Are you confused about this? I would be too, if I wasn’t a custom bra-maker! It has been made purposely confusing in my opinion.
A custom made bra is measured and cut to fit you and you alone. Each piece of the bra is your unique size- the cups, the bridge between the cups, the back band ( or wings as some call them, the strap position, length and width, even the number of hooks and eyes. The underwire is measured and sized to fit you, if you chose to have an underwire. Colour – your choice, and there are choices! If you have breasts of different sizes you can choose to have the bra made, so that the bra fits each breast, or you can have the bra made to even out the difference. I like to say the bra is Size You.

That brings us to a custom fit bra. In the example given above, 2 different sized breast, a custon fit bra can not accommodate each size. Custom fit bras are not individually made, they are mass produced bras, so they are no different from the bras you get in a box. In many cases “custon fit” bras are sold through a multi level marketing company, so after you make your purchase, you may be recruited to be a sales representative. These companies sell other products such as skin care and health drinks. The custom fit comes in because they offer a large size range – larger than the bras in the box, so this is where their custom fitting comes in.

Another form of custom fitting is offered through a bra boutique. A sales clerk, usually trained in bra fitting, is assigned to fitting you, and she has several lines of bras, carried by the store, to use to find a fit for you. Usually the bra boutique will be able to do some alterations to the bra to customize it to fit you better.

What is best for you? It really depends! I would like to tell you that in every case that a custom made bra is the very best answer to every person’s bra woes. I believe that the mass manufacturers have made great strides in addressing many of the common issues women have with their bras. They have extended their size ranges to fit smaller women and larger women, and a good bra fitter in a bra boutique carrying good lines , can do a good job for you.

Is a custom made bra for you? If you are at either end of the size range, large breasts, small breasts, large frame, small frame, and any combination of those, a custom made bra is for you. 28D or 50A are hard sizes to find and fit properly and yet they are not so unusual.
All of us have breasts that vary in size, some it is negligable, others, it can be more than 3 cup sizes. If this is you, a custom made bra is for you. Imagine the freedom of just simply , putting on your bra, not filling it with cookies or shoulder pads and hoping none of them fall out. Wouldn’t that give you more confidence putting on your custom bra each day? Much more comfortable too!

I hope this helps clear up the terms. Custom Fit is mass sized, find the one that fits you best.
Custom Made is SIZE: YOU!

I love colours. Colours wake me up, get me creative, I just can’t rest until I do something when I am in a colourful environment. I went into a store called the Needle Emporium. Sounds like a head shop, doesn’t it? Well, it is a knitting store! I don’t knit, but the store was a rainbow of colours, and textures. There were soft yarns and fluffy yarns. The colours – did I mention the colours? Holy Cow! I signed up to learn to knit. I bought yarn like there was no tomorrow. It turns out that knitting takes a fair amount of patience. I am pretty good at patience, but whew, that is a lot of patience. I like my fabric already produced. I do have some very colourful socks, and so do my friends!

Today, one of my suppliers, www.BraComponents.com asked me my opinion about what colour to dye a special fabric. I got out my swatch kit and wallowed in the colours – and I mean wallowed. It is snowing here today. Cold and blowing snow. I had sweet lovely colours like lavender and pink, mellow yellow, a pale blue. It was such a luscious experience. Then, on TV, I saw Clinton Kelly of What Not to Wear fame, advising that this spring, WHITE is the big colour. White??? With beige, or neutral tones. Rich, classy, is what they say about this colour combination. Boring is what I say, but I am no Clinton Kelly.

I pass this bit of news on to BraComponents and this casts the deciding vote. The special fabric is being dyed Toasted Almond. Sounds tasty doesn’t it? It is a great bra colour to wear under a white top. Or panty colour under white pants. Why? It won’t show! White shows under white. If you don’t want to show your colours, Toasted Almond is the way to go.

You can see a Toasted Almond Bra made up on my Uplift Custom Bras Facebook page. One of these days I will figure out how to link these together, but for now please go to that page!

I cringe everytime I see that IKEA commercial on TV – the one where the guy comes in yelling at his wife that he hates his job and he hates this and that and he hates himself. Wifey must be delighted when he arrives home everyday! Nice kitchen, though.

Seriously. In my job, as bra designer, so many women say to me “There is something wrong with me, I can’t get a bra to fit.” I didn’t notice at first, but now I have seen so many women, I realize how many of us truly do hate our bodies. We are so critical of ourselves that we let it cloud our true view of ourselves.

I am not going to get all philosophical about that now, although I have lots to say on the subject! Lots to get off my chest. That is a bra-maker joke. TeeHee

What I want to say now, is that just because the bra in the box doesn’t fit you, doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with your shape. Even if a professional bra fitter couldn’t fit you, it still doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with you. There are limitations to what a mass manufactured product can do – it is their problem, not yours. So don’t hate yourself over their problem.

The bra is an interesting piece of clothing. There is lots of engineering – yeah- who would have thought engineering – that goes into a bra. And when you have a great bra, you know it! It puts a spring in your step, and no bounce on your chest. You look at yourself a little more kindly.

OK – I am going to have this chat with myself..

….til the next time

Have you noticed what a bad blogger I am? I have such good intentions, and then something at the sewing machine draws me away. To be truthful, just about anything could draw me away from blogging. Even housework! Does anyone really care what I think or do on a minute, hourly, daily basis? I worry about that. Too much apparently.

It is true, my chosen career is really interesting. I love it. I love solving problems. I love talking to women about what really bugs them about their bras. Then, I think, and think, and try out some ideas, and then think and try again.

Ideas come to me in the middle of the night, but finally the what if becomes a reality, and the problem that bugs one person is solved.

I love that! That is what I live for – the day the bra is tried on and I hear those words – ” this is the most comfortable bra I have ever worn!”

That is a good day!

Congratulations Susan! You’re the winner of the “I Need A Lift!” Contest!

Your prize includes a free custom bra fitting, and made to measure custom bra from UpLift Custom Bras.

After what you described as a lifetime of various bra turmoils, we think you are more than deserving of the UpLift experience.

Stay tuned for more on our contest winner’s journey towards a lift in a positive direction.

Read Susan’s entry below:

When I reached puberty I barely needed a bra. However, at 13 it was rather embarrassing when the boys went to snap the back of my bra strap and there was nothing to snap. That was enough motivation for me to accept my friend’s second hand bra. This “trainer” bra was nothing more than a piece of fabric strapped around my chest.
And so my relationship with bras ensued. Ill fitting and uncomfortable bras seemed to be my destiny. When I finally did need a bra, I couldn’t find one with a small enough cup. Much to my mother’s chagrin, I opted not to wear one. That was OK when my breasts were still small and perky. But I needed support.
I’ve had bras that crinkle under my shirts, straps that slip repeatedly off my shoulders and red marks that look like I have a disease. But the worst bra failure happened on a date. My date kissed me and the strap at the back of my bra snapped off and the bra cup sagged. I feared that it looked like I expected more than a kiss from my date.
Since, I’ve had bras that lack support, cause me to breathe shallow and pucker under my clothing.
So a good fitting bra is long overdue.

Thanks for all of your entries!

UpLift Custom Bras will announce the winner tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

Remember kitestring’s “What Was I Thinking?!?” Contest? kitestring gave away $15,000 towards a rebranding for the small business voted most deserving by blogosphere readers like you! UpLift Custom Bras was the lucky winner!

Introducing, our new brand!!!!!!!!

AND, to launch the new brand, kitestring is helping to get the word out with the “I Need A Lift!” Contest, open to the general public.

You could win a bra made to fit your measurements by UpLift Custom Bras by revealing your bra horror story.

What you need to do:

1. Go to UpLift Custom Bras blog on their new website

2. Post your worst bra related memory by commenting on the Uplift Contest blog post ( Right Here!!)

3. Copy your comment entry into an email to linda@upliftcustombras.com so we can contact you if you’ve won!

When it comes to uncomfortable, ill-fitting store bought contraptions, we’ve all been there. So if you need a lift in a positive direction, this contest is for you!

Contest closes on April 9^th, one entry per person will be considered. The winning entries will be judged by kitestring creative marketing + design and announced on April 12^th. Please refrain from mentioning third party individuals, companies and organizations, or your entry will be disqualified. Remember, all of UpLift’s custom bras are made to measure in their Burlington, Ontario studio. So, travel to the studio would be required to claim this prize. Email meg@kitestring.ca if you have any questions.

Good luck!

How do you know when it is time to replace your bra?

Many of us are guilty of wearing bras that are well beyond their past due date. I know I am – my bra sags while laying on the floor! And I am the girl who once said she was going to have 365 bras!

Here are some tips to tell you when to kick that bra to the curb and give the girls a lift!

• Has it been more than 1 year since you had a fitting, and purchased that bra?
• Have you gained or lost 10 lbs since purchasing the bra?
• Have you had a baby since purchasing the bra?

If you answered Yes to any of these 3 questions, it is definately time to replace the bra!

• Are your straps falling down? Possibly tightening your straps will do the trick, but more likely the problem is incorrect fit in the band of the bra – it is too big, it rides up, your straps loosen, and down they slide.
• Does your bra band create back fat? Sign of a too tight band. Try a size larger band, and a size smaller cup.
• Are your breasts falling out the bottom of your cups? Your band is too loose or you may be wearing the wrong style of bra. A full band bra, versus a partial band bra ( in the correct size) should correct this problem.
• Are your underwires poking you? Chances are the wires are the wrong size for you. It could also be the wrong style. If wires fit you properly, you will not feel them.

If any of these 4 conditions exist, it doesn’t matter how old the bra is, replace it! The girls deserve a comfortable home.

Properly placed, comfortable breasts will make you look younger and thinner. Who wants that?

Last year I took the big step into the great unknown , and started my own business. What a crazy year to start a business! What a lot to learn, too.

I had this little fantasy that I could hire someone to make a website for me, and it would be done. I could design and sew my bras, without worry. Well, that didn’t quite happen, and the website became a great big volcano that stood between me and my success. Every day I got up and the first thing I thought about was the unfinished website, and it was the last thing I thought about . It kept me awake at night. The website designer and I started out with a good relationship, it slowly slid downhill. The website was going nowhere.
Then one day an email arrived in my inbox. It was from Kitestring Marketing. Enter our contest it said. Win $15,000 of our marketing services if you have the best sad marketing story. I entered. I only had 200 words to tell my story. Now, let me tell you that was tough! I was out about $2000 and my friends had been pushing me to “get tough” with the web designer. I am not tough, and I felt like an idiot for not being able to resolve the situation, so finally I had an outlet, but only 200 words. Arggggh! Still, I got shortlisted , as one of the top ten sad stories, and then it went to the public vote – just like Canadian Idol. That was exciting! Friends from everywhere jumped in to vote. Facebook was a godsend. Friends called their friends. It was too exciting – now I wasn’t sleeping because I was so wound up about the possibility of winning the contest.

So, you know the outcome…I won the contest! Isn’t this website just the best? Jenn, Chris, Meg, and Brandon, spent time interviewing me, learning about my business, my values, what excites me about my business.
The process was really interesting – it made me think a lot about what I was all about, and what I wanted my business to look like. They asked me some very strange questions, and I wondered what on earth the answers were telling them.

The great part was that other than talk about my vision of my business, I didn’t have to do anything! My original fantasy was reality. While I was designing and sewing bras for my clients, Kitestring was designing my website and my logo, and my card. It was so easy! I think that it how it is supposed to work. The experts do their work, so you can do your work.

What I took away from this experience is that you need to interview your marketing people. If they aren’t interested in interviewing you and finding out what makes your business unique, move on. Find out how much input you are expected to have. If you want to do a lot , or a little, make sure that gets stated up front. I think there are a lot of website horror stories out there, so if I can save even just one person a whole world of hurt , just call Kitestring Marketing , you will be glad you did!

Sure, I am a little biased. But who wouldn’t be? I have a beautiful website. When I hand out my business cards, people are delighted by them, myself included. They run terrific, imaginative seminars – watch out- last week I learned how to Tweet! They are fun, delightful people with incredible ideas. My lemon turned into Lemonade, just like that! I am so lucky!

Here we’re not afraid to speak out against the ill-fitting boxed contraption that holds you down, and to march upward towards a positive relationship between you and your bra.

uplift custom bras began with a positive sense of humour, and this blog is no exception. Come back and read often for when you need a lift.