At figleaves HQ, we love nothing more than a good challenge! After being approached by five beautiful, natural women who have struggled for years to find a perfectly fitting bra, we were put to the test to find the ultimate fit for every one of them! So, last week we invited Lauren, Sara, Kay, Miral and Vanessa of Intercept IT to figleaves HQ for a special fitting day and photo shoot in our studio.
Here’s how their day went:
9.30am: As we all know – the best way to start a jam-packed day is with a hearty breakfast! So as we laid on a delicious breakfast of pastries, fresh strawberries and coffee, our five guinea pigs turned up to be fitted.
10am: Brave Lauren was up first for hair and make up. Hair stylist Dane, was delighted by her beautifully thick hair and opted for soft, bouncy waves, complimented by nude make-up and fluttery eyelashes.
Our brilliant bra fitter Becky then surprised Lauren by fitting her into a 34DD Just Peachy by figleaves.com balconnette bra. Lauren had been wearing a 36D and Becky explained ”It’s very common that women believe their back size to be bigger and cup size smaller than it really is. Try going down a back size to get firmer support, but always go up a cup size as you do this.“ Take a look at our fit guide for more tips.
Lauren headed for the set and posed so effortlessly in front of the camera. The teal shade of her new lingerie set complimented her creamy complexion and her killer curves looked sensational.
Lauren commented: "I didn’t realise how much I didn’t know about something that I wear everyday! Becky was so friendly and helpful and obviously very informative. The best bit that I learnt was that 80% of the support should be in the strap around the chest and not in the straps that go over your shoulder. No longer will I have straps digging into my shoulders. I loved the Just Peachy set and I’m going to be ordering it in 2 more colours!
“Also, I loved spending the day with the girls from figleaves HQ. You can tell how much fun we had from our faces in the group shot!”
11am: Next up was gorgeous, curly haired Sara, Dane gave her roots volume at the crown and defined the curls around her face and our lovely makeup artist, Mehurum gave Sara sexy smoky eyes. Sara was fitted into a Glamour plunge bra and went from a 32F to a 32G.
Sara was cool, calm and confident in front of the camera and looked perfectly comfortable in her own skin. The bra, fitted by our in-house expert, Becky Simpson, supported and maximised her curvy shape.
Sara said: “What my fitting made me realise is that like clothes, different bra brands can vary in size massively. Now that someone has explained to me which bits needs to ‘sit’ where and how it should look and feel on the body, I feel much more confident in purchasing underwear.
“The ladies at figleaves HQ were so friendly and helpful. The day was great, wish I could do it every day, can I come tomorrow?!”
12pm: Miral was the third lady in line for the photo shoot. Her hair was given a lift with Velcro rollers at the root for volume and her make up was kept natural as her skin was so gorgeous.
Miral didn’t let the side down and showed everyone what she was made of by posing like a pro. Miral gave birth to twins a few years ago and is proud of her womanly shape Becky fitted Miral into a 36E, taking her down a size from 38E and chosen the smooth and supportive figleaves essentials lace wing bra for Miral’s shape.
Miral said: “Everyone at figleaves was fantastic! From the marketing girls, to the photographer, to the make-up and fit ladies. I felt very comfortable with the photographer despite being a little paranoid about my ‘twin belly’. They made me feel gorgeous. We built up a very nice rapport with the staff and had a very enjoyable day.”
2pm: It was finally Vanessa’s turn to hit the set and her fiery red hair just blew us away! Vanessa, like Lauren went down a back size from a 34C to a 32D – getting more support in the process and the Just Peachy by figleaves.com T-shirt bra was perfect for her shape. Vanessa’s curvy figure looked elegant in the set and her gorgeous hair set the whole look alight.
Vanessa said: “I was surprised by how tight Becky pulled the tape measure when fitting me for my new bra and I’ve never experienced that before in fittings elsewhere! Becky explained what she was doing each step of the way through and even made a guess by eye what size I was, which I find fascinating! When I tried my bra on she went through all the things to look out for when looking for the perfect bra, from making sure your whole boob is inside the cup of the bra, making sure the main strap of the bra is straight around the back and tight enough and finally making sure the middle front part of the bra is against your body, no gaps. My new bra is really supportive and comfy and I’ve already been having a look on the figleaves website for my next purchase!"
3pm: Last but not least was Kay, who looked like a 50’s pin up with rollers in her hair whilst her makeup was applied. The rollers gave her hair that extra oomph and her make-up looked great on her glowing skin (Kay had just got back from Ibiza –lucky her!)
Kay was measured as a 32C which was no surprise as that was the bra size she had been wearing! She looked fab wearing the figleaves intimates Ruby lingerie set which fitted beautifully and gave her a desired boost, without being ”too much”!
Kay commented, “The bra was lovely, it felt really comfortable. I was surprised to learn that by going down a back size and up a cup size could give you a better fit – I’ll certainly being trying this in the future. Thanks girls!!”
Please let us know any comments you may have in the space below and if you’d like to be involved in something similar then like us on Facebook and look out for events in the future.
Love Keeley x
All the women look fabulous. I'm pleased to see real women with curves being used as models.
Posted by: Nina | July 18, 2011 at 01:16 AM
Hi,
This is great!
I'd love to see something similar for women who have had breast cancer and related surgery.
I've had a double mastectomy and reconstruction and find it really hard to find the right size/shape because bras are (understandably) not designed for my less-than-natural new shape. I'm limited to one style (which thankfully figleaves stock) but I'd LOVE a bit of variety...
My sister struggles to find pretty mastectomy bras/sets (she's had a single mastectomy, no reconstruction) for small cup sizes.
Perhaps in October??
x
Posted by: GFB | July 20, 2011 at 04:34 PM
GFB - I think that is a great idea! I would love to see survivors in a real women campaign...maybe Figleaves could get some special pink bras for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Posted by: Lauren Bradley | July 22, 2011 at 11:54 AM