The Summer Series: Five in Five, Take 1

Lord, I've had an irritating day. Yesterday, I prepped for the first of the five in five - V1179:

This is the one I've made before - once for myself and once with my friend Nicole.

I'd forgotten how much I hate putting it together. Which is just as well...

For such a simple sack of a dress, it sure is a pain in the ass. This time I made such a fuck up of the cowl attachment that I had to pick it out 3 times and then serge the pieces together and top stitch the serged edges down about .25 of an inch from the cowl seam. So much for stitching in the ditch.

If you looked at the guts, you'd probably say it looks fine. That's cuz I wouldn't let you look for long.

It's still not done, if you can believe it (10 hrs later), because I've had to rip out the hem. Finally, I rolled some wooly nylon for the bobbin (you can only wind this by hand but it does tend to help even out hems on stretchy fabric). My new machine is not adapting as quickly to knits as I might have imagined. The tension is challenging, despite much testing. Even at 3mm, the stitch looks much tinier. Tiny stitches on knits tend to get wavy and ugly. I'll have to come back to the hem tomorrow. I've been really struggling with headaches lately and the last few days have been a bitch. There's just no more juice for sewing today.

I've been very critical of my sewing lately. I sense I've got to park the perfectionism. I mean, I'm only as competent as I am. If I don't intend to stop doing this craft (and I don't), then I'm going to have to manage occasional mediocrity. I don't know why I'm so much more forgiving of my knitting than sewing. Is it that I have so much time with the garment before completion that I come to terms with it?

What's interesting about this dress is that it's very flattering, bad sewing technique aside. It drapes beautifully. I made the 10 and it fits well what with that being my size from the vantage of shoulder width. Given that my rayon jersey is mega stretchy and the dress has a lot of wearing ease, it's just the right size.

I did two things differently this time and I think they're going to stand this garment in good stead:

• Last time I made this, I didn't own a serger. As I do now (and it's got a little spot built into the presser foot wherein one can feed in stabilizing tape like that clear stuff that's almost impossible to maneuver on a regular machine), I stabilized the shoulder seams in a jiffy and with the optimal material. It was so easy! (I do love my serger.) I also used this on the wrong side of the armscye to stabilize it. I folded over the serged-with-stabilizer edge and topstitched it before sewing up the side seams. Looks good and feels firm.

• Then I stabilized the (very inclined to wave) hem by fusing some interfacing to it. Note: You have to fuse the interfacing from the bottom of the hem to the point at which you'll sew or it won't provide the integrity you'll have spent that extra 30 minutes to achieve. I intend to sew a 1.5 inch hem, so I used 3 inches of interfacing width.

In truth, I've worn the original (badly made) version to death and it's held up really well. The wide hem, uninterfaced, is just lovely and the shoulders are solid enough. But this version's rayon jersey is its own thing and I want to treat it properly.

Today's questions: If you've made this dress, did you find it fun to sew? Or was it really unpleasant? Do you hate sewing rayon jersey? (I'm starting to feel really pissed off by it. Modal, double-knit, tencel - they all sew very nicely. Even though rayon jersey has a great drape, it's SO tricky to stitch.) What's your fave knit from a sewing perspective? And finally, do you sew with headaches? What are your strategies for managing the pain while doing finicky work?

Ask The Bra Fitter: An Intro from Veronica and Some Answers To Questions

Hey Y'all: I'm delighted to share an intro from Veronica, and responses to the first two (of many) bra-related questions posed by readers of this blog:

Veronica's Preamble:

First off, I'd like to say a little about my personal conception of bra-fitting. In my opinion the ideal fitting experience should be educational, collaborative and empowering. A good fitter will explain how a bra should fit and discuss particular features of a client's body shape that may effect her choice of bras. Involving the client in this process encourages education, which speeds along subsequent fittings and gives each woman a guideline for shopping elsewhere (i.e., she'll know if she's being hoodwinked into a bad bra).

Fitting should be collaborative because the right choice of bra is never based entirely on technical fit-points. Aspects such as comfort and aesthetics are rather personal, and a fitter can't provide for them unless she communicates with her client. I've never felt comfortable making decisions for clients, instead I prefer to work with them to find what they need. I can make sure the bra is fitting a client, but I can't tell her how a bra feels on her body, nor can I dictate an ideal shape, style or colour. The most I can do is discuss why she wants a bra to fit a certain way, to ensure that there are no obvious indications of discomfort and to offer my opinion on aesthetics. If a client feels better with a slightly looser band, prefers a round to perky shape, or doesn't want to wear a bra at all, that's her prerogative. 

I'm glad that bra fitting has gained exposure through the media (e.g. Oprah, Double Divas), but I'm always a little annoyed by the fact that these expert fitters often present themselves as infallible and that the women being fit are sometimes characterized as foolish for not wearing the correct size. Most women aren't buying badly fitted bras intentionally, they're buying badly fitted bras because they aren't being offered a full range of sizes and aren't aware that there is a whole other world outside of the conventional "bra matrix" (32-36 A-DD). Bra fitting does require the development of particular skills and knowledge (interpersonal relations, spacial awareness, detail orientation and patience), but the only difference between myself and K-line is my level of experience and product knowledge. (Ed. Note: Way to encourage my fanaticism!) I think fitters will always be necessary as they are able to draw on experience and knowledge which most laypeople don't have. Nonetheless, I believe fit education is key as it empowers women to buy well.

Now onto a couple of questions...

Courtney writes:

Hi!  Thank you so much for doing this feature!  I have a questions that's been plaguing me for years.  Where should my underwire ride?  I realized I was wearing the wrong sized bra when I noticed that my underwire was riding 2 full inches below where my breast tissue stops.  But even now that I've been properly sized and have some great bras that fit my shape well, there are still spots where it seems to be riding low.  Is it a problem with sizing, or my boob shape?  My boobs do seem to have a flat spot on the bottom, towards the middle, and that's where it's the worst :)  If it is my boobs, what do I do about it, or do I even need to do anything?

Hello! Thanks for asking. Ideally the underwires should tuck just under the breasts without any gaps. This placement encourages the maximum amount of lift and support and is usually the most comfortable. Reasons for the wire riding low include:

• a too-loose band (because the bra can't anchor itself to your body, it is able to float around), and

• the wrong wire shape (a narrow wire on a woman with a wider breast shape will pinch at the sides and gap at the bottom, an overly broad wire on a women with narrow breasts will usually gap at the sides). 

If the back of your bra is snug enough it will sit straight across your back and stay in place when you move around. So if the problem is the wires, I'd suggest trying some different brands. I'm not sure of your size range or shape, but for a narrower wire try Simone Perele (smaller bust) or Freya (fuller bust) and for a wider wire try Marie Jo (smaller bust) or Prima Donna (fuller bust). While there are many companies out there that cater to different shapes, there are still many many more shapes of women. So if your bra feels supportive and comfortable but there is still a small gap despite trying new styles, don't worry! In bra fitting we strive for perfection, but like all other areas, perfection is rarely achievable!

(Ed note: This table may be useful as a reference for wire-width.)

Marsha wants to know:

Burning question - why is it impossible for me to find a bra that doesn't eventually slide off my shoulders if I move around and actually perform life actions? I've been told that this happens because my bra band is too loose, but it happens with bras whose bands, if they were any tighter, would prevent me from breathing without effort. (We'll talk about uplift, minimizing, etc., some other time.) P.S. The only bra "expert" I ever knew was the somewhat flaky sister of one of my daughter's friends, who worked at an underwear outlet store and had purportedly been trained, but whose opinion I could never see myself respecting. Is there a degree or certification or something that bra experts can get to vouch for their ability.

Do you have narrow or sloping shoulders? If your bra is snug enough to anchor the bra to your body, the problem may be the bra straps themselves. I'd suggest trying a bra with inset straps. This refers to straps that are positioned more at the center of the cup (like with a full cup and some plunges) rather than off to the sides (like with a demi or a balconette). A wider-set strap on narrower or sloped shoulders will almost always fall off (except those of my beloved Empreinte which angles the straps on its balconettes so that they are more centrally positioned at the back of the bras).

As to bra experts, most bra-fitting courses I've seen are tied to a brand. For example, Eveden (they own Freya, Fantasie, Fauve, Huit, Elomi and Goddess) has a fit school, which I think is pretty well-respected. However, if they only work with their own brands, it's cutting out a range of products that might be better suited to certain women. I'm wary of stores that only carry their name brand (i.e. Change Lingerie or Victoria's Secret) or only carry a very small range of sizes (the usual 32-36 A-DD), because those fitters don't have enough sizes and styles to match to the wide variations in women. When I train fitters the process can take up to 3 months and it involves "bra math" (figuring out sizes, working out conversions), extensive product knowledge, identifying which cuts and brands of bras work best with different body shapes and a lot of practice! So rather than looking for certificates or degrees, I'd be more interested to know how extensive their training is and make sure their store carries a good range of companies and sizes. Finally, there are quite a few fitters who want to fit properly and want to help women, but haven't been provided the training they deserve (shout out to the awesome saleswomen at La Senza who send clients my way rather than misfit them)!

So there you go - first in a series of these posts designed to help you with your burning bra questions. Wait. That came out wrong.

Keep asking and pls. do comment if you've found this useful!

The Bra Adventures: The Ewa Michalak Experience and Some Other Things

Y'all know I read many lingerie blogs and many of those blogs have some fabulous things to say about Ewa Michalak. Certain others of those blogs have less fabulous things to say, specifically about the customer service.

I've discussed the service in a previous post. It wasn't good, but they did pull through when my package was lost in the mail. (Is it wrong of me to suspect that it was never sent in the first place?)

After a month, I received the set shown below:

E Michalak SM Trefl ("Soft Cup")

To clarify, soft cup refers to the fact that the bra cups aren't molded or padded. It does, as you can see, have an under wire.

I was not impressed by this bra in any way.

• The fabric is not particularly supportive. It has a lot of stretch (making it good for a large bust which gravity hasn't touched) which makes the upper cups even more gape-y than they'd otherwise be.

• The wires are fine but they're nothing to write home about, in the support department.

• The band on this bra is quite firm. I wouldn't go down a band size, though many have indicated that bra band and cup sizing is all over the map. A good feature of this brand is that it will custom-make a bra for you in any size. The downside is that every bra seems to be (if one believes the reviews) its own particular size. Some are small in the cups, others large in the band or vice versa. Because customized bras are not returnable, it's a risk.

• This bra wasn't cheap (though not expensive) and I was charged an additional, mystery "Paypal fee" that amounted, if I'm not mistaken, to about 6 per cent of the purchase price. There is no transparency about this fee and it pisses me off.

• It took too long to arrive and the feedback was sporadic. 

• The fabric, while not cheap-looking, has no delicateness. It's just not pretty enough to warrant all of the other hassles. By contrast, I have Empreinte bras that are as delicate-seeming as tissue, and they're far more supportive.

To put this into perspective, I paid about the same amount for the Cleo Melissa and it fits like a dream. It's utterly supportive. The band doesn't budge. It's gorgeous and unique. The cup is deeper than the one on the Trefl, but still open enough to accomodate a full-on-top breast.

Look, if you have very full-on-top, difficult-to-size breasts, perhaps this is a good option for you. I've only tried one style, and I do think the support is underwhelming, but I'm no expert on the brand. What I can say is that it's gonna be a long time before I bother with this again so I'm grateful to have other alternatives.

No, I'm not going to return this set. That would be far more trouble than it's worth. It's sitting in my adoption drawer, tags and everything. I'll aim to sell to recoup the money I spent on it, at some point.

But moving on...

An Update about "Ask The Bra Fitter": I want to let you know that Veronica is reviewing your questions and she'll answer a couple at a time. I hope to be able to address the first batch of your fantastic queries early next week, so please stay tuned.

And finally, once again today, I was approached by some lovely women who are requesting my bra-assistance via local shopping excursion. It's amazing to me that people - those who don't even know me as "the crazy lady who has a blog wherein she talks obsessively about bra fit" - have begun to ask me for this sort of help on a regular basis. Scott has a theory that I should put up a page about my bra-fitting services and turn it into a side-line business. (He also has a theory I should charge $1000 a day and become bra-fitter to the stars, so I think you need to take his ideas with a grain of salt.) A while ago, I decided to lengthen my May long-weekend by adding on an extra day. Now, it seems, I'll be spending it with the savvy women who own and run the hair salon I frequent.

On this topic: Every bra-fitter has a bias. Some go in for the tight bands (I get this, on a personal-choice level.) Some use measuring tapes. Others take pride in their ability to suss it out through experience and intuition.

There are suspect systems out there. (You no doubt read about these all the time.) After all, a ridiculously high percentage (TBD) of women are wearing the wrong size bra at any given moment. There are also some very good methodologies. Veronica was taught one of those - and she has a great eye.

I myself, have never been formally trained how to fit a bra (not that there's a degree to be had), but I've learned in many different ways:

• My own breast shape and size is challenging to fit. I've spent hundreds of hours and tried on hundreds of bras in an effort to understand fit - as it pertains to me.

• I've read zillions of blog posts written by women of all shapes and sizes to learn more about what works and doesn't work for them.

• For years, I've been helper-shopper, searching out bras for family and friends.

• I've always had a strange and reliable ability to determine what will fit whom. I frequently buy clothing of all sorts for and with friends and family and, while I'm not 100% successful, my odds are pretty good. 

• I take fit fucking seriously. I'm the woman who spends 30 hours working out the math to fit a sweater - aka the addition of volume. I sew, wherein I have to consider carefully, how to strategically remove volume. I think it's fair to say, since I dream about it at night and mull it over every spare minute of the day, that this is an area wherein I am adequately - and ongoingly - self-taught.

So let me share my bias.

I don't care what bra-size you end up wearing. I just want you to find a bra that fits terrifically and makes you look great. Your boobs will be the same size whether that happens in a 32C or a 38H. Your size is meaningless as far as I'm concerned. Your shape is everything.

Secretly, I do love to speculate about the size my "fit subjects" will wear. It's a fun party trick. When I'm right, it's a kick. When I get it wrong (and there are so many variables contributing to this), who cares? We go up or down a cup size / band size - and try a variety of styles - till we find what works.

Every woman knows when she finds the bra for her. She loves the look and the fit. Women are the best arbiters, once they've been given the tools, to choose the right bras for themselves. When the gore tacks at the breastbone and the cups drape over the breasts and lift/support without being too small (pillowing) or too large (gaping), when the band is firm and doesn't budge - but also doesn't hurt, when the wires are high and supportive, but don't dig in - these are the signs of good fit and happy breasts - and a sexy look.

If you're reading this and you've not yet found a bra of this description, do not despair. It's out there. Just keep reading and trying and looking. If there's a good boutique in your area, visit it. Even if the fitters don't work for you, the stock is there. Try that stock from the vantage point of reading you've done. Order online. Get comfortable with returns.

And, of course, avail yourself of Ask the Bra-Fitter! Veronica is ready to answer your questions. And let me assure you, she knows her stuff.

The Summer Series: Which Five are the Five in Five?

Fucking hell! Blogger just ate a post I'd spent 30 minutes writing and I'm finding it very hard to bring myself to rewrite it. And it was a good freakin' post, dammit.

Alright, Cole's Notes version: I've chosen the Five in Five (the five easy, namely knit, pieces I will make to tide me through work and play over the summer).

The One That's Not a Knit (but is a skirt): NewLook 6843 mashed up with an RTW skirt I own

I'll make it straight and mini - but not too much of either. Fun fact: This is the pattern I used to make the first thing I ever sewed. It took 15 hours.

Fabric: Denim I used on the skinnies I made recently

The Chic Top: Either Maria Denmark 103:

You can find this in Craftsy Patterns

or a shortened (for my hourglass and short-waisted frame) version of Vogue 8790:

Please use your imagination with these photos. It's hard to see past some of the styling...

Note that all Vogue Patterns photos can be found on the website... Individual linking is a luxury of the woman who hasn't worked all day and then written 3/4 of a post that opted to disappear.

The Fabric: My remaining yard of this fantastic Modal:

The Fancy Dress: V1287 by DKNY

Don't worry, it's not so fancy that it isn't made of jersey with hidden elastic shaping at the waistband.

Fabric: Tencel in slate blue

I sure do hope this fabric isn't too sheer...

What you'll notice is that Vogue and DKNY make some very wearable summer dresses, as evidenced by the fact that I'll be making two others:

Le Sac: I've made V1179 twice before and it's terrific with a belt:

Yeah, everyone and her sister's made this cuz it flatters so many shapes.

The fabric: The remainder of this floral, last used on Jalie 2921

And finalement...

The Dancer Dress: V1027

The Fabric: That peacock shade of Modal that I suspect isn't Modal (no pic available, apparently - I'll photograph my stash when I start working with it...)

I have a couple of other pattern ideas up my sleeve but these top the queue.

Today's questions: Which of these do you like best? Have you made any of them and, if so, how do they wear? What summer projects are in your plan?

I Know Why It's Called Spring

Too tired to write much - and my arms can't type super well, what with the 2 hours of mulch-laying that I just completed. Let me just suggest that, the next time your landscaper asks you if you can manage the mulch because she's short on staff, seriously consider saying no. Now I know why my bill is always in excess of what I imagine it should be. (Note to reader: My landscaper is fantastic, if short on staff. I'd totally recommend her so email if you have an urban TO garden and you're looking to beautify it.)

This puts my gardening efforts at more than a dozen hours over the last 3 weeks. (I always spring-clean and fall-close my garden but, because I have no car, it's useful to have the help of peeps with trucks.) If it all wasn''t looking so fantastic, I'd be underwhelmed. The window-washers came on the weekend. There hasn't been a drop of rain since last week (hallelujah) and the bright sun and blue sky and vivid colours of the spring, well, springing, is nothing short of life-affirming.

I can tell you a few things that age has taught me:

• Update your vaccines.
• Buy the best you can afford (but know that you can find excellence at a lower price if you're willing to do the research).
• Bring in qualified -and insured - professionals once a year to clean your windows. No, don't try to do it yourself unless you're in a bungalow (those ladders are high!). Don't leave windows to gather dirt till you can't see through them any longer. Clean windows will revive your home like little else.

From my vantage point, it's pretty hard to complain. I've got spotless windows and two gardens with gorgeous, growing things. Though this winter was very hard on my outdoors, I'm betting on some plants to rally.

We were going to do a lot of things this summer:

• Pull off the back of the first floor back room and replace it with French doors
• Go to Berlin and Amsterdam
• Visit up north with friends

Those are not going to happen. Why?

•  I don't have the energy, this year, to deal with another reno (not to mention the funds). As we now suspect the back room may have structural issues, we're opting to leave it another year (at which point we'll reno the kitchen at the same time - or so I'm saying now). It's gonna be a big fucking project. It can wait.

• A propos of funds, I don't know how I can spend thousands on Europe when I'm expecting to undertake a major reno in the medium-term. Alas, my Euro adventure must wait a couple more years.

• My kid goes to North Carolina, to visit my parents, but not till the 29th of June. That's one day into the long weekend over which some great friends will be traveling to visit some other great friends in the Collingwood area. Furthermore, my husband and I are aiming to go to Montreal and QC on July 1 (the other side of that long weekend). We'll have to see how this all plays out to fit into my husband's increasingly busy work schedule. (Not that I'm complaining about lots of work.)

On an unrelated, but happy, note: My latest Vogue patterns arrived - in the nick of time for the Five in Five (which theoretically begins on May 10). I'm pretty sure I know which ones I'm going to use for this bracket of the Summer Series. I ordered them on April 18. Good thing I planned ahead.

Today's questions: Do you garden (balcony, urban, vegetable etc.)? What's your favourite aspect of the activity? Or, for the non-gardeners/sewists, does it take more than 3 weeks for Vogue Patterns to reach you?

Summer Series: A Picture Tells A Thousand Measurements

I'm not gonna lie. This is the biggest and most complex pattern rescale that I've ever done. I mean, I might as well have just thought up a garment and written down the instructions because I ended up turning this:

In truth, this is half of the pattern instructions for the full garment...

into 11 pages of this:

Kristin's version of a garment long since in the public domain...

You've gotta appreciate how I included the photo in my reworked version of the pattern!

BTW, I do realize that starting this pattern from scratch is well beyond my current drafting abilities - but, in the name of hyperbole, sometimes you've just got to be glib.

Let me recap what I did:

• I decided to use the a new gauge (one that I could get on my needle size of choice and which would facilitate customizing this knit to my shape), not the one the pattern recommends.

•  Then I carefully considered how I wanted this to fit (with 0 to slightly positive ease, in order to maximize the jacket-effect):

There are actually several additional pages of this scribble - those showing the dimensions for size 34 that the original pattern provides, and those showing my modified requirements which I'm calling (unsurprisingly) "the modified 34".

•  In order to keep my focus (which really started to waver as I freaked out many times over the 5 days and numerous hours that it took for me to work this out), I wrote myself instructions on writing the instructions:

• My express goal was to do all of the thinking (aka fitting) before I started to knit because, really, those are two entirely different activities.  It took a long time because I wasn't merely changing one element (the fabric, based on gauge - which in and of itself changes the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the garment) but two inter-related elements (the fabric, based on gauge AND the proportions, via stitch count, of just about every part of this jacket to, theoretically, accommodate my body shape exactly). It also took a long time because I had to quadruple check every measurement. And yes, I found errors in my original math.

• But let me tell you, it didn't start to get seriously scary until I redrafted the sleeves:

• I have to give a HUGE thank you to knitter and teacher extraordinaire, Alexandra V. She sent me a template on how to do all of the insane non-Euclidian geometry  - a 7-freakin' page template! - which turns this piece (about the theory of sleeve drafting) into something one can actualize. I should clarify that the reason I could make use of this template in this instance (A actually sent it to me when I was making the last sleeve-modified sweater but I couldn't make heads or tails of it at that point) is because I redrafted this entire pattern and, as such, I have ready access to the numerous pieces of data one requires in order to use the template. 

• My point is, unless your pattern gives you extremely detailed instructions (which vintage patterns never do), you're going to have to deconstruct it to determine the following key pieces of info: the height of the armhole (not the length you speculate, but the length gauge is actually going to provide), the width of the initial bind off in inches and stitches, the width of the decrease in inches, one half of the upper sleeve width desired, the initial bind off number of stitches for the sleeve... You've got to be pretty close to your (as yet unknitted) pattern to know these things or to determine them. And this is just the jumping off point! The thinking comes next.

• Once you determine all of these things, you can't go off-road in the knitting. In fact, your only job at that point, is to follow the instructions (and to have a glass of wine).

People, this was really hard work. Harder work than I like, truth be told, but I am apparently incapable of doing anything without customizing it. As much as I TRULY just want to get going (with a tweak here or there), how can I knowingly spend 100 hours making a jacket that will be a little too big in the waist and then too small in the bust and perhaps too wide in the shoulders and, worst of all, too long in the armhole (giving a droopy, untailored profile to a totally tailored garment).

This is a tailored suit jacket. Sure, it's one wherein I'm making the fabric - rather than molding it over my body (as one does when one sews) - and that adds a lot of extra work up front. Once I've made the fabric, there's no going back (unless I want to rip it all out, which I seriously do not).

Alas, one doesn't know, until one spends the 100 hours (on top of the 30 already spent on the math), if said math is actually correct and if the jacket will fit to the degree of precision that the planning warrants. That's the joy of being a novice.

But damn straight, I will have learned something.

Bra Adventures: Kismet and Other Stories

My friends, there is so much excitement around here lately... There's the window washing (since the reno, we have a zillion more windows) and the gardening and the fabric shopping and pattern choosing and the knitting-fitting math and the spring cleaning - but (as I pause to take a breath) let's leave that for the moment.

Let's talk about some developments in the Bra Adventures department:

For starters, after a mere 6 weeks, my Ewa Michalak order arrived. I haven't yet had time to try it on, but I will very soon. And then, natch, you'll hear all about the fit and all of my many feelings. I just tried it on and, of course, it doesn't fit. I don't know what degree of proportional upper cup fullness one would require to get this bra to actually fit but, let's just say, it's far more than mine (and I'm not a slouch in that department). I'm going to review the bra in detail shortly. But briefly: Boobs on a plate, my ass.

However, much more exciting, here's a little story for you:

Many years ago, I was fitted at a TO bra boutique by a delightful and extremely talented young woman. To preserve her privacy, let's call her Veronica. (I think that name sounds rather "sassy bra fitter", don't you agree?) Time elapsed, she moved on to other venues (as did I), and we lost touch with one another.

At any rate, a few weeks ago, Veronica contacted me by email to advise me that she'd found my blog, was enjoying my bra-related posts and, perchance, did I remember her? Um, did I ever! I've thought of her often over the years as a) she is the best bra-fitter I've come across (and I've known many good bra-fitters) and b) long before the term was coined, she and I were "boob twins". In case you're unfamiliar with the term, a boob twin is someone who shares your size and shape of breasts and can wear - and look equally fab - in most of the same bras, in the same size as you.

Back then, boob twins were like unicorns (especially with our boobs!).

Veronica would let me know when new styles arrived - those that were destined to work on me because they worked on her - and we had the same quirky taste in patterns. This was in the era of quality Freya (vs. the "fits young boobs at the young boob price point" thing they've got going on now. Oh Freya, how you have forsaken your original market. I hope it doesn't come back to bit you in the derriere.) 

Intriguingly, we two are not similar in size and shape in any other way. She is tall. She has a broad frame. (She also has the loveliest hair!) The point is, you don't have to have the same proportions as your boob twin. And, as ephemeral as is everything else in the world, so is boob twinness.  Having met recently on a couple of occasions (oh, read on!), we are no longer boob twins (in size, anyway). She's still much younger than me - and her bust has expanded slightly, while mine is in a different sort of flux.

As I recently bought some bras that are too large for me, and she has some that are too small for her, we decided to do a swap! More on this later, but I want to tell you that I walked away with two great bras and (amazingly, given that my swap collection was far less substantial than hers) EVERYTHING that I had worked for her. It was like bra Christmas in May!

Anyway, I could go on forever about the truly illuminating bra-talk we've been having. I sense it is possible (though I loathe this terminology) that I am a bra "geek". How can 3 hours go by, as if in the blink of an eye, discussing the relative cup depth and wire widths of independent brands?? 

And better still, having asked a zillion questions of Veronica, and having been fascinated by all the answers, I requested that she might assist us here in a little exercise called "Ask the Bra-Fitter".  

How do I Ask The Bra-Fitter? 

So here's what I suggest. If you'd like to ask a question - about anything bra-related (from the structure and technology of bras to the politics of bra-fitting), please email me. It would be helpful if the subject heading alludes to the Ask the Bra Fitter series. It's no problem if you'd like to remain anonymous for the purposes of these questions. Just let me know in the email that this is your preference. 

When I receive your questions, I will forward them to Veronica (without names or distinguishing detail, as requested) and ask her to provide a response. Then, I'll post the question and the response on my blog (administrative process, tbd).

Please do avail yourself of this awesome resource. I have learned so many things from Veronica and I'd love to expand the dialogue to include you! 

Today's questions: What do you think of this concept? Are there any burning questions you've just never had the chance to ask? Have you ever befriended an "expert"? Let's talk!