In there like SWIMWEAR!

Just a quick one today lads, I'm sorry I've been so absent! In the interim I have left my job, been on holiday to Italy for a friends wedding (amazeballs), and booked flights for myself to Nicaragua. I'll be heading there for a year to work in a surf resort/bar and learn Spanish. Hopefully stumble across a very strapping surfers along the way, too. Stopping off in NYC on the way to stock up on some Victoria's Secret goodies. Have heard great things about Columbian underwear; so will have to source some of that while I'm out there!

So, in 80% of the northern hemisphere it is SUMMER. Sadly, not in the UK. But if you are going on your holibags then you must surely update your 'kini wardrobe. Yes? Yes. Swimwear  be tricky. Particularly if they are sold as 'sets' because it is very rare that we are the same on top as on bottom. A minefield! But hey, it's okay to be a good three or four sizes different one way or the other. It's also okay if you don't look like you belong on the GB beah volleyball team.

Now, a lot of great bra brands also do fabulous swimwear. But they can be pricey. Miss Mandalay bikinis are gorgeous, underwired and have good coverage. Note: if you are above a DD don't even think about those triangle bikinis. They offer about as much coverage as a babybell and truthfully, look a bit naff. Freya is a perrenial favourite for up-size swimwear. Cute colours and patterns. Most of their styles also come in a tankini style for those who are tummy conscious. These brands are charging around £50-60 for a set. But there is another option.

So, as I said swimwear sold as 'sets' are unsuitable for anyone past puberty. Most women would opt to buy a bigger size for the bottom than for the top. But when you look at the actual coverage of top you may find a bigger size more comfortable. For example, I wear a size ten on top and twelve on bottom but in a lot of bikinis I have wound up buying a size 14 top. If the back is tied then it makes it even easier to alter the size!

I have a few favourites in my own 'kini colletion. Bizarrely, my ultimate fave was bought in Asda. The top is a size 16 and the bottoms a ten. Other faves are from TopShop and Melissa Odabash (a sale number, I assure you). But before I head off to Nica I will be raiding the sales (HoF and Bravissimo both have them at the moment) for some last minute bikini bargains!

Ninja,
xx

Marks and Spencers, I'm pissed at you.

I have been meaning to start this blog for a while but wasn't entirely sure when or how to start. I wanted to start with an upbeat tale of fitting. Which I suppose could be my own...in short I was 'fitted' at a 36A/34B for years. Then I got a job in lingerie store and was promptly fitted, correctly, at a 32E. WHOOP. But that's not the story I've brought you here to read. "I was fitted at Marks and Spencers" has long been a phrase qualified bra-fitters loathe to hear. It's like saying Macbeth in the theatre. It's met with a sympathetic smile and an encouragement to get in the fitting room. It's a situation we make light of. "It's okay, we've all done it!" And then proceed to inform the customer after an in-depth and informative consultation that they are, in fact, a 32F. "Silly M&S!" Yes, silly, but no harm done.

Something happened yesterday that made me see past red, onto purple. I felt so angry I had to go sit in my stockroom to calm down. And I felt powerless to do anything. Then I remembered I needed a story to open my underwear blog with. Read, and share it. Not for me, but for the thousands of women affected by this. A customer wandered into my department and asked if we stocked any 40 backs. She was between a 14/16 I could see so I knew immediately the back size was wrong. She proceeded to tell me she needed a 40A. 'Hmmm' I thought, 'she doesn't look sizes with Mike Tindall but we'll roll with it'. "I have a prosthesis; Marks and Spencers fitted me at a 40A". I felt rage gnawing at me. A 40A?? A 40A!? I asked the customer her dress size and, as suspected, she was a 14/16.

"They sold me one a while ago but it hurt me" More rage. "I went up a size in my prosthesis but I still couldn't make it work" Deep breaths. I managed to get her into the fitting room and into a 36. The back was fine but on this occasion I didn't have any non-wired bras. I could see clearly that the customer was a 38E/ 36F. I showed her what she was looking for in a fit and listed on paper brands she should look out for. I advised her on her size and made and appointment for her at the nearest Bravissimo. They are, like me, fully trained in dealing with post-mastectomy patients and know exactly how to fit and advise according to the stage they are at in their recovery. And, if a sales assistant didn't know what to do, I have no doubt that they would've asked for help.

She told me that the Glasgow Western Infirmary had advised she go there (three cheers for the GWI!). She told me she'd just 'always gone' to M&S and trusted them to know what they were doing. Even now, I feel enraged by this. This woman has gone through something traumatic. She has physically LOST part of her body. And by proceeding to fit her badly M&S are literally hurting her further.

Marks and Spencers should not be allowed to fit post-surgery customers if they are not properly trained and equipped to do so. It's not fair. It's adding to her trauma. It's inhumane if you consider she has to expose herself to a stranger, trust that stranger, and be fitted into something that doesn't support her, doesn't aid with recovery and instead HURTS.
REALLY?

If you, or someone you know has gone through this surgery and needs advice on what to look for in aftercare bras, please get in touch. It's a part of my job I have also really enjoyed. Getting women back to being comfortable in their own skin. In their own underwear! Making bra shopping something to be enjoyed and not feared! There are plenty of bra fitters out there who know what to do in these situations. But those that don't, need to be honest, hold their hands up and say 'I'm going to get a more experience bra fitter to help you, but may I watch so I can learn?'

Furthermore, if you have had bad experiences after surgery with a bra fitter, please let me know! Similarly, if you felt well cared for tell me who they are too!

So that's the first post. I'm still mad, but we're at a low simmer now.
Back soon, Ninja x