Frequently Asked Questions

1. There are a lot of people all of a sudden claiming they are "bra fit specialists" ever since Intimacy was on "What Not To Wear" ... what sets you apart?

Great question! We practice a proprietary holistic method of fitting that is focused on more than just the right size—we teach women how to wear a bra, how to eliminate back fat, how to wear and care for a bra to "double the life" of a bra, but most importantly, we select the right styles and the right fit to provide comfort, improved shape and overall body appearance and the types of bras for every wardrobe need.

2. How will I know if a person is a good Bra Fit Specialist? What do I look and listen for?

Traditional measurement techniques that are practiced by department stores or mass marketers are highly inaccurate—they are misleading and wrong more than half the time. Fitters that are experienced will teach you "how to" select, wear, wardrobe, and get comfort. They will explain the dynamics of how bras perform so that you can be satisfied after you go home!

3. What causes the shoulder stiffness and back pain many women experience with a poor fitting bra ... is this just the result of being full-figured?

Shoulder stiffness and pain are caused by relying on the straps for support—only 10% of the support should come from the straps and 90% from the bra back that provides lateral support across the body. Most women—especially if they are fuller busted—rely on the straps for far too much support! This also results in bra riding up the back and all the engineering of the bra—it's components like underwire's—shift and dig into a woman's body! It's no wonder women want to tear off those uncomfortable bras as soon as they get home.

4. Are minimizer bras the answer?

About minimizers—personally I hate them—they deceive women into feeling like they've reduced their size. Compression based minimizers flatten a woman's breast against her torso—spreading breast tissue under her arm and down her chest wall cavity. While she may feel smaller—when she looks down the front of her body—she doesn't see that she spreads wide and low! It makes a woman look thick and eliminates any hope of a shape or waistline. A fuller busted woman needs every bit of length we can give her between her bust and her waist. We recommend that a fuller busted woman get LIFT for the length she needs and bring her bustline within her body frame so she immediately looks taller and thinner!

Finally, let me say that any bra that compresses causes a woman to lose breast firmness and does not support! The best way to get support is through a seamed bra—as breast tissue will find the seam for additional strength. This is especially true for traditional sports bras—few support most compress. When a woman exercises—her tissue moves as a solid block and it actually causes more damage to the tissue at the base of the breast. They also make a woman look like she has a "uniboob." You can't tell I am crazy and passionate about this—can you?

5. I know I didn't realize how poorly my bras fit, how tight, constraining and uncomfortable they were ... why do we as women seem to stick to such poor habits?

The truth is that every woman blames her own body for the fit problems she has. We never feel as confident as we should! Listen, our bodies are not the same as when we were youthful and as we experience more changes like childbirth, weight gain and loss we tend to take more blame for the shapes we wish we had! Women are embarrassed to seek professional help and trying on bras is as personal as it gets! Women feel their problems are not "solvable" so they feel further defeated.

Many women don't believe there are ANY satisfactory answers that they would find. They don't want to feel further defeated by trying to get help! That's why we are so passionate to tell our story—we know that we can help 99% of all women to look and feel better with a fitting at Intimacy.

6. How do I determine proper cup and band size?

A bra should fit firmly around the body—most women are trying to achieve comfort from the start—so they tend to buy a bra that's too big around and then when they wear it for several weeks and it stretches a bit—they look sloppy. So here's our general rule of thumb—but please do come in for a FREE personalized fitting.

If you wear a 2-4 try a size 30; size 4-6 try a 32: size 8-10 try a size 34; size 12-14 try a 36 and so on.

Now if you are like most women, you'll tell me that your back is very wide or athletic or something ... but I have seen hundreds of women who say they have a big back ... and they promptly explain that they know they are different—after all they have hush hush ... "back fat." I have heard this so often, but I PROMISE that your back isn't big ... you are wearing your bra too high on your back! They are shocked at this and they stop ... because women don't know where the bra back is supposed to hold your body.

Cup Size? Well, the breast needs to be fully inside the underwire—no bulge over the bra and no gaping in the upper cup. Another general rule of thumb is that every time you go down ONE BACK SIDE—GO UP ONE CUP SIZE. In other words, a 38B should go to a 36C. This is why a professional fitter can access when you need additional coverage or size that would be beneficial.

7. Many women are bothered by "bra bulge," the tissue that shows up right below the bra. Do you have any suggestions that might help?

Yes. If you wear your bra level or lower with the back band—then 90% of all back fat will disappear! It is really finding the right band positioning for reducing the dreaded bulge and by the way you'll also get more support and comfort when you lower your bra back.

8. Many women are losing weight and exercising ... what should I look for in a sports bra?

A good sports bra has seamed support for breast stability. It should be made of moisture wicking properties and have ability to adjust straps for comfort. For a "seam-free look" select a seamed sports bra with flat seaming so you can wear knit sports tops and look your best. Most sports bras are not made by BRA DESIGNERS—they are made by sports people—generally unaware of the negative effects of compression. Go to a bra specialty store, not a sporting gear store, for the best styles for your size.

9. Like many women I used to look at any time in an underwire bra as "time served" toward parole ... what should we look for in these?

Underwire's sound harsh and uncomfortable, but don't let this fool you. Problems associated with underwire's are generally the wrong size and fit issues. Also, underwire's are encased in cotton channeling and felted—they are meant to lay against you chest wall—and not to dig into you! If you are properly fitted, you should not feel any underwire at all!

10. I used to think you had to be pretty small-breasted to be able to wear strapless dresses, because I couldn't stand wearing, or felt unsafe wearing, a strapless bra ... any hints about these?

Most women feel this way! Because if you've ever experienced a "Strapless Failure" when you are out on the town, you'll never trust them again. It's a traumatic experience you won't likely forget! But put that aside because the key is to get sufficient cup depth. You don't want your strapless to give you "banana boobs" by squashing the bustline especially across the top of the cup (remember without straps the vertical stability is gone.) Also the bra needs to be firm around the body to give support. If you go too large in the back, which is common, then you'll feel like the bra is sliding down your body! In sum—go one cup larger and one band smaller!

11. Many women return a bra because of nipple show-through ... is a padded bra the answer?

All nipples are sensitive to fabric shifting over them ! A bra fitting can often solve this problem. Today there are many different gel, soft plastic, or non-woven adhesive covers that you can easily slip into a bra. My favorite is DIMRS—their claim is that "NO headlights should show."

You mentioned PADDING in a bra can eliminate nipple show-thru. This is true, but if you are a C cup or higher you may want to consider a contour-lined bra—light soft shaping that can make your breast shape look natural and firm. Women often mistake contour bras for padded ones; they conclude that they are too full busted to wear these. This is not true—good contour bras are available to G cup (DDD) to make a woman's breast look smaller and more perky!

12. What does a proper fitting bra consist of? ... I mean a diamond has color, cut, and clarity. Is there something similar for a good bra?

Yes, the best bras are European ones—they have better design and more engineering than American ones. The average American bra has 16 components and the same number of production steps. The average European bra has up to 45 pieces and processing steps to manufacture.

The most important part of the bra is a strong "GUTSY" back band—the lycra/stretch should give KICK BACK. When you buy a bra check to see how hard it is to stretch it without it wanting to retract—it's this grab effect that holds the bra on your body for 16 hours a day. It needs to be highest quality.

It's amazing how many stories we are told each day about life changing experiences with proper bra fit and styles. Fitting differently in clothes, feeling thinner, feeling acceptable to one's own self-image, feeling attractive and sexy, being able to wear bra styles that they thought were impossible to fit into and more! But what's the most exciting is to see the transformation before her and our eyes of her bustline, her self-esteem, and her joy!

13. How does a proper fitting bra effect how a person feels about themselves, not only physically, but their self-confidence?

All the limitations she has felt in her life are vanished in a few minutes—she is overwhelmed with joy and opportunity to be the person she wants to be and to feel beautiful! Imagine how intense and powerful that experience could be for a teenager, a new mom, a 50+ wife who thought she was powerless to change her figure and her self-image. This is why we have so much passion for our profession and for creating awareness with women.

14. Okay, now that I have some really great proper fitting bras ... are there any special care instructions? How long will they last?

There are ways to really improve the life and quality of bras with wear guidelines and care techniques. Wear a bra two times between washings but you should always rotate a bra—never wear it two days in a row to enable it's elastic materials to rest and retain their stretch memory. The average woman overwears her comfortable bras and the elastic is shot in a few short months. So you must have a minimum of 7-10 bras in your wardrobe to get proper rotation and have the right selections.

Care is also an area that women are not taught and so it is common to throw them in the washer—without a lingerie bag to protect the lace, elastics, and closures—use a harsh laundry detergent and hot water. The detergent will hurt the synthetic elastic materials. And the hot water will shrink the cotton channeling for the underwire's—causing them to pop out of the protective felt. This is a sure way to ruin new bras! Never put a bra in a dryer—the heat and twisting will cause more degradation of the materials. Always use a lingerie bag, wash on delicate cycle in cool water in the machine with a sensitive lingerie soap like FOREVER NEW, which is made from natural cleaners. DO NOT USE WOOLITE—which is great for natural fibers. Let your bras air dry.