Myself with fellow blogger Georgina Horne
Last week, Playtex hosted ann ‘online fitting tool’ focus group meeting, inviting customers to come discuss their online fitting tool widget which they previously had on their .After quite an epic blog/Twitter rally coined ‘The War on Plus Four’ which highlighted the shortcomings of the industry standard ‘plus four’ fitting method by a cluster of lingerie bloggers, the Playtex meeting was initiated by a ‘strongly-worded blog post’ by Beckie Williams on the Busts 4 Justice blog about the shortfalls of their fitting tool which declared her 30G bust (with the use of a tape measure and a magic formula) a 34E. In response, multiple other bloggers declared the size that the Playtex calculator deemed them, with the likes of 36H Georgina (writer of the Fuller Figure Fuller Bust blog) announcing a 40F; and myself a 32E when I generally wear a 28FF or 30F depending on the style/brand of the bra.
At the focus group meeting, held in the Lexis PR head office in London, we discussed at length the importance of a bra and fit with regards to body confidence, clothing and how that fits, enhancing the female form, support, fashion, femininity etc., and how passionate we all were about the cause of spreading the word about fit. All of us fitted by the likes of Bravissimo, Rigby and Peller, Leia Lingerie and independent boutiques, we’ve come to favour a firm fitting band which according to the traditional ‘plus four’ method is incorrect but a whole online subculture argues against.
Can you spot the underwire cushioning pads?
Playtex are proud to cater for their target market of the ‘grown up’ lady, offering great quality beautifully fitting lingerie and it is for this reason that we all felt their online fitting tool was letting them down. We all loved some of their features such as their cushioned underwires to reduce rubbing and chafing under the armpit (something we can all appreciate after a long day!) The brand have even teamed up with Mary Portas releasing a chic and elegant new limited edition “Mary Portas Recommends Playtex” collection.
Mary Portas commented on the Playtex website:
Good, well fitted lingerie is absolutely key to any look it’s all about getting the foundations right. But comfort doesn’t have to mean acompromise on style, and Playtex has designed two gorgeous new stylesthatcombine fit, support and comfort with stylish glamour to perfectly complementmy new fashion range.The fifth member of the focus group modelling a bra from the Mary Portas collection.A few of us mentioned our mothers and our desire to get older family members fitted properly and the change in awareness through generations regarding fitting. The tables had turned as a few of us had fitted our mothers, the very women who took us for our first bra fitting or first got the measuring tape out on us when we were younger oh how the tables have turned!
We discussed the importance of blogs in the lingerie world as they offer an honest voice – not selling anything and no real gain from saying the truth. As three of us have our own lingerie blogs (as mentioned above as well as Kitty’s brilliant Undercover Lingerista blog), and the fourth member was an avid reader, we all knew how influential this medium can be when it comes to spreading the word about a brand, about fitting tips and tricks, news etc., and suggested to Playtex how that medium can be extremely powerful when it comes to taking their fitting tool further.There was a resounding complaint about our disappointment with the majority of high street fitting services and in some cases thedisappointment of the quality of high street lingerie and bra companies some in particular were mentioned more than once as a especially dismal example.
One of the bras we got to play with – the ‘Affinity Spiral Embroidery Bra’ by Playtex
One member of the group had never been fitted outside of her bedroom whereas I had been to Leia Lingerie only the day before. The mixture of shapes and sizes between us made the conversation really interesting where we differed and compared in opinion. More than anything we seemed to shop mainly online with a preference to ‘fit ourselves’ with help from blogs, fitting tools and instructions and taking into account our last most successful fitting.Fit is a topic which is particularly controversial within the intimate apparel industry. As a group we concluded that the key to a good fitting service and online fitting advice it should all be about the trust between the fitter and the customer. Once an establishment has built a great reputation as a fitting destination it will attract customers simply because of that fact and will not only make happy customers, it will guarantee their return. In the past our trust has been misplaced but even if we were sold something at the time after experiencing a great service elsewhere we are unlikely to return.
One thing that I went away from the meeting with was that the industry standard of fitting is questionable. Whilst most retailers will claim that the ‘plus four’ or ‘tape measure’ methods make a good starting point, I’m still hesitant to believe that adding inches can truly give a good representation of a bra size. Another thing which many online retailers fail to clarify is that their ‘calculator’ is a starting point at all, most seemingly insinuating a bone fide measurement based on mathematical precision. It is impossible to declare a bra size with a tape measure alone, and if a company is to have a fitting tool widget on their website it should come with a clear disclaimer to avoid confusion.
The old fitting tool
When it came to assessing existing fitting tools and advice available on the interweb, we agreed fitting websites and companies which used images and educational material of how a bra should fit as opposed to any kind of spreadsheet, calculator or ‘measuring tool’. The Marketing Director of Playtex assured us that their online fitting tool was only ever supposed to be a ‘starting point’ and ‘guide’ where customers fitting themselves from home have some kind of idea and indication of their bra size. Whilst this may be true, all present at the group failed to see the connection between an spreadsheet and the female body, indication or not; particularly when adding inches gets thrown into the mix ‘for good measure’.
A vast majority of the fitting tools all utilised the power of the graph, with one column which represents your under-bust and bust measurement and one which depicts your bra size. Collectively, the girls seemed to identify mainly with tools which included a human face and body, pictures or even diagrams to illustrate how and where to measure, if you insist on going down that route. Not only is this more visually appealing, it also bridges the gap somewhat between the flat lines of a measuring tape, the cold, hard distance between a table with numbers and a female body.
Playtex’s classics!
I’m not about to disregard the place of a tape measure method; it can be very useful when shopping online if you lack the time or confidence to make it into the fitting rooms, however I’d always order a few sizes around my ‘suggested’ size to try them on since I realise that there is no standardisation between either sizing or fitting advice.Thanks to Playtex for the opportunity to talk about bras for an hour(omewhat of a favourite subject of mine), and to the other girls of the focus group for being as into it as I was. The Playtex girls seemed interested in what we had to say as well as radiating an infectious passion and pride in their brand.
