Brachic Ottawa - Fitting and Refitting » All bra adventures

Brachic Ottawa - Fitting and Refitting

I am going to go through my first bra fitting experience at a boutique. It's a long and detailed story but I want it off my chest.

I had just discovered r/abrathatfits and was pumped to figure out my size so I could start ordering online. I thought that going to a good boutique and finding my perfect size would be a great idea.

So I looked online and found two shops that carried a wide range of bands and sizes, which I thought was a good sign, and I settled on Brachic.

So I injured myself at work, and I needed to go to the doctor, but I had to kill several hours before my appointment. I was in the neighborhood of Brachic, so I decided on a whim to take a trip there. I went in, everything seemed very nice and pretty, and I waited a few minutes for a fitter. The lady seemed old and wise, and had a British accent. I thought this was promising. She took me into the fitting room, asked me what I was looking for. I said I wanted a better fitting bra, and i think my band is too big. She took my underbust measurement with my bra on. She said I was wearing a molded cup and asked if that was what I wanted. I told her I think so, I seem to like them.

She left and came back with one bra in nude, and one in black and said this is all she has in my size. The first was a Marie Jo L'aventure Tom Convertible Underwire Bra (012-0826) . She had me lean forwards, then put the bra on me and said she was getting all my breast tissue in the cup. I tried it on and she said it fit real well. She told me the gore laid flat, the band fit on the loosest hook, and there was no space in the top of the cup. I asked about the armpit fat (since I noticed she hadn't asked me to swoop and scoop), and she said "That's just us". She then had me try on the black one the same way, and there was space in the top of the cup. I asked if she had anything else. She left and brought back one more black bra that looked plain but it had an extra string of fabric in line with the top of the cup. She said you will either love it or hate it. I didn't really think it was my style. I think she put me back into the Tom (in 36C), and I asked her if she could order it in black. She said she could and that I would have to pay for the entire thing up front and that it would take a few weeks. She then said she would leave me with the bra to think about it.

So I stayed in the changing room. I did a few yoga poses to see if the bra would ride up like my old 38Bs. It didn't and it did really feel comfortable. I had come in convinced I would find my new size. I didn't think it would just be a sister size of my old bra. But she seemed so happy with the fit, and she seemed to know what she was talking about. I didn't even know the price of the bra, I was definitely in a weird state of mind from the stress of having injured myself and having to leave work. I tried looking for the price and couldn't see it. I assumed it was $70. I decided to buy it, even though the fitter hadn't exactly jumped through hoops like some of the awesome bra fittings I had read about on r/abrathatfits.

I left the change room and went to the cash. The lady told me it was non-refundable and I said ok. She tried to ring it up and she couldn't, she needed to get help from another lady. As I was watching I saw the price was $117. That was wayyyyy too much for me. But I had decided to buy it so I didn't change my mind. After a few minutes of tinkering she was able to ring it up. She then sold me a bottle of Soak, which seemed like a good idea. I'm glad that I learned later that at least that was a good purchase. Before I paid she again told me it was final sale. My head was still like "oh my god this is so much money and you're not even sure about this", but I had for some reason had my mind set on buying, and so it was done.

Later that night I started freaking out, and I made a post on r/abrathatfits asking if it did fit, this time I swoop and scooped before the pictures. The abrathatfit-ers didn't think it fit - at all. I was really stressed and annoyed about it for two weeks, until I decided to go back and say I didn't think it fit. I decided to send an email because I was going to be working during all their open hours for the next week. I said that I was unhappy that I was shoved into a 36C when I measured at more of a 34F, and that I was unhappy with the return policy, and that I hadn't worn the bra or removed the tags. She emailed me back two days later (it had been a weekend, to be fair) and said she would like to do a refitting for me, and signed her name. I thought she was the one who had fit me, so I googled her and it was definitely the same lady. So I told her that but that I wanted a refitting anyway.

It took about a week because of emailing, where she only checks her email every 48 hours, although once it took longer than that, and then I went in for a refitting.

When I arrived at the store for the refitting I said I had an appointment. The cashier said "SuperSecretL?" and I said yes. She told me the fitter was with another customer and would be done shortly. That was fine since my appointment was for a time window, not an exact time.

The fitter brought me into the fitting room and she had a bra with a post-it note on it. She looked at the note and said that in the email I had said I was 34F, so she had got a 34F bra. It was a full coverage bra and looked very not-shallow.

She had me try on the 36C I had purchased, she had me lean forward, and she put it on while I was leaning forward, and said that it was encapsulating all my breast tissue. Then I stood up and she showed me what she was looking for in a properly fitted bra: 1) the gore lied flat, 2) The bra was could be hooked up on the loosest hook, not the tightest 3) the tissue at the top of the cup was in line with the bra, no spillage and no empty space in the cup 4) All the breast tissue is inside the cup.

I then said that on the internet people had said that you should scoop migrated breast tissue from the back and sides into the cup. She said that if she had the cure for back fat she would not be here, she would be on an island somewhere. She said there is no magic to it and that she fits for the breasts we have, and make sure that all the breast tissue goes in the cup by leaning over.

I then tried to explain that the wires were sitting on the side of my boob. I said that when I lean over it looks like my breasts fit into the cup, but when I stand up the end of my breast goes further back, and I pointed at the spot where it ends. She didn't say anything, so I asked "Does that make sense?" and she said "That makes absolutely no sense". I then said "I measured the inside of this bra-" and she interrupted and asked, "why did you do that?" and I said "Because it was 7 inches, and I measured my own breast, and it was more than that." She then said that all my breast tissue was in the cup, and that the numbers and letters don't matter, only what fits.

Then she showed me the 34F, she put it on over top of my 36C, and said "look at this, you could go swimming in this bra, I won't even do it up, and look at how tight it would be". The fitter said that people on the internet could say whatever they want, it doesn't mean it's true. She said that in person she can see it fits, and I can tell it's comfortable. I nodded and said "it is comfortable, that's why I bought it."

She left, and I put back on my other bra (a 36E Montelle that is too large, but has nice wide wires that I find very comfortable) and shirt, and put the bra back in the bag I had bought it in. She came back in and asked if I had any more questions. She said "it's best if you ask now, rather than walking down the street and thinking about it." I said "ummmm" and I thought in my head that I still don't think it fits, but I had already tried explaining it to her, so I didn't have any more questions for her. And then I said "No I don't think so". She told me once again various things like all the breast tissue is in the cup, people on the internet can say whatever they want and once it's there it's permanent, and "I hope you wear that bra, because it fits." She then said that she did her research and saw the post that I wrote. She said "I was very tempted to respond, but I didn't". And then she said "I think it was very unfair what you wrote, and I hope you take it back." I thanked her and left, then wrote it in my phone that she hoped I would take back what I wrote, so I wouldn't forget to mull it over.

I thought about it. And I felt very anxious about it. Was it unfair? I am certainly no expert on bras, and I have not found A Bra That Fits. I was also worried that I was being two-faced by saying I was satisfied with her answer in store, but saying something else online. But I don't think that should stop me from sharing my honest experience. I think I did the best I could in the store, I got her honest opinion too, and whether or not I agree with it I already bought the non-refundable bra. I am very non-confrontational, and it was very hard for me to go back into that store and bring up my concerns. I think I did the best I could to bring up my issues, I listened to what she had to say, which I didn't agree with. Maybe some other people would have told her "actually I don't agree, and I won't be coming back". I did not feel the courage to do that. And frankly, I don't owe her that kind of honesty. And that is why I decided to post my experience online after all. I don't need to feel guilty. I have my own rights as a consumer.

And in the end, if I do turn out to be a 36C, there are a lot of places I can go. I don't need to choose between 3 ugly, expensive bras, especially for ones that flatten me out like my cheap, cotton ones didn't. I don't need to pay in advance to order a bra of a different color. I don't need to buy non-refundable bras.

And I'm selling the bra on Ebay.

Filed under Bras ups and downs

Shared on Jun 30, 2013 Flag this