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Curvy Kate and Shallow Breasts
Rant time: I just wrote a mini-thesis on Curvy Kate and it's performance as a brand for shallow breasts, and I annoyed myself in the proces. I don't think I'll ever be able to wear Curvy Kate, aside from the plunges, and I kinda hate to have come to this realization because I do like most of their designs.
I understand that a lot of their customers are in need of narrow/deep cups, but I'm still a bit annoyed how they discontinue well working styles for shallow breasts after a while, like the Entice. I wonder if they don't sell that much as opposed to their other designs, or if there's any other reason why they get cancelled after a while?
I know the Fleurty was supposed to be available for two seasons, but the blue colourway got cancelled. Same with a white Thrill Me, for SS12 I think. They're introducing a new plunge for AW14, but still no sign of a continuity style half cup. I do wonder if the success of the Carmen will ensure a continuity longline to be added, but I doubt it. I have hopes for the Ritzy, and I really like the AW14 Ruby colourway, but I wouldn't be surprised if gore stabbing makes the bra unwearable for me.
Well, at least I got Mimi Holliday to fall back on.
Petite & Plentiful: The Problem with Kate: On Curvy Kate ...
http://www.petiteplentiful.com/2014/04/the-problem-with-kate-on-curvy-kate-an...
Filed under Bras ups and downs
4 comments
A very interesting post and I would love to hear the inside story from CK, i.e. is this a thought-out strategic decision or just something that sort of ended up happening as they tried to refocused their product mix.
I too am curious about their sales figures for different models (the shallow fitting and deeper fitting ones) in different size ranges. I wonder if this situation reflects the objective reality that designing bras for women with small to moderate breast volume (i.e. large number of women with shallower breast shape, minority of women with projected breasts) is quite a different animal than designing for women with substantial to very large breast volume (i.e. fewer customers with shallow shape and far more with deep projected shape). I have always thought that the so called full bust brands are trying to serve two, if not three rather different markets in terms of design requirements; objectively speaking a 28D breast, whether shallow or projected is not particularly large or full so the fit needs are just not the same and a business model based on offering designs that fit relatively ample (32GG), or indeed very large and heavy breasts (36K) may struggle to perform as well in this size range. Newer brands and smaller brands may not have a huge archive to draw on design-wise and if their first few attempts to produce designs properly fitting a certain demographic fail, they may hit a wall (barring the hiring of new designers, investing more in research etc.)
I wonder also whether the bulk of CK customers are simply larger breasted women seeking deeper cup shapes, so that perhaps the smaller cup size ranges for CK (the ranges in which you'd expect the majority of women to have a shallower shape) don't represent a lot of sales. Women with less projection may spend longer in the 32-36 A-D bra fitting "zone" despite being very uncomfortable because poor fit may not be as obvious when they have clothes on, compared to women with very ample and projected breasts (I'm a very projected 32G and if I wear a 34D let's just say you will be able to see there are very strange and unseemly goings-on in the bust region, even through two sweaters! In contrast women who have been poorly fitted in a 32A despite really needing a 28D may still look "normal" when clothed.)
In my observation women with shallower busts who haven't had the benefit of helpful fitting knowledge are also more likely to simply redirect their money to alternatives to the underwire bras they perceive as being so uncomfortable--they are more likely to be wearers of shelf camis, bralettes, etc. Again those of us with very voluminous and projected breasts usually can't even get our boobs into such alternative products so we probably end up flocking in larger numbers to the full bust brands.
My suspicion is that there's now more brands serving the small/medium bust small band market than a few years ago. (Claudette, Tutti Rouge, Miss Mandalay, Cleo is expanding, there's a decent amount of petite corsetry, etc.) All the large sources of British undies - Bravissimo, Figleaves, even ASOS - now make house brand small bust small band bras. There's many models of the vertical seam bra that you want popping up everywhere. :)
Given that it's called *Curvy* Kate, and already has larger bust marketing in place, it probably decided to focus on that market segment than fight with the newer companies and retailers over the smaller bust market. I see this trend in their promotional materials at least.
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