Hey Everyone!
I’ve always been a nervous wreck when it comes to buying a bra. I’m pretty shy so harboring enough courage to ask a sales assistant to come measure me is a challenge in itself. I mean lingerie and bras have always been a tricky issue, especially if you’ve just started wearing one and even if you’re well into the bra wearing age, you might not even be wearing the right one for you. The right bra should feel really comfortable, support your assets well, and give you that desired lift. Wearing the wrong bra can give you an undesired figure (we never want bra fat right?) and can cause a bit of ache if your assets aren’t supported correctly. So let’s tuck the blushing cheeks and shy feelings away and talk about how you can find the perfect bra for you.
The scene is set at the wonderful XIXILI intimates boutique at Suntec City in Singapore!
What is interesting is that XIXILI offers a special service called the Perfect Fit session that basically allows you to be personally fitted by a professional fitter. No appointment is needed as their sales consultants are all trained professional fitters. Drop by anytime, a Perfect Fit fitter will be able to help measure, give advice on various bras, and basically help you find the perfect fit in a private space. I thought this was a perfect chance for me to show you how to find the perfect bra by the bra experts themselves!
XIXILI is an established lingerie brand from Malaysia. XIXILI boasts beautifully spanish inspired intimates, in high quality European fabrications and is renowned for its exquisite fit for Asian ladies. They really focus on a personalized service and the experience by offering extensive inventory in sizes to make sure customers are fitted right. XIXILI carries brassieres from cups A to G and will do bra customization for customers with bigger needs. Let’s get some bra-ducation, shall we?
A few starter steps:
1. Get Measured:
Just like testing out a foundation shade to see if it matches you, you’ll need to get measured by someone who knows their sizes and stuff. The person measuring you should measure the width below your breasts, on your breasts and the distance between your shoulder and your nipple point to find the correct size. They’ll then refer to their set measurements to get an approximate estimate of a size. Then it’s off to the fitting room!
2. Know the Occasion & Your Preferences:
Know what this bra is for and what you’ll be wearing it with. This will determine if you want to have lace with your bra (will it show underneath your garments and do you want it showing?), the plunge of the bra (whether you’ll be wearing a super low cut or not) and how comfortable you want to be with your bra (sometimes you just want to have a normal, simple bra without a design – I know I do sometimes). Understand what you want, and it’ll make the process simpler.
3. Trial & Error: FIT Before You Go
Then, it’s all about trial and error. When the sales assistant hands you your size, don’t rush off to the cashier just yet. You need to try on the bra and see if you feel comfortable in it. Wear the bra and move your arms, you shouldn’t really feel anything, no tightness whatsoever, no uncomfortable push anywhere. You shouldn’t be stuffing anything. it should just be worn as it is, gently encasing, and nothing more than that. I say if you feel the bra too much, ditch it and find another one. I want to go about my day not feeling it.
Troubleshooting with a little anatomy
A little anatomy of the bra. Take note of your straps and sliders to adjust the height of the bra. This is the first problem to correct if a bra feels a little bit too tight, it’s often because you need to adjust the strap. The band may be the next trouble spot. If you see fat seeping out from the band, so you have those bra bulges, the bra is way too small for you. You need to get a bigger one. Bras are a little complicated with sizing too. A ‘bigger’ one doesn’t mean a size up, you have to take into consideration band width and cup size. You need to get those two right and your fitter can help you with that. Don’t stuff your boobs into your bra either so that it’s seeping out from the cup. This can cause ‘stale fat’ – basically those lumps can become permanent if you keep on wearing a bra that is too small for you. A cup should be supported by the bra in that it lifts you up on the sides and from below.
Bra Tips & Tricks to Looking a Size Bigger!
1. Bend & Bring it Forwards
A great trick to make you look a size bigger bringing your “bust” to the front and into the cup of the bra. To do this, wear your bra and then bend forwards and simply use your hand to go through your bra so that you are about to grab your “back meat” and bring everything forward into the cup of your bra so that it encases everything basically. I wish I could show you but that wouldn’t be very appropriate. It seriously makes you a size bigger!
2. Push-Ups
If that doesn’t work, you can always buy additional bra push-ups or supporters. Bras usually have a pocket for these and you can buy the supporters to enhance the shape. Simply replace them with the ones already in the bra and you will instantly have a va-va-voom!
3. Bras & Lace
Lace actually plays a really important role than just looking good. Lace helps to distract fat away from the eyes and is also a good material to bring and push the bra into place to help lift and shape.
XIXILI Perfect Fit Pointers – A Few First Bra Pointers:
I was paired up with the lovely Cheryln who gave me so much advice on what the perfect bra should feel like.
1. Your ‘assets” change throughout your life
Believe it or not, whether it’s time to wave the red flag or if you have a bun in the oven, the shape and size of your breasts do change over time and according to different stages in your life. Stuffing yourself when you’re pregnant into a bra that you used to wear will probably not work out. It’s best to have a range of sizes for these reasons or to change or update your sizes as they have been outgrown.
2. Breasts come in different shapes and sizes, most times not symmetrical
Your boobs do come in different shapes and sizes so a bra and size that is totally fit for someone else may not be fit for you because you may have a different shape altogether. It’s also perfectly normal to have unequal sized breasts.
3. Your bra should “house” your assets. Park your assets in a Fixed Depost Account and watch it APPRECIATE
You shouldn’t be stuffing your assets into the cups of your bra. Instead, it should be housed gently into the cups. That being said, I’ve always thought I was a size smaller than what I actually am. Much to my surprise, I’m actually a size bigger without even doing anything and you might be as well. In fact, stats show that 90% of women think they’re actually a size smaller than what they actually are!
4. Don’t squeeze into a mini bra unless you want stale fat!
Another reason why you shouldn’t squeeze is because I’m sure we are all familiar with those two friends of ours between our arms and breasts. They’re like little pockets of fat and that’s actually caused by squeezing into undersized bras. Don’t do it! Those things can be come permanent and stay there which is unsightly in bikinis and dinner gowns.
5. Bras can make you look slimmer and improve your posture
Bras not only help to improve your breasts, but can also slim down your entire look and give you more confidence and a better posture once you’ve been supported correctly.
After looking at a few bras, I loved the pink design of this one! I’m not a huge fan of lace so a little bit of lace where I couldn’t feel it was perfect for me.
I was wearing a pretty good La Senza bra so I didn’t know if there would be any improvements but I gladly saw that it brought everything in a lot nicer and felt more comfortable. Me likey!
Taking Care of your Bras
When you take care of your bras, your bras will take care of you. The last thing you should do is to take care of your bras really well. Forget about being lazy and machine washing them, that will ruin the shape of the bras as well as the lace. They need to be hand washed gently. Cheryln shows that the bra depending on the design should be hung to dry (not put in a dryer). If you have something in the gore of the bra, it should be hung via the band but if not then it should be hung by the gore (refer to anatomy above if you are confused).
Overall, I had the most fabulous time learning about bras from XIXILI and the fitter Cheryln! It was indeed a wonderful learning experience and I walked away with two of my favourites! In fact, I want to share the joy of being fitted and the importance of it so much that I asked XIXILI if they’d like to giveaway three Perfect Fit sessions to three lucky winners in Singapore AND Malaysia and they agreed!
Babes, it’s time for a giveaway!
Giveaway is now closed as of Jan. 25th 11:59 PM! ———->
To win a XIXILI Perfect Fit Session with a fitter who will give you bra advice and help you find the perfect bra for you AND a free set of lingerie that you’ve fitted best with during your session courtesy of XIXILI, tell me:
1. Describe your perfect bra
2. Write “Enter me”
3. Write your email address
For example:
1. My perfect bra would be really comfortable so that I can wear it not only for sport but for daily wear as well. I want to feel supported by the bra and I want it to not be as visible when I wear things over it.
2. Enter me
3. roseannetangrs@gmail.com
Good Luck! This giveaway is only for Singapore and Malaysia residents due to location of the store! Don’t worry though to my international readers, there will be more giveaways! Thank you so much XIXILI for sponsoring this post and making this possible. Do visit www.xixili-intimates.com for more details or join their facebook page to keep in the loop!
The giveaway ends Jan. 25th, so be sure to enter now!
Much Love,
Roseanne