Category : Sales and Specials
Category : Sales and Specials
Category : Bra Fitting
Recently my partner, Anita, was contacted by a reporter who was doing a piece on the perils on buying lingerie as a gift. Her main objective was to find out how often merchandise is returned to the store because it was not to the recipients taste. Anita’s first response to her was, “Well, that happens very rarely as we don’t sell tasteless merchandise”. Their conversation went on to cover how and why men buy lingerie as gifts, some pointers so they don’t make mistakes in their choices and our return policy.
If a man comes into the store to buy for his partner we ask him about her style. Does she wear lacy things, is she more of a 
sporty girl who would like cotton sleepwear or is she a classic type who would prefer silk? Once that is determined we can focus on finding things that in her size. Purchasing lingerie as a gift is less difficult than buying a bra set. Lingerie typically runs from XS-3X while bras come in almost 200 sizes at Tryst so he is less likely to make a mistake when buying a lingerie piece. Unless a man is dead set on getting her a bra and panty set, we will steer him in the direction of lingerie or sleepwear.
When it comes to buying a bra most men don’t know their partners real bra size. Because a woman is often not just one size but a variety of sizes, the best way for us to figure out what size she would need would be if he took a peek into her lingerie drawer and noted the various sizes and brands. Also many women don’t disclose their true size to their mate. After all, a 36DD is easier to comprehend as being large chested than a 30FF is, though these equal the same breast mass. This means that often men come into the store without the correct information to make a bra purchase.
If a man is overwhelmed by the lingerie buying experience he can always buy a gift certificate. And since so many women out there are wearing the wrong size, if she’s never had a fitting that’s often the best place to start. Once she’s in the store a fitting will ensure she gets the perfect fit and picks the item that works best for her. Not only does a gift certificate purchase the item she wants it also offers the service of a professional bra fitting. If she’s been in before and has already been fit there is a good chance she has a wish list on her customer file. Even looking at a customer’s purchase history will help figure out her size and her likes giving him a chance to choose from already proven items.
We can’t forget that men buying for their partners often want to enjoy the gift themselves. Not only are they trying to make her happy, they want to enjoy seeing it on her – so getting it right is important! And women should understand how intimidating it can be for some men to shop in a store with brassieres on every wall. So as hard as he’s tried, if he gets the size wrong knowing the return policy of the store is beneficial. At Tryst, we offer 14 days for exchange or store credit, but the item must be unworn with the tags attached and come back with either a receipt or gift receipt.
So ladies, pass this blog along to the man in your life. Give him permission to buy you pretty things and enjoy them, and the holiday season, together.
Category : Bra Facts and Care
If you have been following my blogs you will notice that sometimes I blog about my travels and that somehow, even though I am in other parts of the world and not working, bra stories and experiences follow me every where. I guess bras are just such a big part of my life that I will always have stories about them no matter where I am.
I just returned from Buenos Aires and while packing for this trip I decided that I was going to pack all of my bras in my carry-on. Because I was going for 11 days and I only wear my bras once before washing them (I didn’t want to do laundry while I was away), I packed 13 bras – one for each day, a strapless and a sports bra just in case our hotel had a gym. I made the decision to always take my bras in my carry-on after one of our customers told us that her luggage had been lost and she had to replace all the bras that she had taken with her. This is a nightmare of mine. I always have the fear that while travelling I might lose my luggage and, while it would suck to lose everything I packed, nothing would be as bad as losing my bras. While clothing can be easily replaced, bras in my size are not sold in most of the countries I visit. Wearing ill-fitting replacement bras would be uncomfortable, look terrible and not give my breasts any support. Or, I would be wearing the same bra for the entire trip, the one I was wearing on the plane! After my conversation with this customer I decided never to leave the safe arrival of my bras to fate.
The only thing to keep in mind when packing your pretty intimates in your carry-on bag is this is the luggage that is most likely to be rummaged through by a complete stranger. While going though the security at our stop in Chile, the woman scanning my bags gave me a very quizzical look and asked me what it was that I had in my bags. It took me a second to understand what she was asking about. Luckily I know 3 Spanish words for bras so I could explain to her why she was seeing 26 giant metal “U”s in my bag. I have heard customer concerns about wires setting off the metal detector but I have never heard of this actually happening and it has never happened to me. Since wired bras are so prevalent one would think that frequent pat-downs would be more commonplace if this actually was a concern of airport security. It would be a wonder that any flight would arrive on time!
Category : Merchandise, Sales and Specials
Category : Bra Facts and Care, Bra Fitting
Canada uses the metric system, right? Or do we? We may use the metric system for distance and temperature but when it comes to our bodies we seem to stick to imperial. I know I am 5′3″ and I know how much I weigh in pounds but the reason I know what that is in meters and kilograms is because I just Googled it. The same applies to bra sizes. Perhaps we have certain situations where we would use the metric scale for our body measurements but we definitely use feet and inches and pounds while just chit-chatting about our bodies. I have no idea why. I do, however, know why I insist on using the imperial version of bra sizes.
You may not realize that the bra-back sizes we are most familiar with here, in Canada, are indeed imperial. 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and so on refer to inches. These are not exactly the measurements of our bodies but we do use that measurement to help us determine what back size we are going to use and the measurement is taken in inches.
When I was in university I learned pattern drafting using inches. I later developed a system of my own design for pattern drafting which used either inches or cm. It was for a program that would do the drafting for you and the program could use either system. Maybe the traditional seamstresses have held on to the imperial system and passed it on to the next generation of designers and pattern drafters.
In the case of bra sizes metric is much more confusing then the imperial. This is because there are two metric systems: French and European. (By the way, I do realize that France is part of Europe but they have their own scale). Both use centimeters and both use numbers divisible by 5, however the sizes vary greatly. A 30 back is an 80 in French and a 65 in Europe. A 32 is a 85 in French and 70 in Europe. And so on.
Both scales have numbers from 80 to 105 but whereas a 80 is a 30 in French sizing it is a 36 in European sizes; very different sized women. This means every time a man comes to our store visiting from another country and tells us his wife is a 90 we have to ask him to describe her body because that could be a 40 back (which is a plus sized woman) or a 34 back (which is our most common size sold). Using inches, although it seems old fashioned, is much more convenient because there is only one meaning of a 32, 34 and so on. Of course different brands and collections may have slightly different fits-which is why you need the experience of a bra fitter with an arsenal of product knowledge.
If we did change our system of bra sizes from imperial to metric we would have to decide if we would adopt the French or the European scale. 32″ is about 82 centimeters which is closer to the French size of 85 and not the European size of 70. When measuring we hold the tape measure tightly under the bust and then add 5 or 3 depending on her measurement so this explains why the European sizes are much smaller then the centimeters that the inches convert to (if they do not add that extra to the number). However when we take the 2nd measurement which is above the bust we do not add 3 or 5 which would correspond closer to the French sizes. I think the best thing is to stick to the imperial sizes. Besides, how many women do you know who would want to go from a 36 to an 80?
Category : Merchandise
New Slipper boots at Tryst! Great for gifts. So comfy and cozy you will wear them every day!
We give washing instructions with every bra we sell but there are certain directions we don’t include in our bra care spiel; directions like “keep away from fire” or “don’t let your dog chew on this”. You would be surprised at how many bras come back to us that have mangled hooks from what I can only say is a lack of conventional dog chew toys. Fortunately, it is easy enough to replace chewed apart hooks. Some things however are more difficult to fix.
I have from time to time seen the label “Keep Away from Fire” on certian garments. I thought it went with out saying not to light your clothing on fire. However, I have never seen the label “Do Not Cover Your Bra in Hot Wax” but it would have been appropriate for my vintage Gossard Superboost last week. I 
had lit some candles on my dresser and I had one very old, large candle that was almost finished. I guess the wick was too long and had tipped over and had melted away the side of the candle. The wick then landed on a pile of books. When I noticed the books on fire I tried to blow out the candle. Hot wax from the candles splattered all over my face but I saved my dresser from burning down.
The next day when I opened my 
bra drawer I discoverd my Superboost bra encased in green wax that had poured down into my dresser. Luckily my Superboost was the only bra damaged as it blocked the wax from my reaching my other bras. It had sacrificed itself to save all my other bras.
We won’t be adding to our care instructions, “Keep away from dogs, fire or hot wax”, anytime soon. The list of things to avoid could go on forever. With all my bra expertise I never expected myself to be the culprit of the most unusual case of bra abuse.
Category : Health
My sister and I have a lot in common: we look alike, we have similar body movements, sense of humours and voices. Recently we just became a little more similar and I can’t say I am happy about it. My sister has always had an allergy to elastic but over the last few years it has become much more severe. This means that there are only a few bras that don’t give her an itching and burning rash. But there was one bra in particular she had absolutely no reaction to at all. More about that later.
Lately I have also had a few reactions to a few bras. There are some that irritate me a little and some a lot. Luckily, I am not at point that my sister is at where I can’t wear 90% of my bras. As soon as I noticed that certain bras were burning me under the band and straps I called my sister.
“Do you get rashes around your ankles, where the band of your socks are?” she asked “Do you have the same problem at your waist?”. To both I answered “yes”. She told me to stop wearing the bras and anything else that was irritating me or the allergy could get worse. I had to get rid of not only some of my bras but also some socks, pants and skirts.
Most of the time when people are irritated by a bra it is due to the size being wrong. A loose band will move around and the friction will irritate your skin. A bra that is too tight will dig in and make red marks on the skin. However, people often say they are allergic to lace but since lace refers to a method used to make a fabric and not the fabric content it isn’t actually possible to be allergic to lace. You could be allergic to something in the lace though, such as the type of thread used to make it, the type of dye or fabric wash. Also a lace bra could irritate you because of the friction against your skin, something that is usually corrected when wearing the right size. Being allergic to lace would be like being allergic to pizza. You could be allergic to tomatoes or cheese or wheat but it isn’t pizza that you are allergic to.
So how do you know if you have an allergy to something in your bra?
One tell tale sign is hives or raised bumps on the skin under certain parts of the bra such as the strap or the band. Another sign would obviously be a burning feeling or itchiness. I once had a customer who after wearing a certain bra had a red zigzag line around her body, right under where the bra band and straps were. This was obviously an allergy to the thread in the bra since the zigzag pattern was the same as the stitching on the bra. Some people are allergic to the fabric wash or starch in a bra. So, if you think you are allergic to a certain bra make sure you wash it thoroughly in a detergent you have already used and not reacted to. The best thing to do would be to bring in the bra to a professional bra fitter and have her see if your reaction is an irritation from wearing the wrong size or if it is indeed an allergy.
A tip my sister gives is, if you discouver that you are allergic to a fiber used in bras you need to carefully read the fabric content (the same way you would read the nutrictional information on a food package). If there is a small percentage of the fiber you are allergic to, like 2%-3% try to figure out where it is and if it is in a concentrated area directly next to your skin.
So what was that magic bra that my sister can wear with no problem? Actually it is our best selling bra. The Fitfully Yours, Smooth Basics bra and it is only $58!
Category : Sales and Specials
