Are Our Bras Just Bigger Versions of Little Bras?

16th Jul 2018

"Who wants to be down and out?" Frederika (Freddy) Zappe is the national fit specialist for Eveden, Inc, the parent company behind our beloved Elomi, Freya, Goddess, and Fantasie brands. We spoke with her recently to learn more about the construction and design of full-cup bras, and boy! Was she excited to tell us just how these beauties work to hold a bust in place.

"I see us as a team changing lives with the tools that we have at hand," Freddy says of her products. "They are amazing and life changing. We do feel that we can really fit any body."

Every step of the way, she's sure to emphasize the crucial importance of proper fit to support the bust. Freddy supervises "fit school" where retailers like Judy come to learn more about the specific aspects of each brand and style that work best with body types are varied as our clientele. Like Judy, Freddy seems to remember the details of every bust she's had the honor to assess. "Judy is very high-breasted," Freddy says, remembering how our Bra Whisperer's bust begins higher on her torso. She quips that she doesn't feel clients are ever "hard to fit" because she's got products that work for virtually all body types.  

Magic Fingers

So just what is the secret to a group of bras designed to do heavy lifting, comfortably, for hours at a time? "We do NOT do stretchy cups," Freddy asserts. Instead, their bras use seams to support breasts, lifting them in from the sides and up from the bottom. "The seams are like little fingers that mold, sculpt, and shape the breast tissue," she says. These fingers are further supported by underwire and a band that shifts as the bras get bigger. 

"The more weight there is to support, the snugger you want that band," says Freddy. "If you're very, very curvy, that band is going to be wider, like wings that wrap around the body." 

Our Designers Listen

There's a reason we get so excited when a new style comes out in a wide range of sizes: the design process takes between 12-18 months! To create a bra that looks great and works even better, Freddy says the design team does wear-testing, sending the products out to women of allllll sizes. They work with band sizes from 32 through 56 and design up through L cups. Freddy comments that Elomi, who is celebrating their 10th Birthday, has evolved dramatically with each new product because their designers listen to clients. "They get in the fitting rooms. They see. They tweak. They think about getting the tissue even more in and even more up. It's never done."

Freddy points out that even when her brands release a beloved style in a new color, that new iteration has tweaks in the design to improve the bra. 

More Than Bust + Band

Remember how Freddy called Judy "high breasted"? She's not just implying that Judy's boobs are perky. She means that the breast tissue begins closer to Judy's collarbones than might be typical. "Some other clients have a fuller tummy, so the band might curl up," Freddy says, and then stops listing examples because there are just too many body types. Turns out there are a lot of nuances to our bodies that all must be taken into consideration when selecting a great style! A good fit on a bra requires more than just the cup and band measurements.

Reflecting on the high-breasted body type, Freddy points out that this is a very American body type that European designers aren't typically accounting for when creating bras. Elomi and Goddess designers in particular noticed this build on a lot of their clients and many of their styles reflect changes for the short of torso. The Matilda bra, for instance, is cut lower under the arms and has a J-hook option to help accommodate this specific shape. 

Who Knew?

For Freddy and her team, fitting a client into the perfect bra is just about the most rewarding work there is. The best days, she says, are when the client doesn't want to take the bra off after trying it on. Clients who "can't stop touching themselves and saying, 'I can't believe I look like this! Who knew?'...Do you know how huge it is to do that for someone? To help a client look at themselves and feel a heavy burden is lifted in all ways?" 

At Levana Bratique, we definitely share this sentiment and love helping our clients find products that help them feel like the best versions of themselves. We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about what goes into the design and construction of these wonder products. What do you find most interesting about your bra's design?