This post was brought to you by A Mother’s Boutique
Did you know that 70-80% of women are wearing the wrong size bra? Many of them don’t even realize it! With all of the changes that go on in a mothers body, you can pretty much bet that that percentage increases when a woman becomes pregnant or is nursing a child. Even if a mother did wear the correct size pre-pregnancy, by the time her baby arrives, her size has changed and she likely isn’t wearing the correct size anymore.
Some local bra shops offer in person fittings, however once a baby is born, time constraints or not having a local place to be measured may cause many mothers to turn to the internet for nursing bras.
This is why the Virtual Bra Fitting® service from Judy Masucci, owner of A Mother’s Boutique, is so great. The technique was born to assist moms who are looking for nursing bras online.
I have been lucky enough to go through the virtual bra fitting experience and I absolutely loved it. Like many women, I am an unusual size which puts me in a tough spot when trying to purchase a bra. Most physical stores don’t carry my size, but purchasing a bra without trying it on often ends up ineffective and a waste of time and money as the product arrives and it does not fit.
Judy explained to us that a bra fitting is more of an art than a science. The common formulas used to determine bra size simply are not very accurate because women’s bodies come in different shapes and sizes and all bras run and fit differently. So while measurements are important when figuring out what size bra you’ll need, they don’t tell the whole story.
To get around the inaccuracy of the current techniques for bra size calculating, Judy asks a mom for her measurements as part of her Virtual Bra Fitting® service – then she takes it a step further by asking a series of questions that help her determine a list of products and the size that works just for you.
With a virtual bra fitting you have the convenience of staying home while being fitted from a professional. Judy walked me through multiple steps to make sure that they bra I was currently wearing was the right size. We discovered I was in the best fit for me of readily available bra size, but I was still wearing the wrong size cup and band for the perfect fit. Judy helped me determine my exact size and provided me with several product links for vendors that carry that hard-to-find size with bras that will work for me.
Want to learn the secret behind Bra Fittings? Here are the questions asked for a mom looking for a maternity or nursing bra with comments from Judy:
What size bra are you wearing now and how does it fit? Judy states, “I ask all moms to send in their measurements (and I give instructions on how to take them). This question tells me if their measurements are close at all to what they are actually wearing. If they aren’t – then I know that I need to find out why – is their bra the wrong size or is the bra that they are wearing not fitting properly? There are even times when I ask someone to send me a photograph of them wearing their current bra so that I can “see” how it fits. The more details they can provide on how it fits the better. So when someone says they are spilling out of their current bra – what does that mean? Are they spilling out of the front of the cups, front and sides? How much are they spilling out? Just a little bump or are they really coming out of the bra? What brand bra are they wearing? Different brands run differently – and are often sized differently (e.g. UK sizing vs US sizing). So knowing all of this will help me to figure out if their measurements are indicative of their true size.”
What type of bra are you looking for? “This question helps me to narrow down the hundreds of bras on my site to something that will work for this particular mom. Part of the selection is narrowed by their size. In some cases, there are only a few bras that come in the size that is needed. But for someone who is a 34C, the selection is virtually endless. So knowing how much support they want, if they want the bra to be pretty or plain and if they want underwire or not can help to narrow down the selection to something that is going to work better for them. Giving a price range is also a good thing to give if the mom has a budget in mind. Every bra fitting is personalized. Each mom has different needs and each bra fitting gets individual attention – by ME – not a computer or an algorithm. It takes me roughly 20-40 minutes to complete each Virtual Bra Fitting®.”
Are you pregnant and/or how old is your baby? “This tells me if I need to leave room for their size to change or if I should recommend a different style bra from the type that they may want to try. Sometimes people will write in for a fitting when they are pregnant and want underwire with a molded cup. Well, that type of bra has the LEAST amount of flexibility of all bras – and when a mom is still pregnant, they want something that will hopefully last until your baby is born – so more flexibility is better. So I might make recommendations that differ from their preferences and I will explain why. If they already have their baby, then knowing if the baby is very small (and hence, their size may still be fluctuating) vs if the baby is older and their size is more stable is again going to change the type of bras that I will recommend.
How much has your size changed? “I have found that “in general” when a woman’s size has changed a LOT already during her pregnancy, she is less likely to have a large change when her milk comes in. But when her sizes hasn’t changed much at all, then we will want to leave room for growth, because chances are it is going to change more when her milk comes in. Of course, there are no guarantees or rules – but it is a little correlation that I have noticed in my years of fitting moms into great bras.”
Once I competed the process Judy presented me with all of my nursing and non-nursing bra options, and since she hand-selects each bra in her store, she was quite confident in how it would fit on me. She also goes into great detail regarding each bra that she recommends and the pros and cons of each with my body type, while also giving me her opinion on which would be the best.
Judy is offering something unique and essential for many mothers. I have the utmost respect for her thorough process and professionalism in this field, not to mention her humility. A Mother’s Boutique is one of the few brands left that undersells themselves but continuously over-delivers. Judy herself will tell you that her virtual bra fitting method is not promised to be 100% accurate. However, having experienced this service, I not only felt empowered to aid in finding my bra size with this professional service, but I felt it was more accurate than going to the local department store and having a woman haphazardly measure me without providing any information as to what I was looking for.
The virtual bra fitting experience is the voice that you always wish existed when shopping online. I am delighted that the personal bra fitting experience exists, and if Judy ever wanted to expand to more than just bras, I’d be the first in line after this experience.
Here are some testimonials from other moms who have had Virtual Bra Fittings® with Judy:
“Judy did a fantastic job of getting me exactly what I need from a nursing bra. The virtual bra fitting was right on. Saved me lots of time and frustration. I plan to shop here again.”
“Wow—I can’t be happier! First of all, your customer service was so prompt, friendly and helpful! Secondly, the great reviews seemed too good to be true b/c I have such a difficult time getting good bras—nursing bras makes that doubles the difficulty! You filled my order so fast—the bras were here in just a day or two! I tried them on dreading which ones I’d have to send back—they BOTH fit and they fit SO well!!!! The virtual bra fitting and even more –just
the description and customer reviews and the little notes such as 44F (fits G) were SO helpful and proved to be exactly what a person would need to get the proper wonderfully fitting bra! Thank you So very much!! I couldn’t be happier and more thankful to you and your services you provided!!! I will happily say that I am not returning ANY bras and know just where to go if I need more!!”
Do you have a local place to get measured? Judy is offering a complementary Virtual Bra Fitting® and a $50 gift certificate toward a nursing bra of your choice to one lucky reader. To enter, visit A Mother’s Boutique (www.mothersboutique.com) and leave us a comment with what your favorite item is.
You can read more of the Virtual Bra Fitting online testimonials here.
Be sure to visit A Mother’s Boutique on Facebook and Twitter (@MommyNews)
Good luck and happy bra fittings!
