Posts Tagged ‘fitting advice’

Thanks to Eleanor Mills of the Times Online who has written this article…

It’s the late 1980s, and I’m spending more time than I should be shaking my booty on the dancefloor. Those three great clubs of the time — the Wag, Heaven and Phil Sallon’s Mud Club — are notoriously difficult to get into, but in a skintight black Alaïa-like dress, getting past the doorman is no problem. For a big night, I wear my favourite, a green stretchy Lurex halterneck from Kensington Market, which, worn with towering heels, never fails to gain me free admittance, guest list or not. Back then, my friends and I dubbed it the X-rated dress — there was just something about the way it clung to me (with my tiny waist and enormous bosom) that seemed to reduce most doormen to nodding compliance. Happy days!

So I know better than most that while fashion has pretty much constantly extolled the virtues of the waif, out there in the real world the male population has always appreciated a more curvaceous specimen. Granted, my voluptuous figure was not always such a boon — I got sick of being greeted with “Hello leftie, hello rightie, oh… hello Eleanor” in the school corridor, and once, rather memorably, when I interviewed Mikhail Gorbachev for this paper, he spent most of the time talking to my chest.

But still, it was with delight that I looked at these amazing high-fashion pictures from the latest V magazine (currently dominating billboards all over Manhattan), which show beautiful girls with the odd tummy roll and some meat on their thighs. Unlike Beth Ditto — who is as much of a freak in the size stakes as her whippet-thin model counterparts — the V girls look like gorgeous versions of the many. These pictures prove what sensible women have always known: beauty comes in different shapes and sizes, and there is no one body shape that trounces all the others.

Even Karl Lagerfeld, who has been withering in the past about “fatties”, has just photographed Miss Dirty Martini, a burlesque performer of considerable bodilicious charm. In fact, the “plus-size” model market is booming, according to Gary Dakin of Ford Models. “The girls’ rate has moved from £900 a day to £9,000 or £12,000 a day.” He is cock-a-hoop as he has just taken a booking for Crystal Renn, the world’s most famous plus-size model, to close one of the big shows at this season’s New York fashion week.

Add to that Mark Fast’s sexy knitwear selling out in Browns to real girls, the awe-inspiring shape of Joanie from Mad Men and Catherine Zeta-Jones sporting magnificent cleavage on the red carpet, and it seems abundantly clear: the voluptuous woman’s fashion moment has arrived.

Luckily, an underwear revolution has made all this possible. As any larger breasted lady knows, the trick to showing off an hourglass figure is the underpinnings. In my Wag days, finding a bra to fit my bosoms was a nightmare. There were only a handful of stores that stocked them, with Fenwick being the least depressing. Most 16-year-olds never went near a proper lingerie department, so they weren’t exactly presented with a teenage me in mind. On top of that, the prices were astronomical; my mum gave me a special extra allowance, as the bigger bras were at least £30 a pop. I would be imprisoned in a cubicle while some sniffy sales lady, tutting about support, rummaged in the back of the shop for an over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder. Invariably they looked like nursing bras or sturdy matron’s attire. The best I could hope for was black. If they didn’t have black, I’d buy white and dye them. It was hell.

But then, 15 years ago (it celebrates its birthday this month), a shop was founded that was to change my life: Bravissimo. It caters entirely to the large-breasted, its smallest cup size is a D, going up to a KK. There are 2m ladies on the database, because as well as those of us who are just built that way, in 2008, 8,439 British women had their breasts surgically enlarged (up 30% on the year before). Bravissimo stocks all the best bras for big breasts — Freya being my favourite, but also Panache, Masquerade, Pureda, Wonderbra and Fantasie. From about £20 up — oh joy — it sells them in all the colours of the rainbow and just about every pattern.

Even today, putting on a well-fitting bright red bra with gorgeous embroidered flowers, or a green and pink lace confection, fills me with satisfaction. Being able to flaunt my straps or let a little bra lace peep through is a thrill. Bravissimo now has an excellent website and shops with trained fitters nationwide, and the collection changes four times a year. These days it sells nightwear with integral soft bras, attractive sports bras and strappy tops and vests with built-in support. It also produces a catalogue that is peppered with heartfelt stories from women, like me, who are grovellingly grateful for the company’s existence and send in tales of how being properly lifted and separated has made them look stones lighter, boosted their confidence and changed their lives.

Call us on 01926 459 859 for our telephone fitting service

Fitting is key. (Bravissimo will even do a fitting over the phone.) Many girls who might have just struggled on in a 34B bra are discovering, through being properly measured, that actually they are a 30G or a 32FF. With this trend for large breasts on small frames and larger-breasted Brits generally, other lingerie brands are moving in: Elle Macpherson Intimates has just started making bras up to a G cup (they are pretty, but lack technique when it comes to support), M&S is now doing a GG, Prima Donna (as designer as underwear gets: a bra costs £80, knickers £50) now does brilliant larger sizes, while Midnight Grace bras provide notable forward thrust.

If a decent bra is the curvy lady’s foundation stone, the finishing touch is a proper slip. Years ago an elegant friend suggested wearing a silk nightie under dresses rather than a standard slip — silk gives off less static and is much sexier than nylon. A slip allows a dress to skim and cling where you want it to, rather than where you don’t. (For extra help, shapewear such as Spanx work up to a point, though I constantly have to hoick them back into place, and they are definitely a bit Bridget Jones when it comes to the reveal.)

A basque is good for support too. I didn’t need one when I was 16, but it certainly helps now. The key is to ensure it is long enough to prevent an unsightly bulge where it stops, and to get it fitted properly so the bra part does its job. Rigby & Peller is the undisputed queen of the corset. I was fitted for a basque (£81) that I have worn under a number of dresses ever since with great results. A basque separates the larger breast from the waist like nothing else and is much sexier once you take the outer layer off. Masquerade does a good basque too (available from Bravissimo up to a G cup for £55). And since underwear as outerwear is a big part of the spring/summer look, a basque is a wearable way for the newly cool curvaceous posse to work that trend with the requisite amount of support.

As for outerwear, most designers don’t understand a womanly form, but Donna Karan does: I’m a huge fan, as she cuts her clothes to accentuate and flatter (her sweater dresses rule). On the high street, Warehouse, Phase Eight, Oasis and recently Comptoir des Cotonniers do better than the rest. I also recommend the incredibly slimming denim brand Not Your Daughter’s Jeans. Over in the States, NYDJs have been a big hit with the “Mom” demographic, as, too, has the brand Hello! Skinny Jeans — its jeans are “a marvel of denim engineering and artistic suggestion”, according to Tyra Banks.

So, bootylicious ladies, I know you’ve had that va-va-voom thing going for ever and the men around you love you for it, but now — finally — fashion is shining a benign eye upon you: so whether you skim, cling or strut, don’t waste this chance. Flaunt it.

Eleanor Mills