Spring Comes Early at Lula Lu Lingerie

While spring clothing usually does come early in the fashion world - one often sees warm weather-ready clothing as early as late January or early February - Lula Lu Lingerie is launching spring just in time for the holiday season. The first piece from Lula Lu's Spring 2011 collection is being launched this month. Called the Lightly Padded Push-Up bra (aka LUL02) comes in Lula Lu's usual 32-36 AAA, AA and A cups. Not only will the bra give the wearer the oh-so-light push, but the lace trim adds to it, giving this very basic t-shirt bra a little bit of sexiness without going overboard. The bra will retail at approximately $54 US and will be available online or at the Lula Lu boutique in the San Mateo, California.

Lula Lu has garnered much media attention in the past few months, including from major publishers like the New York Times and women-focused social blog, Jezebel. This was especially so when they announced their AAA bra as many did not think that adult women could be that small or needed bras. More from Lula Lu's Spring 2011 collection will be launching early in the year. Stay tuned!

This was also posted in DelectablyChic!

Lula Lu Lingerie Supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month

It's October and pink ribbons supporting breast cancer awareness month are all over the place. However, instead of pink ribbons, Lula Lu Lingerie will donate a portion of the sales of their pink Kaylen convertable bra and bikini bottoms to Save the Tatas breast cancer awareness foundation.

The bra, which is lightly lined, is available in size 30AA to 36A and can be worn with or without straps and retails at $50 US. The bottoms come in small, medium and large and is $26. Both the bra and panties are available on Lula Lu's website.

Also posted in DelectablyChic!

The Truth About Bras

Recently, I had a chance to speak with Karen Bromley of the Intimate Apparel Council where we discussed bras and size issues. Our talk ranged from sizing issues (especially for smaller women) to shopping tips and the fact that women are wearing incorrect sizes (85%!). According to Ms. Bromley, bras are a very technical article of clothing, and therefore, it is extremely important to have a good fit - especially if one wants to look good and be comfortable. However, it isn't just the shopper who is buying the incorrect size, but also because many stores do not have professional fitters (in other words, she does not believe that some stores ill-advise women just to get a sale). Ms. Bromley highly recommends that one go to a specialty store (i.e. not chains) to purchase the correct size.

A bra made by The Little Bra Company, which focuses on smaller sizes

But what about the smallest of sizes? What does Ms. Bromley have to say about those of us who are less than an A cup or smaller than a 32 band?

Ms. Bromley on the Lula Lu Lingerie issue when they announced that they were going to sell AAA cups and the blogosphere went crazy, indicating that the company was trying to appeal to very young girls:

The average bra size today is a 36 DD – therefore many manufacturers have stopped producing the very petite sizes. As it is they produce each and every bra style in a range of cup sizes(some up to K) and in several band widths from 32 up to 50 and above. Lula Lu is just creating lingerie for the petite women out there who don't have as many choices as the plus size women do.

On why she thinks it's harder for society to accept the fact that there are grown women who're very tiny:

I don’t think that is the case. However some manufacturers are focused on the junior market, some on the women’s market and some on the Plus size market. There is something for every body type available.

On why she thinks it's easier to find smaller band sizes in Europe and Asia:

Asian and European women tend to be smaller in frame and in this country, our average bra size is 36DD and the average dress size is 14!

On whether she thinks it's harder for smaller women or larger women to find well-fitting bras:

Today the larger busted woman has many more choices. Manufacturers are accommodating the tremendous growth in larger sizes as demand has required it. Smaller sizes are a bit tougher to find as readily.

Tips for smaller women looking to find well-fitting bras: Shop online and also some specialty stores may special order for customers.

One question Ms. Bromley was unable to answer was why she thought that sizes like 28C were not considered "petite." Her answer to the quesetion was:

Manufacturers offer a wide variety of sizes however retailers tend to select what sells best in their stores. So the sizes are available from some brands in petite sizes – it is often times a good idea to shop online for petite sizes.

While this answers the question on petite sizes in general, it does not say why 28C is not a petite size. Perhaps other lingerie professionals could elaborate?

Would Smaller-Framed Lingerie Be Controversial Too?

The recent Lane Bryant ad controversy, where ABC and Fox either pulled the spot or demanded editing, caused uproar all over the Internet. Some said that it was unfair to allow skinny women prance around in lingerie, while a very attractive (but not size 2) woman is considered "too hot for TV." So this brings the question: What if the ad was for a clothing store focusing specifically on shorter and small-framed women? Would they pull the ad because the woman happens to be very tiny (say, a 28A), and therefore makes the ad look like child porn? Even if the woman in the ad is and is portrayed to be in her late 20s? Or would it just fall under the radar, because we see skinny people in ads all the time?

A bra from The Little Bra Company, which makes bras in 28 and 30 band sizes

Small-framed women have a very hard time finding lingerie in North America. Major brands don't carry anything smaller than a 32 band size. Anyone smaller than that will need to go to a specialized store - and even then, the small sizes are few and far between. This is NOT the case in Europe and Asia. Even Britain seems to carry more 30s than Canada and the United States. There are some boutiques which sell smaller sizes, but even there, selection is only regulated to a small handful of brands. Sometimes, even these places try to make women buy larger band sizes and smaller cups. Even lines which are supposedly petite usually start at 32 (Triumph Canada has one - cups for these bras are usually slightly closer together and the band size is slightly smaller - still, a 32 in petites is bigger than a 30 regular). No wonder most women wear the wrong size! In the "real world," many people don't even realize that some adults need small band sizes - to a typical Canadian or American, hearing that someone is a 30A or even 30B would make them think "what is she, like 12?" This sounds like a somewhat nice way of saying "she can't be a 'real woman,' can she?" How is this any nicer than "Whoa! She's fat!" or taking an ad down because it looks like porn? Hey, at least the latter just means that the ad is sexy. Small framed, especially small framed and small chested women can't really be sexy because they might "look illegal" according to some interpretations. That can be seen as far worse than someone who is, say, a 42DD being "too sexy" for regular TV.

I guess my point is that any comment from the "other side" is shot down. It's as if the comments don't matter, or, at least, matter less. This is not fair. Being small-framed, especially small-framed and small-chested can be just as difficult - if not MORE difficult - than larger women. At least larger women are "allowed" to be sexy - as long as you have a proportionate frame - while it borders on being gross if you are small all over. It's unlikely someone with a small band size (i.e. smaller than a 32) will ever be able to find sexy lingerie because some parent will complain that "real women" don't come in that size and that the lingerie was really intended for some 11 or 12 year old. Even if the store or brand clearly targets small-framed adults. Sad.

This is also posted in Prospere Magazine.

I HATE Bra Shopping....

Small sizes are hard to find in Toronto. Weird, since there are plenty of small-framed women in town. A shop that has a very good reputation supposedly carried a brand that I liked. When I got there, they said that the bras from that brand didn't fit very well. Ummmmm....maybe because the ladies you've recommended them on weren't the right type of frame? The company fits smaller frames - if you're a 32A in a more mainstream brand, chances are, you'll be taking a 34 band with that particular brand. It is MADE for smaller-framed women, and one of the only a few brands that sell in North American stores that have band sizes under 32.

A friend of mine said that they seem to focus more on larger ladies. Sure, there are probably more people who're bigger, but small women shouldn't be left out. We already have to go through issues of people calling small-framed figures "pre-pubescent" sometimes. Don't you think we deserve lingerie to make us feel like a woman??!!

Who Alters Lingerie?

Tried going lingerie shopping at a boutique today. There were soooooo few 30 bands that they gave me 32 bands to try. Since 32 is a tad bit too big for me, they suggested that I alter them. Who does this? Also, why is it that 30 bands are more common in Europe (including the UK) but next to impossible to find here?

*ANGRY*

Lula Lu: Sexy Lingerie for Smaller Women

Lula Lu, exterior

Many women, whether big, medium or small, have trouble finding the right bra size. Small women, in particular, don’t like having to go through piles and piles of bras that aren’t their size to find one that might not even fit properly. Ellen Shing of San Mateo, California had an idea. Why not open a shop that just sells smaller sized bras? Ellen’s store, Lula Lu, sells bras from 30AA to 38A. She also carries some smaller B and C cups. Bras are typically sized on a 34B fit model and altered up or down for various cup sizes, making it especially difficult for small busted women, especially those who wear small A or AA cups to find properly fitted bras. To combat that, Ellen used AA cupped customers to better determine the fit. Currently, the photos are shots from vendors, but Ellen plans to use models for her own brand soon. Also, Ellen’s definition of petite is not of height, but frame. She has small-chested customers who are 6’ tall.

On bra sizing and the difference between her bras and other major brands:

Bras are like jeans so no two styles fit the same, even if they are from the same manufacturer. And, every brand grades their sizing a bit differently, depending on their fit model, so it's hard to compare the fit of one brand to another for bras. The Lula Lu collection was designed with what we believe to be more accurate AA cups and by that I mean we do not use heavy padding in order to make the cup fit AA cups well. We use a more accurate sizing, developed by working with our customers.

On why women often wear the incorrect bra size

A lot of women who come into our store just never bothered to get measured so they don't know their correct size and other women have had body changes, such as weight gain, but they resist getting measured and being told their size has changed so they prefer just to keep wearing the same ill fitting bras.

Lula Lu, interior

On the best type of bra for smaller-chested women:

Like with anything to do with women's fashion, everyone has different tastes and perceptions as to what looks best on their body type. I haven't found one best bra that works for everyone (or is liked by everyone) and I don't think one exists and that's why I'm always trying to find new styles so people have a choice.

Lula Lu is located at 212 E. 3rd Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401. Store hours are Monday-Thursday from 11am to 6pm, Friday from 11am to 7pm and Saturday from 11am to 5pm.

P: 650-348-8858. Most styles can be purchased online. Lula Lu ships to Canada.