A Recent Experience Utilizing What I've Learned

During a recent shift, I had such an experience that I wanted to share it with those who read my blog.  I was sorting bras in our clearance bins at the front of the store and a woman came in, carrying a slightly crumpled bag from our store.  I greeted her and she said that she was there to return some bras because they just didn’t fit, even after getting a fit the week prior and that it may be due to having had some post-op swelling over her breast area.  She headed towards the cash wrap and I headed towards Beauty then back to the fitting rooms to help a customer who had rang the buzzer, for assistance.  Over my headset, I hear “Nichole, I’ve got a customer coming back for a fitting.  She’s been fitted a couple times before and always returns what she buys.”  I could only conclude that she wasn’t getting a proper fit or that it was due to the swelling that she mentioned earlier.  I greeted her again and asked how I may assist her, also offering a bra fitting in the dressing room.  She expressed that the bras just didn’t fit but that the swelling was completely gone now, according to her doctor.  The bras that she had were 36DDs.

I went on to explain how I measure and that a proper measurement involves actually not wearing a bra but that I wouldn’t be doing that.  Instead, I would just measure over her bra.  When she took her blouse off so that I could execute the measuring, I could see that she was not fitting, at all, in the bra that she was wearing.  It was very similar to this.  There was no separation between her breasts; she was coming out her armpits; and it just looked too snug overall.  Kind of like in the picture below (from boosaurus.com).

I went on to explain how a bra should fit while I measured her.  Her snug underbust was 33”.  Her overbust was 41”.  I recognized that this wouldn’t be accurate because of her bra holding her in but let her know the measurements that I was getting.  I counted off cup sizes on my fingers for her, letting her know that, based upon those numbers, she’s actually measuring at a 34H, not the 36DD that she had been told.  She, initially, couldn’t understand why there was such a cup disparity.  I then asked her to Scoop and Swoop her breasts in her bra—even demonstrated on myself the act of reaching into the bra and under the armpit and pulling the breast tissue forward (no, I didn't remove my shirt to do this lol).  If you could have seen the look on her face when all that breast tissue came forward (and nearly out the front of the bra)…  I’m sure I had the same look when I first learned S&S.

(image from bra-fitting-lores)

I went on to tell her places that she *may* be able to find that size and gave the address to this blog so that she could reference it later.  She was so happy to learn that it was the bras that were the issue and not her breasts--and to be armed with more information than she’d been given in the past—that she appeared to have tears in her eyes.  I was so touched that I wanted to hug her.  I hope to be able to help more customers, just like her, find their true bra size.

THAT is why I feel called to pursue this passion.