Lingerie Shop Along: Choosing Your Vendors

I've done a lot of online shopping research. I've purchased from Canada, the UK and America. There are a lot of good vendors out there (even on Ebay, apparently, which I look at occasionally but just can't get into). And I always seem to come back to my "standard 3": Figleaves (UK), Large Cup Lingerie - (heretofore known as LCL) and Bra Stop. Note that I am more than open to expanding the roster, just hasn't happened yet...

These brands cater to mid-cup to large-cup bras and have excellent selection for women of larger cup sizes and smaller band sizes. Figleaves, an extremely large company with an online US outpost, caters to shapes and sizes across the board. But keep in mind, if your breasts are rather petite, you may not be the target market for LCL and Bra Stop.

The Benefits of My Go To Online Shops

•  Figleaves UK: The stock is vast and the sizes numerous. This vendor is large enough to get frequent restock of popular bras, so if you miss the boat first time out, you may get a second shot at the bra that got away. The shipping charge is not overly onerous and reshipping is free. Packages tend to deliver very quickly to Canada (at least to me in TO). There are regular sales and readily available promotional codes (you can search the net for these and I'll chat more about them in another post). The client service is friendly and professional. You can access an online personal shopper to assist with sizing and selection.

• LCL: The client service is off the chain. This company makes use of social media to really connect with its clientele which gives it a modern edge. Furthermore, the stock is excellent (if much more curated that Figleaves'). The site is lovely and easy to navigate. It stocks the higher end brands, in general, so if you want to find Miss Mandalay or Freya, this is a good place to start. There are semi-regular sales. Recently, LCL started advertising 4-hr pop up sales on Twitter. But my FAVE feature is the free shipping world wide. You wanna win my heart. This is the way.

• Bra Stop: This is a site I use less frequently but, when the sales are good, you won't find a better deal anywhere. The product here is often discounted, sometimes deeply so. Which means you should check it often if you don't want your size to sell out. The shipping charge is not hideous, but I wouldn't want to pay more than the 7 pounds to Canada - and only if I were getting a really good deal on the merch. I suggest this site to younger women, often, because it stocks a lot of Curvy Kate and Flirtelle, brands that cater to youthful figures in style, price and support. They do have more high-end brands, but not the best selection. Delivery is prompt and service professional.

 All of these shops stock lounge wear, night wear and adorable swimsuits having actual support.

Some Other Well Known Online Shops

• Bravissimo (UK): To me, this site is like Figleaves, only more expensive. I visit often but I purchase elsewhere. I sense that this site caters more specifically to buxom women than Figleaves - and includes a clothing line. I'm not at the upper end of the bra size spectrum so I find the sites above to be very adequate. But perhaps if you have difficulty finding stock, this is a good starting off point. Remember though, it's pricier than other online boutiques and I don't think the price is warranted.

• HerRoom: It's American. I don't love the site design, though it does what it needs to. This site seems, frankly, frumpy. But it caters to C cups and above so there's a wide range.

• Lauren Silva: Also American. I've actually bought from here once - a long line bra I couldn't find anywhere else. It didn't fit. That bra was deeply discounted and the shipping was very reasonable. 

The thing about American sites is that they tend to sell American brands. American brands do not cater well to proportionately large busted women with narrow frames. Instead, they tend to cater to small women with small breasts or large women with large breasts. As a result, the US industry really is missing out on a significant (and growing) market share. Arguably, that's the subject of another post. As a generalization, I also find American brands to be kind of matronly. Especially above a D cup. (Obviously, this is simply my opinion. I'm not bashing the American bra industry. I'm telling it as I see it.)

• Butterfly Collection: This is a Canadian vendor, specializing in large cup bras, that's getting a lot of buzz for a lot of good reasons. Shipping is free to US and Canada. The stock is good, though not as extensive as most of the other vendors mentioned here. The blog, which accompanies this site, is a wealth of awesome information and I've frequently linked to it. You should bookmark it, no question. The owner of this online store is an approachable, female entrepreneur (unsurprisingly, she hails from England, land of the good bras). Furthermore, she offers Skype fittings - a pretty novel concept on the bra-shopping scene. She's been doing them for some time too. I would say, if you don't know your size - and you should have the best sense of this possible before starting to shop - that you might want to do a fitting with Claire or her staff. 

In truth, the reason I use the UK sites is because I find the stock to be extensive and the prices to be unbeatable. As you know, I buy a lot of lingerie (relatively speaking) so I have to consider the costs carefully. Butterfly is located in the West of Canada (probably as far from me as England, interestingly) and, even with free shipping, I can generally get better deals ordering from the UK. I tend to buy local or for best prices and, alas, this shop doesn't meet either of those criteria. Having said this, I do recommend this vendor for its excellent philosophy and client service. If you are just coming to terms with the fact that you've been in a very wrong bra size, if you feel nervous being fitted in a shop, if you need a body-positive experience to accompany your purchasing, I can't think of a better place to start.

So, today's exciting task is to check out these sites - or others you may know and love - and on the basis of what your culling exercise has told you, start looking at options in the appropriate size. Note: The appropriate size can be determined in a number of non-scientific ways, a few of which I'll touch on briefly, recognizing that this series isn't about sizing, but about purchasing on the basis of known size:

• Get a Skype fitting at Butterfly Collection or go to a local shop. I always suggest that, if the shop helps you to find your size, it's good form to buy at least one bra as a result of that fitting. Thereafter, you can always take your new info to the web for better deals.

• If you used to be in the right size (you know this for a fact, you're not just assuming), and your size has altered slightly from that initial size, use your best understanding to refit. For example: If you've lost a bit of weight, which is leaving your bands extra loose but isn't much impacting the way your boobs sit in the cups, go down a band size but don't forget to go up a cup size at the same time! This is extrapolation based on good information. If you're clueless about bra sizing, this isn't the tactic for you.

• Wing it. Buy a bunch of sizes online and be prepared to return most of them. Always go a back size smaller than you imagine you'll need unless you're very confident you know what size to choose. Clueless peeps, this isn't a terrible strategy, in the scheme of things, but it's not efficient and you need to have a high tolerance for multiple return cycles.

• I put no stock in 99.9% of bra fitting calculators, but this one seems fairly accurate based on a few anecdotal tries. It estimated my size accurately, which is something that no other calculator has done in the past.

When you find things you like, bookmark! Put them in the "shopping cart" (you don't have to buy, of course). Don't worry about cost or reality at this point. Just put together your own wishlist. You can be practical in the next step.

 Today's Questions:

• Have you shopped at any of these online boutiques?
• Can you tell us about another online site that you have used? Australians, please let us know how you source bras online. I know it's brutally expensive to ship...