Tomima's Blog – Lingerie & Underwear Expert

 

That little triangle-shaped patch of fabric sitting between the cups of your bra is no afterthought.  There’s a lot of engineering taking place between your breasts.

That center panel, also called a gore, helps to determine the shape and placement of your breasts.  Traditionally, the top of this panel should be horizontal with the apex of your breasts (read nipples) for the best breast support.  This is the primary reason I show the "measured" image on every bra we sell.  The graph overlay shows you many things, but it specifically shows you where that center panel is going to land on you.

 

 

 

Over the last couple of years, decollete tops have sent women looking for bras with what is called a ‘plunging’ center design.  In this case, the center panel is cut lower.  Now, these bras fit fairly well for women in cup sizes up to a D. But, the larger cup sizes must be fit very precisely, or the woman falls out when she leans forward.

Officially, the center panel should rest directly on your sternum.  If it does not, this usually means your cup size is too small and you need to size up.  However, there are three exceptions to this rule.  The first is a minimizer bra.  Because their design objective it to reduce breast projection, minimizer bras create a kind of compression of the breasts. The center panel in some is therefore missing altogether, but if it is there, the proper fit does not mean the center panel must touch the sternum.  The second exception is soft-cup or wire free bras.  Without an underwire, it is almost impossible for the center panel to successfully rest on the sternum.  The final exception would be larger breasts.  With so much breast tissue, there is sometimes simply not enough room for the center panel to get to the sternum.

 

Finally, no conversation about the center panel can end without a discussion of front-closure bras.  These are bras that have a clasp in the center front.  It is extremely difficult to design a good front closure bra.  The center panel is now a clasp which reduces the bra’s stability in the center.  Not to mention that the bra now has no adjustability, so it must be an extremely accurate fit.  Women in between band sizes will find the fit unacceptable.  Front-closure bras have some of the highest return rates on the market.  So, if you are a lover of them, this is why you don’t see very many – the manufacturers and retailers shy away from them for this very reason.

 

The next time you are shopping for a bra, give some thought to its center panel.  The more that’s there, the better the support.

 

Find bras in all styles at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras

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Posted by Tomima at 12:56pm
Tags: body types, Bra Fitting, cup size, lingerie shopping
2 Comments »

 

She’s on the cover of the latest W Magazine nude.  Then inside, Kim is nude but for silver spray paint all over her body.  She has now left nothing to the imagination; Kim is standing full frontal and showing off her actual breasts.  But then the article claims they’re the cup size of DD.  Well, on that point, I disagree.

Being in the boob business, I deal with this all day.  In my opinion, she’s a larger cup size than she is claiming in this article.  What many may not know is that Kim is actually quite petite.  She stands only 5 ft 2 inches.  Her claim of having a band size of a 32 is therefore quite plausible.   But her cup size is more like a DDD or even a DDDD.  So, why not tell the truth?

Here’s my speculation.  She’s claiming double D’s because it sounds better.  Here’s a woman known for her hour-glass figure, yet even she doesn’t want to admit her true bra size. This is also one of the reasons why women are in the wrong size bras – they don’t like the sound of their real size.  For example a 34G.  It just doesn’t sound sexy.  "Look at those E’s!" Anything more than a DD and it sounds like you have implants or are abnormal.  The funny thing is that no one knows your bra size but you.  And, the right size makes you look thinner and younger.

What a missed opportunity for full-figured women everywhere.  Kim is willing to be photographed naked, yet can’t confess to her true bra size.  It could have done so much to help larger cupped women feel more comfortable about their bra size.  And, it could have gone a long way in educating men that there are cup sizes larger than a Double D… and they’re pretty terrific too.

 

 

 

Find large cup size bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Plus-Size Lingerie

 

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Posted by Tomima at 12:37pm
Tags: bra sizes, celebrity, Full-figure, plus-size
2 Comments »

 

I must say that I’m really excited about a new line of organic cotton underwear we are now carrying.  Called Ecoland, it’s made by a small family-owned and operated company out of California.

Why am I excited?  Because my team has been searching for a long time.  Organic cotton underwear that is soft and luxurious feeling is very hard to find.  We constantly get requests for it and we hate disappointing our customers by not having it.  Well, Ecoland has filled this void.  What’s more, most of the products are either made in the USA or Taiwan in non-sweatshop factories.  The product comes in that beautiful natural cotton color, but some pieces also come in a non-bleached white that is created using a certified organic process involving oxygen.  And the hand on everything is fabulous.  Everyone should feel good about buying it.

But wait, there’s another reason why I love Ecoland.  The underwire in their underwire bra is not metal at all.  Instead it’s made out of biodegradable plastic.  We at HerRoom frequently receive requests for this feature from women who work in prisons and other jobs where they must go through metal detectors set to high tolerances.  They must either suffer the humiliation of a pat-down, or find a wire-free bra. Finally, here is an underwire bra that won’t set them off! 

Now, I need to make something very clear about cotton bras.  There is no such thing on the market as a 100% cotton bra.  There can’t be.  Think about this.  Your jeans or a 100% cotton t-shirt stretch out at the end of the day.  Cotton simply does not maintain its shape.  So, a bra made of all cotton could never give adequate support.  Ecoland uses organic cotton and 5% spandex in its bras so that you get support.  Their bras start at 32A and go up to 36D, with the wireless bra going up to a 38D.

I admit to not being a full-on tree hugger.  My environmental footprint is probably way too big and I’m working on it.  And I like my pretty lingerie – no matter what it’s made of.  However, a tip of the hat to those of you who give a lot of care and thought to the garments you buy.  You now have the Ecoland brand to add to your options.

 

Find Ecoland lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties
Hosiery

 

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Posted by Tomima at 11:15am
Tags: cotton, cotton bras, cotton underwear, ecoland, organic cotton, organic cotton lingerie
1 Comment »