Next up in today’s Follow Fridays interview series is the delightful June from Braless in Brasil one of my go-to blogs for bra problem solving, indepth information and intellectual opinions on the world of bras yes, there really is such a thing.June’s blog really is wealth of information. Each of her posts are jam-packed full of text, but it’s always well worth reading and I always learn something every time I stop by.Plus, June is currently pregnant so her recent extra twist of maternity information is really worth checking out if you’re expecting.
Hi June and thanks for joining us! Please could you give us a little introduction?
I’m an American who lives in Brazil. I’ve been busty most of my life but following pregnancy and major weight loss (and a big bra-epiphany!) I found myself with a small back size and large cup size (about 28JJ) that can only be ordered online. I’m also a working mom who often struggles to find work appropriate clothes that fit my bust.
When did you start your blog and why?
I started my blog about a year ago (Sept 2011) and it was purely out of frustration with the lingerie industry in Brazil. Locally, the vast majority of brands do not come with cup sizes and they assume that everyone is a B cup and just make the bands bigger. Over the past year I’ve seen a few brands include more cup sizes but in store you can normally just find up to DD cups (and even those are rare and very expensive). One brand does carry up to a US G cup but I have yet to see those sold in any actual store.
Which other lingerie blogs do you read the most?
All of them? I read a lot and try to put pretty much every lingerie blogger that focuses on proper fit/questioning the lingerie industry in some aspect on my blog roll.
Where do you recommend people go get fitted?
I’d actually recommend ladies to fit themselves first (or at least know their own measurements and then use a calculator like Butterfly Collection‘s or A Sophisticated Pair‘s first). I’ve only been fitted recently and I can tell you the experience went much better because I was aware of my size range and knew my most common fit problems going into it. It makes it harder for a fitter when you start from scratch and you should expect to spend a lot more time in the fitting room if you have never been properly fitted before. I’d say it’ll also make it more likely that you can walk out with a bra that fits you well and/or at least an idea of the size and brands that are good for you, if you go in with some minimum knowledge.Also, many women do not have access to a local fitter, which is another reason I encourage them to at least find a good starting point on their own. I do often send women to Butterfly Collection because they have free online skype fittings!
Which brand do you think suits your shape and style best?
Ewa Michalak‘s CHs are by and far the best for me. Fantasie is probably second but without the omph factor. Third would be Curvy Kate‘s Thrill Me’s but they really need to expand their size range because I know the cups are too small on me in 30J!
Freya Activehas my heart when it comes to sports bras and I can’t wait until they expand up to a K cup!!
What is your ‘desert island’ lingerie set?
My Ewa MichlakBlack Bikini Top in 60JJ. The fit is perfect, it’s insanely comfortable, and I could swim in it too!
What, in your opinion, are the biggest upcoming trends in the lingerie world this Autumn/Winter?
I might not be the best person to ask for the biggest ones, but I am very much looking forward to Ewa Michalak‘s new line, which has a black lace overlay over various colors combined with high-waisted briefs (and absolute favorite of mine!). Also, for me it’s summer so it’s a bit hard to think about winter options!
Are you a plunge or a balconette girl?
Hands down balconette. After loosing 80lbs+ I have soft breasts and loose skin, plunges just don’t handle my breasts well at all and I end up getting lots of spillage towards the center gore.
What is your lingerie guilty pleasure?
I’m not sure if I have any? I’m a working mom so I shop on a budget. I suppose the closest thing would be occasionally wearing my bikini top as a bra because it’s so comfortable?
What do you think is missing from the current lingerie market?
A lot. In my own niche (small band/large cup) there is absolutely NO sleepwear whatsoever. No soft cup bras (beyond Royce Lingerie and their cups run small so many ladies are outsized by them) come in 28 bands, there is not one single brand out there that carries sleepwear above an H cup (hello, us J, K, L etc cup ladies need supportive sleepwear too!), and there are absolutely no basques/babydolls/body suits in this size either (although Bravissimo has had a basque that went up to 28J cups, but that is still too small for many ladies).
Parfait by Affinitas has suggested they might expand their size range, which would be amazing! Their babydolls and basques are exactly my style and they have reasonable prices. If they started carrying something in my size, well, my credit card would already be out.Another major hole in the market are longline bras in smaller band sizes/larger cup sizes. I’d argue it’s especially important for ladies on the smaller end of the band spectrum because often time they run into problems of having a bony ribcage, which is irritated by tight bands. In the case of a longline bra it would distribute the pressure on a larger area and hopefully alleviate some of that pain.
