Tips for the perfect fit with Bravissimo

_{Some items have been gifted}

I think Isla Fisher put it best in Confessions of a Shopaholic when her character Rebecca Bloomwood was confronted with a huge credit card bill for lingerie; “Oh, underwear is a basic human right”. Okay, shopaholic Rebecca was sozzled and crazed by her out-of-control debts at the time, but she had a point.

Isn’t there a famous quote about buying good beds and shoes because “if you aren’t in one you are in the other”? I think this could possibly apply to underwear too, can’t it? Anyway, the point is that I’m completely justified in buying a gorgeous new set of Freya underwear… and  it means I get to share my tips with you for getting a great fitting bra, so that can only be a good thing, can’t it?

I actually learnt a lot of tips when I visited Bravissimo for a fitting. Okay, I didn’t leave the house for my fitting, but that’s the genius part; Bravissimo can give you a bra fitting online! It’s perfect for those of us who are scared of being tape-measured in a changing room and means that everyone can get a decent fitting bra, no matter where they live or their budget. If you’ve not already seen their #AmazingYou page, check it out now; it’s full of inspirational stories about what makes women feel amazing and you contribute your own stories to inspire others too! It was this campaign that made me determined to feel amazing every day and I’m kick-starting this with my new underwear.I logged on to the Bravissimo website to buy a pretty set that I’d spotted the week before and within a few minutes of browsing a chat help box popped up at the side of my screen. Instead of just clicking ‘no thanks’ I decided to accept and found myself joining a text chat with a fitting consultant. I could actually see her on the screen and could hear her talking to me yet I didn’t need to turn on a webcam or microphone – I could just type in my questions and she could answer me in real time. Of course, if you want to chat via your computer camera, that option is available too but I was happy to stay on the safe side of the keyboard! I asked if the consultant would help me with choosing the right size in the particular bra I liked as I was unsure of how a longline bra would fit compared to a normal bra. I had my tape-measure at the ready but I actually didn’t need it at all. The fitting consultant asked me a few questions about the bra I was currently wearing; the size, how long I’d had the bra (did you know that they ‘expire’ after about a year and the elastic will no longer fit as well as it did?!), what hooks I was fastening it on and how tight the shoulder straps are.Here are some signs that you are wearing the wrong size bra:

• When you lift your arms up the underwire moves out and away from your ribcage
• The straps dig into your shoulders – or are so loose they fall down.
• Skin spills over of the side of the cup, near your armpit
• When you look down there is a gap between the bra centre and your ribcage
• It rides up at the back

After about five minutes chatting she was able to tell me that my bra size was right but that I’d probably need to go up a cup size in my new bra to get the ideal fit. She also said that to try on the bra for a while when it arrives in the post and to chat with them again if it didn’t seem quite right so that they could help find a better fitting bra to replace it with.I ordered my new underwear confident that it would fit and – can you believe it? – it is perfect! I’d definitely recommend having a chat fitting with one of the Bravissimo consultants; it’s such a quick and easy way to find out your true bra size and how to ensure a great fit. I event learnt a thing or two about making my existing bras fit better, including moving onto the second row of hooks as the elastic stretches after about 6 months of wear and loosening the straps so that the bra is supporting you rather than the tight straps – tops tips, huh?

Let me know if you try out this service and what you think of it by leaving me a comment below and tweeting me @Cassiefairy

Some items in this blog post have been gifted to me and the pink links indicate a gifted product, affiliate link or information source. All thoughts and opinions in this post are based on my own experience and I am not responsible for your experience 🙂