Custom Undergarments: The Results

[cjsmith]

I was looking for a Bay Area, probably East Bay, shop doing custom bras (or at least having a wide variety of sizes). I promised a couple of people that I'd post a summary of the results. (I note that of this list, a grand total of TWO and MAYBE A THIRD have any possibility of having something to fit me.)

OK, I'm not adding any more shops at this point. I have work to do :)

1. Roselyn Dress shop, 4252 Broadway (510) 444-7472. "These bras are not pretty and they are expensive, but they get the job done!" An article about them. I strongly suspect Roselyn Dress Shop is the one I had been thinking of. Many thanks to mactavish for asking in local communities and forwarding me the replies! (Turns out this place does big, not weird. They would laugh at both me -- small ribs, big boobs -- and my out-of-town guest -- small boobs, big ribs.)

2. Bras for Body and Soul in Fremont. They "carry bras in over 200 sizes (band sizes 26-52; cup sizes AA-N in full and half sizes--AA, A, B, C, CC, D, DD, E, EE, F, FF, G, GG, H, HH, I, II, J, JJ, K, KK, L, LL, M, MM, N). The fitters are very nice, know the shop's stock well, and will work patiently with you to get you into a bra that fits. Make an appointment if you go, as they can't always accommodate walk-ins." (Now this has possibilities.)

3. A La Folie, 6395 Telegraph Avenue (At Alcatraz). This seems to be much more on the "lingerie" side of things than the others. Some of their stuff looks stunningly gorgeous. Warning to nonstandard folks: I have found nothing on their web site mentioning what sizes they carry. You know as well as I do what that probably means. :-)

Ranging farther afield:

4. "In San Jose there's Chicki Downs @ 1209 Park Ave 408-286-2772 I've been here. Its okay, but they did have a decent nursing bra in my size. although her stock seem limited in styles, but lots of sizes (you get ugly with functional)."

5. "Out in Pittsburg is Under it all @ 4571 Century Blvd 925-778-7272 I love this store. I ended up buying some very nice, very comfy bras for me there. In fact this is where I went shopping for a bra to wear under my wedding dress. I highly reccommend this store. [...] If I remember their yellow pages ad they go up to something like a J cup."

6. "Gitti's in Palo Alto has the owner do (Gitti herself) fittings. She gave me a great fitting for a new bra before my wedding. I'm not sure what sizes she has, but it wasn't just a froo froo lingerie place, for sure."

Even farther afield:

7. Creative Woman -- "The Wizard of Bras" -- 626/358-6216 or 888/564-9754. 1530 S. Myrtle Ave (Myrtle exit from 210), Monrovia, CA 91016 (nearish to Pasadena). "They'll also alter bras to improve or resize a fit if you need it. See their Bra Size Cup Chart for converting sizes between brands -- shows quite the confusion of sizes!"

And then there's the web. This isn't what I was looking for, of course, but lots of people swear by 'em, so I'll add the information for those who might be interested. (Note to people with my particular body type: most of these don't go below a 30" ribcage, and some don't even get that far.)

8. Fig Leaves in the UK. "They have an excellent selection, excellent size-search tool, and easy returns. Their stuff tends to be high-end and expensive. [...] The UK bras seem to have very bullet shaped cups, i.e. made for breasts with a smaller diameter base on the chest wall and greater depth from chest to nipple for equivalent breast volume." (This site carries a 28" band size.)

9. Road Runner Sports "have their own brands of many types of activewear that are cheaper than the major name brands and very high quality."

10. Bare Necessities "make it easy to search for specific sizes and carry most of the major brands. [...] If you are like me and have already zeroed in on the make, model and size you like, Bare Necessities is great way to go."

11. Bravissimo, in the UK, "caters to women with large breasts, but who are not otherwise 'plus size'."

12. Decent Exposures "do sports bras in all sizes, made to measure." (Also non-sports, everyday-wear bras. I know multiple people who are pleased with Decent Exposures bras.)

Comments

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

No apologies necessary to me, as it was her bust size you outted. :) And I hope she is not upset, either. If so, I will take partial responsibility.

And, don't worry, there was no unwanted information, nor was it a game. Or was mostly just a tongue-in-cheek 'I'd ask if I knew you better, but I better not!' So there was no interference, I promise. :)

I will admit, however, to being ten times as embarrassed that somebody else stumbled across the comment, though, as I would have been embarrassed enough to discuss CJ's breasts with her, much less somebody I've never spoken to before. I shall go slink off into the night now. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

This entire exchange made me giggle. I figured you'd want to know.

Yeah, small ribs big boobs just about covers it. They're not even insanely big - just slightly out of place on a frame this size.

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

OK, they might be a little out of place on your frame, but they're nice!

*leer*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

*blush*

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

Indeed, that is good to know. :) Much better than you being mad. :)

You've mentioned your size a number of times, as I recall. How small are you? And, yes, I know that's a mighty personal question, and I won't be the least bit upset if you don't answer it. But this seemed like a good time to ask, since it was at least less horrible than asking how big your boobs are. :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Nah, I get mad if I'm insulted, not if I'm asked something like that. After all I could always just not answer! :-)

I'm not that small. SUPPOSEDLY I'm average height for a woman in the US (5'4") but I want some of what they're smokin' if they think that's average. 28" around the ribs and about 125 pounds. Still waiting to grow up - losing hope. I did reach sufficient size to donate blood around junior year of college.

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

So, let me see if I understand. As long as you can choose not to answer, I can ask anything I want without you getting mad? Hmm, this could be very dangerous. ;)

5'4" doesn't sound that small. I don't know about the 28", it's not an area where I have much experience. But it doesn't SOUND noticably small. Still, I would think that it's slightly below average based on my experience. Maybe people are just getting bigger these days. :)

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Yea, but I agree you have nice boobs. Or at least I like 'em!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

aw! *blush*

Some days I feel like some kind of spoiled brat when I want a little LESS!IN!THAT!AREA and get to talking to my mom who would give her right arm for a little MORE.

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

You aren't a spoiled brat. I had a friend in high school who had a GG cup and she suffered horrible back pain. I remember the day she pranced into work crowing that Kaiser had approved a breast reduction.

I don't think anybody's happy about their tits (hair, face, thighs, you name it) I don't know if you suffer the back pain, but if you do, you have my sympathies!

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, we all just want to go hide under a rock. I hope you get over it in time to have a lovely weekend.

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Don't worry, as often as I embarrass myself, I have learned to recover quickly. :) I hope you have a lovely weekend as well!

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

I have and I will. thank you.