‘WE GET TO KNOW PEOPLE’S STORIES’
The women helping others through their highs and lows
MOST women will agree that buying a new bra is never an easy task – and that’s where the bra fitters come in. Perhaps it’s the intimate nature of their job, but sometimes they find themselves trusted with the deepest of secrets and personal worries. Fitters can often be the first person a woman has showed their body to for a long time. They’ll tell you there’s a lot more to their job than selling you something to support your cleavage.
Beyond improving the day-to-day comfort and confidence of women, they often give them a (literal) lift at some of the best and worst times of their lives.
Fitters at Bravissimo’s Cardiff store told us how they have been helping women through different body transitions from pregnancy and miscarriage to hormone changes and cancer treatments.
Store manager Claire Wilcox, 39, has worked for the company for more than 14 years. She says sometimes she has been left in tears after an emotional fitting.
There was one woman in particular who made her realise that there was a lot more to the job than fitting bras. Claire says she served the customer at their old store in Queen’s Arcade, where she had only been working for a few months. The woman who came in had undergone a mastectomy following breast cancer treatment a number of years prior. Surgeons had attempted a reconstruction but the advancements in reconstructive plastic surgery were not as they are today.
Claire said: “The bra she was wearing didn’t fit and wasn’t giving her any shape. After spending time with her, she tried on one bra and then she started crying. She said to me, ‘You’ve made me feel like a woman again’.
“From that moment onwards I fell completely in love with this job and the company and realised what an impact the right bra can have on a woman.”
Claire says that a woman’s body changes at so many stages in their life and her job is to make women feel amazing and confident again.
Bravissimo was established in 1995 by founder Sarah Tremellen, who had the idea for the brand when she was pregnant and couldn’t find bras to fit her. As women with larger breasts will know, when you eventually find your size you can often be stuck with ugly colours or designs, so Bravissimo’s goal was to offer beautiful lingerie in bigger cup sizes. It now offers sizes from D to L, along with supportive swimwear and nightwear with hidden support.
Sophie Lapidus-Allen, 22, has worked at the store for almost six
years and says some women have shared some of their deepest, darkest secrets with her.
Sophie said: “I’ve literally shared some of the highs and lows with so many of my customers. Often when a woman’s body is changing, what they’re wearing is no longer suitable and I get to be a part of solving the problem.
“I’ve held my customers’ hands after pregnancies, miscarriages and cancer treatments. It’s so emotional for these amazing women to be so vulnerable and share their stories with me.
“We’re often the first people who have seen them without clothes on for a long time as well and that can be overwhelming for so many people.
“For many customers the first barrier is even getting to the store, secondly the fitter is often the first person who has seen them without a top on in a long time, so it can get very emotional,” said Sophie.
Sophie said it’s so rewarding seeing the difference it makes to these women’s lives.
Holly Coles, 27, is the store supervisor and has worked there for almost a year. She said she loves what she does and the difference she makes to women’s lives.
“It feels amazing to make other women feel amazing,” she said.
“I think people feel so relaxed after they have a fitting here because of the way we serve, it’s low-key, relaxing and friendly. We make you feel comfortable.
“If you were here in the changing rooms we don’t just talk about what bra to buy, you’ll hear the roaring laughter and the inconsolable tears that we share with our customers. We really get to know people’s stories.”
One of Holly’s stand-out customers was a young girl who had been bullied in school for having large breasts.
Her mum had been wanting to bring her for a proper fitting for a long time, but her daughter never wanted to go because she thought she would have to wear a big, ugly bra.
Holly said after the mum eventually got her daughter to the fitting she was so nervous, but she left with the biggest smile on her face and a bra that fitted her properly.
Alison Evans, 65, has worked for Bravissimo for more than 14 years, but is due to retire this year.
She regularly serves women who have recently had mastectomies and are having prosthetics fitted so need to be measured and fitted for a bra.
“The difference in our clients who come in after having a mastectomy and are fitted for a bra and had their prosthesis sorted is huge,” she said.
“They have been so anxious and worried about their appearance for so long it’s nice to be a part of the journey to getting them back to feeling the best version of themselves.”