Help! My Favorite Bra’s Been Discontinued… Now What?
September 01, 2010
Been there? I think every woman has at least once in her lifetime. One of the questions I’m most asked once I’ve been outed as being in the lingerie business is "Why did my favorite bra get discontinued?"
Generally, there are 5 reasons a bra style gets shelved.
1. Lackluster Sales – It’s simple economics. If the bra is not selling well, a manufacturer will stop making it.
2. A Major Department Store Stops Buying It – The lingerie industry is ruled by the major department store chains like Federated, Macy’s, Kohl’s Nordstroms, etc. Not all of them carry the same bra styles. In fact, they like to have styles exclusive to them, or ones that not all stores have. So, when one of these major chains decides not to carry the style for whatever reason, the manufacturer will discontinue it – regardless of other smaller stores and websites that might be selling the style well. Simply put, it’s the Big Gorilla symptom.
3. High Return Rate – If the bra style has a high return rate, neither the manufacturer or the retailer wants the style. This is one of the reasons that so few front closure bras are on the market. They have a high return rate because they don’t have enough adjustability like a back closure bra, so they get returned because they stretch out and women can’t make them tighter. Also, that front closure clip breaks and limits the support that can be created in the center of the bra.
4. No Longer Fits The Manufacturers Design Direction – I have seen fabulous selling designs be abruptly discontinued by a manufacturer. It’s crazy and makes no sense, but when asked, the manufacturer will say things like "It’s the only remaining piece in the collection" or "We are designing in a different direction" or "We want to make a new statement." Here are some examples. Olga bras (made by Warnaco) decided that they only wanted to make bras in C cup sizes and larger. They had several terrific styles in A and B cup sizes. But, they decided to let them go. To this day HerRoom gets inquiries from former Olga customers asking where their B cup sizes are. Chantelle is another company that discontinues great styles every year. It’s a little more understandable with this brand because they consider themselves very fashion forward, with European styling, so they want to have fresh new styles to offer each season.
5. Materials used for the bra can no longer be purchased – Most lingerie manufacturers are very specific on this point. If they can’t get the exact fabric or lace, they will discontinue the style rather than find an alternate fabric. Over the years, they have learned that if it isn’t exact, the customer knows and gets mad. It’s better to come back with a new style number using the new fabric than to risk trying to pull a switch on the customer. Wacoal is particularly sensitive to this. One of their best sellers had to be discontinued because the lace manufacturer changed the design just slightly. Because it wasn’t exact, Wacoal chose to lose sales rather than disappoint their customers.
So, knowing all this, what’s a girl to do when this happens? Allow me to put on my Super Hero cape and come to the rescue. For the last 5 years, I’ve asked my staff to figure out what style to recommend as a replacement once we hear that a bra is being discontinued. Not every discontinued bra has a close replacement, but when there is, we document it. We then put this information on our site. So, if you key in the manufacturer name and the style number of a discontinued bra style (or panty or shapewear style for that matter) into our search box, most of the time you will see the recommended replacement styles. As an example go to HerRoom and type this into the search box:
Warners 2015
First, we tell you that it was discontinued in August of 2008. This way you know it’s been gone for two years, so trying to hunt it down in any store will probably be futile. And then we give you similar styles that might be a replacement option for you.
Now, truth be told, you probably are not going to like the similar items because they are not EXACTLY like your old bra. But, my goal is to at least give you a starting point and make your search for your new favorite bra a little quicker and less painful. Let me know if you like this feature.
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Posted by Tomima at 10:53am
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Help! My Bra Straps Keep Slipping Off My Shoulders!
August 17, 2008
I hear this complaint all the time. "My bra straps keep falling off my shoulders!" Most think it’s because their shoulders slope too much or they have narrow shoulders. Both of these could contribute to the problem, but you’ll be surprised to know that there are several additional reasons your straps could be slipping off your shoulders. And most have to do with the way your bra fits.
1. Your straps are not tight enough. This may seem obvious but many women simply don’t adjust their straps. Straps are only supposed to support about 10% of your breast’s weight. But they need to be providing some support or they will just fall off your shoulders. Make sure your straps are tight enough to provide support, but not so tight that they pull up your bra back.
2. Your cup size is too big. Many women, with age, lose their breast volume along the tops of their breasts. This loss of volume along the top of your breasts creates an empty space in the top of your cup. Without the cup being completely filled, the straps will tend to slip. Either go down a cup size, or make 
sure you lift and place your breasts into your cups so that the cup is properly filled.
3. You’re using bra extenders. A bra extender is an accessory that adds more length to the back of your bra. I sell them at HerRoom, but I really don’t like them. They can create additional problems, and shoulder straps falling off is one of them. When you expand the length of the bra back, you move the straps farther apart and closer to the edge of your arms. This increases the chances that your straps will fall off your shoulders. Instead of an extender, consider going up a band size and down a cup size. This will give you 2 more inches around your chest while keeping your cup volume the same.
4. Your bra back is not in the proper position. I know we’re all in a hurry when we’re getting dressed in the morning. But making sure you put your bra on correctly and getting it in the proper place is critical to your comfort the rest of the day. The final thing you should do after putting your bra on is reach back and pull it down so that it’s under your shoulder blades and even with the front of your bra. When you don’t do this, and your bra is left too high on your back, the front of your bra slumps, and the straps fall off. I can’t tell you how many times suggesting this simple thing to women has solved their strap slipping problem.
5. Your bra band is too large. Similar to the back extender problem, if your band size is too large, your straps will be further apart. This too can cause your straps to fall off your shoulders. A loose band also causes the back of your bra to hike up. If you are experiencing both these symptoms, try going down a band size and up a cup size. This will tighten your band size while keeping your cup volume the same.
6. Wrong bra style for you. Not all bra styles are for everyone. Women with very square shoulders can wear the popular bras with wide-set straps. Women with slopping shoulders will have trouble. Women with narrow shoulders need to carefully look at the strap placement to make sure they are not too far apart for her frame. The bottom line is to know your body style and what styles do and do not work well.
Several manufacturers have worked hard to design bras to address this issue. For example, several Olga and Olga’s Christina bras have what they call a "Comfort Back" design. This back style brings the straps closer together in back and thus reduces shoulder slippage.
Racerback bra styles are also an option. However, there are a few issues with this style. First, racerback bras tend to be front closure. This is limiting in terms of adjusting for your best fit. Additionally, racerback bras can cut close to the neck and provide pressure to neck tendons which can become sore after hours of wearing. So, keep this in mind before selecting racerback bras.
Leotard back bras look like the back of a leotard, rather than a traditional t-back where the strap comes down and attach perpendicular to the garment. This styling tends to give less slippage, but there are leotard back bras on the market that also slip. So, you really need to look and see how close the straps come together in the back.
As you can see the bra back is very important. Seeing how the bra back looks and fits will greatly help you in finding the right bra to solve your problem of slipping bra straps. The good news is that HerRoom photographs every bra with a back view. And, what’s even better is that while you are looking at a selection of bras at HerRoom, if you’ll scroll down, you will see a link underneath the collection of images called "click for back view." When you click on this link, all the bra images on the page instantly change to a back view of the bras. You can now swiftly shop for the bra with the desired back qualities that work for you.
So, you don’t need to have slipping bra straps. A simple evaluation of your needs and the selection of the correct bra will have you comfortable and content.
You can learn more about the bra strap problem in HerRoom’s Bra Fitting Problems & Solutions.
Find various strap and back styles at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Posted by Tomima at 7:44am
5 Comments »
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