Tag: Clothes

Feeling confident in her own skin is really what April Salazar, 41, was after with this bra-fit makeover: “I’m finally at a place where I feel confident about who I am and where I’m going.” Which isn’t to say getting there has been easy. After more than a dozen fertility treatments, four pregnancies and three losses over the last few years, April gained 65 pounds she’s now in the process of losing.

“My body has been through the grinder. For so long, I didn’t have control over it. I have no idea what size I am,” said April, the managing editor for a technology nonprofit. “With a three-year-old, only now do I feel like I can take time for self-care. I think it’s important that, at any size, I model self-acceptance to my daughter, and I’m afraid I’m not doing that.”

April bonded with Bare Necessities amBRAssador Kristyn over their shared experiences with miscarriage; Kristyn knew firsthand of the mental and physical fluctuations April was experiencing: “It’s tough to keep track of where your body is. Maybe you were a different size before, but we’re going to go by where you are now, and we’re not going to stop until we get it right. We’re going to get you into something that fits.”

Or, as it turned out, a lot of somethings.  

BEFORE
When April called Kristyn, she was wearing an old 38C she’d picked up in a Costco two-pack. “I own four bras. I guessed my size. None fit,” said April. “I’d like to find a bra that makes me stand taller, a bra that makes my husband say, ‘Damn.’ I mean, my breasts are superheroes! They’ve been squished into mammogram machines. They nurtured a small child. They deserve better. I like T-shirt bras because I know I’m secure. I don’t like things spilling out, or too much cleavage.”

After reviewing April’s measurements, Kristyn knew she was in too big a band and that seamed bras, not necessarily T-shirt styles, would offer the coverage and support April was after. Her dress size provided clues, too: In a size 10, it made more sense that April would belong in a 34 band, not a 38. “When band size goes up, so does cup volume,” Kristyn explained. “How are you fitting in the cup? Is there spillage or gapping?”

“Oh, horribly,” April admitted. “There’s space inside the cup, especially up top, and my breasts spill to the middle. I spend a lot of time putting them back where they belong.”

Kristyn’s diagnosis: “Wrong all over. Let’s start by bringing down your band size. We want it to be snug, but you have to be able to tolerate the feeling. Once you get used to it, a whole world of options opens up.”

THE REVELATION
At first, Kristyn sent April some Natori and Panache T-shirt bras that, according to the pics she snapped at home with a selfie stick, looked to be a technical fit but didn’t blow anyone away. “April’s breasts seem too heavy for the soft cups,” noted Kristyn as she scrutinized the shots.

Round two consisted of three- and four-part-seamed cups from average and full-bust brands Chantelle, Wacoal, Fantasie and Curvy Kate. Some bra styles worked better than others, based more on trial-and-error than rhyme-or-reason. Lastly, Kristyn went back through hundreds of bra choices on BareNecessities.com to find flashes of color that would bring a little joy to getting dressed.

Wacoal turned out to be a winning brand. The seamed, semi-sheer Retro Chic made April look like a vintage pin-up girl with its ever-so-slightly pointed shape and kicked-in straps. It also smoothed her sides and brought her breasts in and up, which slenderized the look of her torso. And the Embrace Lace T-shirt bra gave April the structure she likes in an opaque cup, with a band as gorgeous as it is firming.

Chantelle Rive Gauche fit similarly fabulously. “Though seamed and lacy, the bra lays flat, so it’s not showy under clothes. It gives April a great lift and a rounded look,” said Kristyn.

The Panache Cari spacer bra has all the qualities of April’s beloved T-shirt bras yet with impossibly light, breathable cups, and the plunging Chantelle Courcelles followed April’s contours nicely.

Only after her third, final fitting could April see why bra shopping had baffled her: She fit into a 34D (Retro Chic and Rive Gauche), a 34DD (Embrace Lace) and a 34DDD (Cari, which goes by a 34E UK). April’s band also went down by two full sizes, which was “an adjustment, but I got used to it quickly. Suddenly you realize what you were missing in terms of support. You can physically feel the difference.”

“I love the Wacoal and Chantelle because they’re so delicate. I never would’ve thought I could wear bras like that,” said April. “They make me feel confident and cute.”

AFTER
“It goes to show you’re never one static bra size,” said Kristyn, who attributed the differences to body shape and how it relates to each brand’s designs. In the full-coverage, unlined, unpadded bras, April took the smaller D cup. Because of the shape of her breasts, Panache’s U-shaped underwire fit her better than many brands’ wider, semicircular wires. These nuances seem so minor, yet they have the ability to derail anyone’s bra shopping.

Per Kristyn: “Just let your amBRAssador handle it for you! Barring that, order the size you think you are and one up and one down, then return what doesn’t fit.”

“It took a little work on my part, but you made it so easy,” said April, who referred to her later rounds of at-home try-ons as “angels singing. It was such a vast improvement. I really had no clue before! I wanted to feel comfortable while looking ready take on the world,” said April. “I’m getting there now. I feel like I’m getting back to me.”

APRIL’S BEST BRAS
Wacoal Retro Chic, 34D
Wacoal Embrace Lace T-Shirt Bra, 34DD
Chantelle Rive Gauche, 34D
Chantelle Courcelles Lace Convertible Plunge Bra, 34D
Panache Cari T-Shirt Bra, 34DDD

For your own bra fit revelation, call an amBRAssador at 877-728-9272 x4 or chat with one at barenecessities.com.

The post From 38C to 34D, April Salazar Proves Size is Just a Letter appeared first on Bare it All.

Stylists-turned-designers Emily Current and Meritt Elliott have the ultimate fashion track record.  Whether it’s mastering the art of celebrity styling, creating the perfect pair of jeans (from their Current/Elliott days), or building a brand that stocks the staples every woman needs with The Great, this power duo just, well, gets it. Now, the multi-hyphenate pair are at it again with their new namesake label, Emily + Meritt—a youthful collection of soft apparel (and adorable stationary too, because why not) with the tag, “Soft Knits For Strong Girls.”

As best friends themselves, their new offering celebrates the power of friendship and self-discovery, which you’ll see in this most recent drop of friendship-themed pieces. “We believe that women have the power and the thoughtfulness to rule the world, so we wanted to create something that would inspire,” they said. Well, that absolutely comes across in the offering and corresponding brand imagery. You’ll see.

With new deliveries dropping every month, this empowering label is worth having on your radar. It’s also one you’ll definitely want to tell all your friends about. Explore Emily + Meritt more here, and keep scrolling to scope the pieces we’re adding to our carts this weekend.

More than anything else in my closet, denim is the one thing that gets the most wear. I’ll attribute this to my Arizona roots where denim was a huge part what I dressed in growing up. Later, after moving to L.A., which is no doubt the denim capital of the world, my penchant for it was only reinforced.

Since I wear jeans most days of the week, I always have my eye out for the latest denim trends to sweep the fashion world. In recent years, there have been plenty of shifts in the denim landscape—from skinny jeans to cropped styles to super flares to straight-leg cuts—that have been more about the silhouette than anything else. Recently, though, there’s a whole new movement in denim that is less about the shape and instead focused on interesting prints and patterns.

Fashion girls have been quick to hop on board with the new denim trend, but celebs like Hailey Baldwin have also been spotted wearing it. Scroll on to see the four major ways the stylish set is wearing it now, as well as my personal favorite way to wear the trend this fall.

Next: Shop my Instagram, featuring my 27 latest finds.

Nike’s controversial ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick did not go as Kaepernick haters expected: By any measure, it was a huge success.

We knew Nike’s stocks were booming, but CBS is specific with a report that company shares rose by 36 percent, “making the company the top performer on the Dow’s index of 30 blue-chip stocks.” Five percent of the increase has come since the athletic wear giant announced the ex-QB’s involvement.

Things aren’t going downhill yet, either, according to CBS:

The stock continues to hover near an all-time high, which it reached in mid-September only weeks after some Nike customers publicly burned their shoes to express their displeasure at the new ad.

In afternoon trading Nike shares were up slightly to $85.67.

For Nike, the boost eases concerns about the decision to link its brand to the controversial Kaepernick, who in 2016 started kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest racial injustice. 

Nike took a calculated risk, given that so much politically-tinged discussion has taken place around Kaepernick’s protests. But the company relied on knowledge of its user base, which is younger and not all that politically conservative. 

Everything is coming up Kaepernick in general. He reportedly makes millions from his Nike endorsements, and recently his attorney hinted that his client might have a chance to head back to the NFL.

That said, things get complicated when you know Nike employees contribute a great deal more money to Republicans than to Democrats. 

Nike execs definitely believe in something. 

When Volkswagen revealed its ID Buzz concept reboot of the iconic hippie-era van in 2017, people definitely paid attention. After all, it looks like its ancestor while embracing 21st century design in a major way.

Volkswagen has doubled down with its new release, the ID Buzz Cargo.

As Curbed reports, the innovation isn’t only in the design, which is a more serious-looking take on the first van. Just as you might expect from a company that once made vehicles identified with an era that was notable for giving birth to a movement dedicated to preserving the environment, the ID Buzz Cargo will run solely on electricity. 

That’s not the only “green” feature:

Made for businesses and anyone hauling product from place to place, the I.D. Buzz Cargo bus is an on-the-go office on wheels. The light commercial van boasts a solar roof, three front-row seats, and a middle seat that folds down and transforms into a workspace with an integrated laptop. As a level four autonomous vehicle, you can either drive it or let the computer do the work.

And while this isn’t a camper, it’s still a cool look at what urban commercial vehicles will look like in the future, with an intelligent shelving system that lets you track stock levels throughout the day’s deliveries. The battery pack provides a charge for about 200-340 miles, and a fast-charge option can get the vehicle up to 80 percent in 30 minutes.

The ID Cargo design was unveiled in Mid-September at a German auto show, and it reportedly goes into production in 2021—before the ID Buzz.

Specs will include battery packs designed to fit company budgets and needs. Packs will charge fairly fast and Cargos will have ranges of 200-340 miles. 

By taking the attention-grabbing look of the ID Buzz and creating a practical vehicle, VW might make a leap past the Mercedes-Benz line of vans and trucks and eventually dominate the commercial cargo vehicle industry. We can only hope.