30G Freya Deco.
