Purchasing a Bra – Tip #16 An answer to one of your questions.

Julie asked me this question after the last posting on bras, and since I’ve had at a ton of emails asking the same question, I thought I’d move this to the front page.

Julie,

Let me first give you the name and location of the #1 place to get a bra fitting in the US. It’s The Town Shop in NYC. They’ve literally worked with hundreds of thousands of woman since Samuel Koch opened the store in 1888. This is my first choice, and when women travel to learn how to shop with me in NYC, this is where we go.

Their address is

2273 Broadway (between 81st/82nd Sts.)
New York, NY 10024
Phone: (212) 787–2762
Email: townshop2@aol.com

The question I know you’re now asking is, “If I’m not going to be visiting New York City in the near future, what do I do?”

A more challenging question than you might believe given that I’ve witnessed some pretty pathetic attempts by other retailers to deliver the same quality fit.

So here are some choices.
#1 Try to do it yourself. Not the best approach but a start.

Start by tightly measuring yourself under your breast.
Then measure around your fullest part of your breast to get your cup size.

Calculate the difference, and if the difference is:
1″ you are an A cup
2″ you are an B cup
3″ you are a C cup
4″ you are a D cup
5″ you are a DD cup
6″ you are a DDD cup

You can already guess this is not the best technique, because each woman’s body and breast shape is different.

#2 You can try another store in your area such as Nordstrom’s or Saks. If these are not available, you could also try JC Penny’s or Macy’s as second tier.

Lastly, I would avoid using Victoria’s secret for your fitting. The staff are not well trained, their bra selection is limited, and the quality of bras offered does not compare to what is used in stores such as The Town Shop. Once you have the fitting, you can then shop where you’d like to shop with the new information and a feel for what fits right.

David