Some things are worth the drive. Road trips on Alberta back roads. Dinner at your favourite destination restaurant. And a bra that can make you look 20 pounds slimmer with the snap of its proper-fitting clasp.
At Busted Ladies Lingerie in Ponoka, owner and professional bra fitter Sherry Gummow says some customers have fooled friends into thinking they’ve lost inches after visiting her shop.
“All it was, was a proper fitting bra,” Gummow says. “Proper fitting bras can have a slimming effect as they usually improve posture, which also helps relieve back pain.”
The fashion industry may deem that women should look a certain way and wear a certain size of bra, but Gummow says she doesn’t believe that.
“Each woman is an individual and with a proper bra fitting, their clothes will look better and they’ll feel better.”
“We don’t measure, we fit”
There’s a difference.
Measuring band and bust size can be a starting point, Gummow says, but there’s more to finding the perfect fit.
“Women’s breasts aren’t all the same shape or placed on our bodies in the same position,” she says.
That’s where the professional fitting comes in. Style, size, materials used in construction, band and cup combination — and even colour — all play a part in proper fit. Then throw in “sister sizes?” You definitely need a bra fitting.
So you’ve been fitted for a bra
For some, finding the perfect fit isn’t the problem, it’s finding the bra itself.
Luckily, Busted couples small-town service with big city bra selection.
The “best little lingerie shop in Central Alberta” carries colourful cups from size A to O and bands from size 28 to 48.
“A lot of women don’t know O cups exist,” Gummow says. “But you’d be surprised how many women are happy when they find it.”
From the vault
In addition to a wide selection of bras, Busted also stocks ample lingerie, from size XS to a 4X.
While you won’t find any whips, there’s at least one chain, Gummow says. That’s because Busted is housed in a building that was originally a bank.
“The vault is still here,” she says. “It’s where we keep our more risqué lingerie.”
The door to the vault weighs about 5,000 pounds, so staff use a chain to keep it open, for safety’s sake.
Shopping for new fitted underwear inside a risqué old bank vault? That’s definitely worth the drive.
To book your professional bra fitting or sign up for the Busted email newsletter, which includes special offers, visit https://www.bustedlingerie.ca. You can also follow Busted on Facebook.