Hey Chloe, You’re our favourite Brastop blogger, what is the best thing about being a lingerie blogger? Chloe: I’ve always been a writer of some sort – journalism, short stories, writing letters, sending emails etc, and when blogging came along about 10 or so years ago, I found it a great outlet for ranting and raving about all my favourite subjects such as the news, television, movies, make-up and clothes. I spotted an opportunity to work on the Brastop blog and approached them about doing something regular on one my favourite subjects: underwear (in particular, bras). I hit the ground running and I’ve loved every minute of it.
It’s difficult to say what the best part is – I love getting to see all the latest designs and styles, and I enjoy writing reviews (who doesn’t like getting free bras?). But I think the best part of it is having a platform to discuss issues that matter and should be more in the open – health, advice, style and, of course – boobs. I feel it’s important that women are given proper advice on proper fitting, help finding styles that suit them, and being kept up-to-date on new developments in the industry – and I think we manage that on the Brastop blog between myself, Becky, Carrie – and soon to be more from Kirsty Smyth.
You’ve recently posted a wonderful post about the ‘war on plus four’ what is your fitting philosophy? Chloe: Oh, the whole “add four inches” thing really gets my goat, so you’ll be hearing more about it from me in future. I’ll try not to rant or rally against other retailers, but I feel it needs to be challenged. Beckie Williams at Busts4Justice has been doing a terrific job so far of campaigning against the archaic system of using a measuring tape to determine your bra size – which inevitably comes from a chart that seems to have been compiled by a Nasa mathematician. It’s outdated, and retailers manufacturers need to start looking at sizing as being something that’s flexible and variable.
Everyone is different, bodyshapes are not uniform – and no two women are the same. My philosophy is to either go and get a proper fitting from someone experienced in the lingerie industry, or to follow the numerous online guides on how to select the correct bra for you; how to try it on and the signs to look out for when establishing if you’re wearing an ill-fitting bra or not. to me, a bra should be comfortable when you wear it – not a hindrance or a source of discomfort throughout the day. It’s not difficult to fit a bra – you need to make sure the straps don’t dig in, that the centre join of the bra touches your sternum, look out for signs of double-boob, ensure the back-band is resting neatly across the lower-middle of your back – and so many other little tricks and tips that can ensure the bra you finally settle on is suitable, fit for purpose, comfortable, stylish, supportive – and, above all, good for the health of your breasts.
Can you tell me about your first ‘proper’ fitting experience?
Chloe I can remember being fitted for a bra in Marks & Spencer when I was a teenager, and it wasn’t a particularly bad experience – it was all over fairly quickly; I was measured, the calculations were performed and a size was determined. I picked bras accordingly – for the next 15 years or so. It wasn’t until the last five years, when I was given a personal shopper gift for my birthday at House of Fraser that I discovered I had been wearing the wrong size of bra for the better part of my adult life. I had been wearing a trusty, reliable 36D (sometimes a 36DD) and I never found much wrong with it. Sure, I was uncomfortable at times, but I got used to it.
The personal shopper took one look at me, disappeared for five minutes and came back with 10 or so bras (mostly Fantasie and Freya bras, all costing £30+ each) and my jaw dropped at the sizes she had produced. One was a 32G, another was a 34E and the other was a 34FF. I was mortified – I couldn’t believe that my boobs were so big. I tried them all on one at a time and the fitter performed all the tests I’ve come to know well – the jiggle, the two-fingers in the shoulder straps, the sternum press etc. –and I went home with four new bras, costing me almost £120.
However, for the first time in my life, I was finally wearing the correct size of bra: 32G. I’ve since had two children and my bra size ballooned up to 34GG during pregnancy, then finally settled down in the last few years to 30FF (sometimes 32FF, depending on the manufacturer). My bras now fit actually me; they’re comfortable and they last longer. Brastop have recently announced their latest competition ‘Model of the Month’ to ‘give a full representation of all our customers’. Can you tell me some more about this and Brastop’s regular use of customer models? Brastop has had a very simple philosophy since we first introduced the Star in a Bra competition: our models are our customers.
We want the people who model our bras to be the people who buy them. We’re very against the “stick-thin” model approach to showcasing the products on sale, and we want customers to see what a particular bra will look like on a real woman with real curves. I don’t want to say too much about the new competition just yet – everyone will find out soon how it will all work – but it does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s a model of the month competition, not unlike Star in a Bra, where we’ll showcase one of our customers every month, and they’ll be modelling our products.
What are your favourite lingerie brands stocked at Brastop?
Chloe: I have to say it’s Curvy Kate. I started wearing CK when I began blogging for Brastop, and I’ve never looked back since. They’re bras made for girls like me – curvy with big boobs. Most of the bras I used to buy fell into the bracket of “boulder holders”. Sure, they were quality brands like Freya and Fantasie, but they were generally plain (black or white) with little in the way of frills or personality. Curvy Kate has changed all that, and has prompted a transformation in the UK (and international) bra market – all of the other big manufacturers are following suit, targeting their ranges at younger, curvier women. However, I also like Charnos and Panache too – but Curvy Kate is a clear winner for me.
You can only wear one bra set forever – which would it be?
Chloe: Ooh, that’s a tricky one. When I was about 17, I bought a white Warners set which have lovely blue lace trim (I think it was a 34C or D), and I still miss it. I don’t even know if Warners still make bras, but it was one of the first expensive sets I ever bought, and I still remember it fondly. However, if I had to choose, I would pick my Curvy Kate Criss-Cross black set – it’s my go-to bra for just about every occasion and I would be happy to wear it forever, if I had to.
