Tomima’s Blog – Lingerie & Underwear Expert

The industry answer to women complaining about underwires poking into their underarm is usually to say their cup size is too small.  The theory here is that the underwire is not wide enough to totally wrap around your breast and the cup is not deep enough. Thus the wire is resting on breast tissue too far forward on your torso – the result being the underwire tip is getting in the way and hitting your underarm.  A larger cup size comes with a wider underwire and deeper cup that will rest further back under your arm and not rest on your breast tissue.  Thus you will no longer be poked.  In many situations, I would agree with this recommendation.  However, I own bras where this symptom has occurred, and I have been able to solve the problem without having to size up. Want to know how?

First, you need to put your geometry cap on.  Think of your torso as a cylinder.  As a cylinder, your torso has no flat horizontal surfaces – only curved surfaces.  If you held a ruler horizontally to your torso, the center of the ruler would touch you, but the ends would not.  They would be extending away from your torso.

A bra’s underwire is cut from a flat sheet of metal.  It’s basically a smiley face shape, but flat.  So, the ends of an underwire can have the same effect as the ends of a ruler.  However, if you bend your underwire a little in the center of its smile, the underwire takes on a shape better suited to your cylindrical torso. (See image above.)

Personally, I give all my underwires this subtle bend. It’s not very much, but I’ve found that the fit is better and my underwires are more comfortable.  And, when I try on a bra in my size and notice the underwire ends under my arm are protruding or resting on breast tissue instead of where they need to be, I’ll give them a little bend in the middle.  This always seems to solve the problem. Again, it’s not much of a bend, but it can make a big difference.

Let me also share with you that there is sort of a moral to this story: don’t be afraid to manipulate your underwires.  Underwires can get bent out of shape in a number of ways – during washing, mishandling in your lingerie drawer etc.  So, don’t be afraid to work with them until they fit you.  You have to put a lot of stress on an underwire before it will break.  And, it’s been my experience that if I don’t like the bend, underwires are easy to manipulate back to the beginning position.

Learn more about underwires and bra fitting.

Find underwire bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras

Follow HerRoom on Twitter for daily tips.

Posted by Tomima at 11:09am
Tags: underwires
1 Comment »

Being in the business, you can imagine; my bra drawer runneth over with options.  So, I’m always paying attention to what my early-morning, groggy auto-pilot mind plucks repeatedly as the bra-of-the-day.  This Simone Perele bra seems to be a frequent winner.

So, why?  I think it’s because it has a couple of features that I adore.  First, I always like a contour cup without seams. I tend to wear form-fitting clothes, so I never want any bra lines to show.  I also like modesty in the cups, and this bra has it.  Along the top of the cups there is sheer tulle trim that is both attractive and functional.  A personal pet peeve of mine is a top edge of a contour bra that is too thick.  When it’s thick, you see a line under t-shirts (regardless of it being a t-shirt bra).  So, I’m always on the hunt for a thin edge.  Simone Perele does a great job of keeping this edge thin along the top of the cup. And, this added tulle feature is just an additional step that ensures that bra lines are invisible under clothes.

Finally, I like this bra because the contour cups can be crushed without creasing.  I travel a bit, so I like to take a bra with a low center front that allows me to twist the center to nest the two cups. This makes for easy packing too.  This bra does all of that.

I am now a 34D (gone from a 36C after losing a few pounds) so my size does not have the bump pad like the smaller cup sizes.  Therefore, I can’t comment there.  But, if you are looking for a great t-shirt bra that disappears under clothing and travels well, this is a bra you should consider.

Find Simone Perele lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

Follow HerRoom on Twitter for daily tips.

Posted by Tomima at 12:45pm
Tags: contour bras, Simone Perele, t-shirt bras
No Comments »

I have an incredibly creative team at Andra Group, and I am very proud of them.  Recently, they have developed two very impressive and entertaining videos for two lines of men’s underwear that we carry at HisRoom – Diesel and Obviously.

Many people on our team participated, but two individuals deserve a special "shout out" for their work and imagination – James Bowdon and Lizzy Creazzo.  Thanks to both of you for a great job.

Now, sit back, and enjoy these two very clever and fun videos which can also be seen on the HisRoom YouTube Channel:

Follow HerRoom on Twitter for daily tips.

Posted by Tomima at 12:13pm
Tags: diesel, Men's Underwear, obviously
No Comments »