Sunday, October 18, 2015

Shout out to the large breasted ladies

You know who you are. Whether the cups of your bra aren't fitting your breasts correctly, or your straps are doing too much of the heavy lifting and leaving divots in your shoulders. Maybe your back band is digging in around your rib cage and causing "back fat", or perhaps it's not snug enough and causing you back and shoulder discomfort. Have you gone to wearing sports bras because it's the most comfortable thing you can find in your size? Whatever your frustrations with your existing bra may be, I understand your pain. 

As a custom bra maker, it is my goal to help you feel beautiful, comfortable, and confident in your bra, and provide you with the best fitting bra that I can. Unfortunately, the issues I just mentioned don't help you in feeling any of those things, or very few at best. My professional training as a bra maker has equipped me with the knowledge and tools to create a pattern specific to you and your measurements, as well as providing the internal structure that your bra needs to do the job that it is meant to do. And ladies, believe me when I say that I can also make your bra beautiful in addition to functional. Schedule your initial consultation with Intimate Underpinnings to begin the process of creating your custom bra today.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Custom prostheses and breast forms

This week has been spent working on advanced bra making techniques with my teacher in Ontario, specifically those that provide internal structure and support in your bra. Not only did I learn some new tricks for adding pockets to your bra, but we also worked on creating custom breast forms, or prostheses. 

The great thing about custom breast forms is that, well, it is customized to your body. We work with you to get the correct size, shape, and weight, so that your body will feel a sense of balance once again. The breast forms that we create are not silicone based, meaning you can wear them in a hot tub, still look and feel your best, and not have to worry about them leaking or popping. They will never shift and move around in your bra, since they are made specially for you, your body, and your bra. And to take it one step further, we are able to sew them into your custom bra, if that is something you would prefer. 

New pricing and options will be added to the website soon for pocketed bras and breast forms. Check back often to stay up to date.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Breast cancer awareness month

At Intimate Underpinnings, we have been working diligently to be able to "support" breast cancer survivors with custom bras. On October 1st, the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Intimate Underpinnings participated in a training to become a Certified Mastectomy Fitter. This event was hosted by Amoena, a leader in prostheses and breast enhancing products. Such good timing that they were in Portland, OR training mastectomy fitters right before I head up to Toronto to study with Beverly on advanced mastectomy and pocketed bra techniques. 

We learned about all of the different surgeries that can take place when cancer is present and how the body is impacted during the removal of cancerous cells and tissue. We also went through various exercises on fitting the Amoena brand prostheses to different individuals. It was a very eye opening experience, and I feel very confident in fitting our clients with prosthetics post surgery. I was very surprised that only a small percentage of prostheses are covered by insurance. It is unfortunate that insurance does not let us take women from an okay fit to a great fit after all that they have just gone through. Hopefully, this will change in the future because we all deserve to feel beautiful.

The most important and impactful part of fitting prostheses post surgery is of course the fit of the bra. If you don't have a great fitting bra, the prosthesis will not support or look as natural as we want. There are some good pocketed bra option out there from various companies, but the unique thing about the pocketed bras made by Intimate Underpinnings is that, like everything else, we customize the bra to you, your needs, and your style choices. We presently make mastectomy, or pocketed bras. Check back next week when I share some of the new bra options for those with prosthetics or breast enhancers.