JUNE 14, 2009 -- Ladies, I’ve got a secret for you…You’re probably wearing the wrong bra. I was. That’s what I found out from Chrissy Mikhail, my “bra fit stylist” at Intimacy. This lingerie store opened in Fashion Valley in April, and is getting a lot of buzz.
After hearing about this place on Oprah, I decided to take “the girls” in and get fitted for a new bra.
I called and made an appointment. I was greeted by client services manager Andie Hennessy. The Intimacy philosophy is that 80 percent of women are wearing the wrong bra size, so being fitted is very important.
The founder and owner, Susan Nethero, was trained under the Queen of England’s bra fitter, June Kenton. Nethero is known in the lingerie world as the “bra whisperer.” With 15 years of experience, she opened her first store in Atlanta in 1992. The store took off, and more have opened across the country. Besides Oprah, she’s appeared on What Not To Wear, Tyra Banks and the Today show. She’s also the author of Bra Talk: Myths and Facts.
The first thing Hennessy asked me to do was to fill out the “Bra needs” questionnaire—Recent Life Changes? Weight Gain or Loss? Pregnancy? How Many Bras do You Own?
I was then ushered into the purple dressing room, which was, as the Web site promised, “circular and lit from floor to ceiling in an effort to give each woman a beautiful and unique glow.” Next, my personal “bra fit stylist” for the next thirty minutes, Mikhail, asked to see me in my bra and then without it—not for the faint of heart. After looking me over, Mikhail proclaimed that my size 34 C bra was definitively wrong. I am actually a 30 D. What a shock.
She left and returned with a handful of bras in the “correct” size. Mikhail does not mince words. She is stern. She pulled, shimmied and “windshield wiped” my breasts into every bra. She insisted that I needed lace bras, preferably with seams at the nipple line. These would offer the shape and support that best suited me. She called these bras “balcony style.” They are designed to be wider on the sides and more narrow in the front, to look like “the girls” are hanging slightly over the balcony. I imagine a balcony overlooking a Parisian street.
“Every woman should own at least seven to ten bras,” Mikhail says. Most of the bras lines in the store are from Europe. The best bra she gave me to try on was the Bahia by Aubade, made in France. It was crimson, all lace, and with seams in all the right places. “The girls” looked pushed up and out, as if offering themselves to the world, though they felt somewhat confined.
The most difficult part of being a bra fit stylist, Mikhail says, is “getting women outside of their habitual bra patterns.” The bras Chrissy brought me did not fit like my old standbys. The silhouette I’m used to seeing is rounder and softer, but not really as attractive as the Intimacy bras. Most women don’t get bra fittings or spend $100 on a new bra—much less seven to 10 new bras. But, it’s something we deserve and the Bahia bra, at least, will get you some attention.
Intimacy offers a few special perks for their high-end bras. They will tailor for free—if they don’t have the bra you love in the European size, they will sell you one in the closest U.S. size and tailor it for you. They also tailor the bra free anytime after the elastic wears out, but only “if there is life still in the bra,” Mikhail says.
Hand wash and hang dry only and your bra should last three to five years.
Some fun facts I learned: “Back fat” is really breast tissue that should be pulled forward and placed in the bra cup...Compression sports bras are horrible for your breasts. They break down the elasticity in the breast tissue...Lace is hot and supportive; it’s worth the money for a great looking bra.
Now, I just have to bite the bullet and spend the dough. I think that “the girls” are worth it. My husband will agree… I’m sure of it.
(Rebekah Sager is a writer who lives in La Jolla. Read more of her stories at shmywayorthehighway.wordpress.com.)
