When you get dressed in the morning, do you spend any time thinking about what to wear? What about when you want to feel your best for a special event? Oftentimes style is a medium used to share our inner appearance with the outside world. But personal taste and accessorizing are not the only key elements to looking and feeling good—the base you use to display your outfit is equally important. I recently was fitted for a bra at Nordstrom and I met one of the savviest bra lovers, lingerie specialist Danetta McCary. Later, McCary took the time to further explain how one garment—a great-fitting bra—can change your entire look.
Emily Coy: Tell me a bit about yourself and your role at Nordstrom.
Danetta McCary: Man, I’ve been here 17 years. I’ve worked in several different departments, but lingerie is my favorite. I love it because I’m top-heavy. I worked in men’s suits when we were downtown. When we closed and moved here (Keystone Fashion Mall), I came back to lingerie. That’s my love—fitting—only because I have two daughters. I am an observer of people, so I watch a lot. Their inner appearance is the most important part. People just focus on the outside. But if the structure of the inside is not correct, the outside is not gonna be correct for me. I start there. Your bra has to have structure because that $5000 outfit could look like a $2 outfit if the bra is not right.
EC: What does the bra-fitting experience entail?
DM: The customer comes in and I usually ask them what size bra they are wearing. They’ll say, “I don’t know.” Well, what size was the last bra you purchased? They don’t know that. That’s crazy to me, that nobody knows the actual size of their bra or the one they have on. During the fitting, I measure under the bra for the band, and then I ask them what cup size they are in. We go from there. So when we start with the cup size that you’re in, and if it’s too little or too big, we move to the next size. You thought you were a G, but you ended up being a GG. We used several different bras to get there.
Depending on what the customer is looking for, it is not always what they are going to get. The structure of the bra may not pertain to what you need once you get sized. We pick out bras that you like: colors, sexiness, basics. You always want to have the basics. For the basic bra, most people want a t-shirt bra. It just depends how heavy the breast tissue is. I have a 28-year-old and a 20-year-old—one wears a t-shirt bra and the other one wears lace. Not everyone gets to have a basic t-shirt bra, you might end up with a lace bra as your basic t-shirt instead for the best support. I’m 32K, so you know I am wearing lace. You may see the seams of my bra, but you can’t tell me that my boobs are below my waist.
EC: Why is it important to be fitted for a bra?
DM: It is the outfit, just basic structure. Our core here is the fitting, making sure the customer has the correct band and cup size. That’s your uniform, the bra. That gives you your daily structure as you present yourself on the outside to the world. That’s how I present it to my two daughters and my customers.
EC: Bra fittings can be an intimate experience. How do you make your customers feel comfortable in the fitting room?
DM: We will warm up to each other and we are going to have a laugh. But I’m an honest person, some people say I’m a realist. I’m going to stick to what I know. To ease you, I’m going to tell you the truth. I deal with the reality of what you really need versus what you want. I don’t want the customer to come back and not look their best.
EC: What is the biggest misconception about bras?
DM: Everybody feels like they are a 36 or 38 band size. A lot of people think that’s the magic number. Or that they are a double D because no one has heard of a G or H or double H. Everybody thinks in America that the biggest size bra a woman can wear is a triple D. We have European cup sizes which have E’s and doubles and triples, but they also venture out into larger sizes.
EC: Should bras be comfortable?
DM: Bras are not going to be comfortable when you first get them fitted, but over a length of time you will adjust to it. Some people never do, but it just depends on the person because they are not used to it being so tight. That is where the lift comes from, the snugness of the band. You don’t want the band size to be too big, because then the band rides up and then you fall forward.
“That’s your uniform, the bra. That gives you your daily structure as you present yourself on the outside to the world.”
EC: Bras can be an investment. What are your tips for extending the life of your bra?
DM: Once you’ve been fit, the life expectancy of a bra is six months to a year. You can’t wear the same bra every day. You can wear it twice before washing, but never back to back. You need at least five to six bras to rotate throughout the week. Don’t use Woolite or fabric softener to wash, Tide Free and Clear or anything without additives is best. Use a mesh laundry bag to wash them in and lay flat to dry. Never put your bras in the dryer. That’s how you keep the lifespan of a bra. Make sure to come back after six months to a year and replenish your bras.
EC: You had previously mentioned working with personal stylists. How can a bra fitting help the stylist and their client?
DM: The old stylists that were here made sure all their clients have been bra fitted. I work with stylists who don’t work for Nordstrom as well. They really know the part that the bra plays in the outfit. The first thing they do is set an appointment with me and make sure their clients get fit for a bra. Because if they start trying on clothes without the right bra, it will change the entire outfit.
EC: More women have chosen to ditch wearing traditional bras, opting for bralettes or no bra at all. Have you noticed any changes in bra demand from younger customers?
DM: Yes, there is a big difference. Like you said, everyone wants to wear bralettes or lounge bras. For me, depending on where you are going, you need a bra. You can’t wear a loungewear bra or bralette for the rest of your life. COVID-19 has put everybody into lounge mode. Everybody felt like, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m just at home, so I can wear a bralette or no bra.” That’s the one thing I’m not straying from—small, medium, large is not going to hold the whole world. I get a lot of customers who bring their daughters in who don’t want to be fitted. I had one mom who brought her daughter in and after I was done the daughter said, “This was the best thing for me.” She was 17 and didn’t know there would be a 100% total difference in fit.
EC: Are there any additional consumer changes over time that you have noticed?
DM: A lot of people are retiring and just don’t want to wear a bra, or want something wireless. Wacoal has a really good wireless bra depending on your cup size. Parfait is another one. It’s wireless but it has a band and cup size, so it will still be structured. A lot of people don’t want a tight bra, but this won’t be tight because there is no underwire. You still want structure because you want to be lifted.
EC: With the rise of online shopping, the model of the shopping mall is failing. What keeps customers coming back to Nordstrom versus a store like Victoria’s Secret?
DM: The fittings. They want truth, a fitting, and to make sure their cup size is correct. That is the biggest part for us. Not only the customer service that we give, but the fitting is what we provide every day. You could walk into any store and anybody could say you were anything, but for us, it’s really being honest with the cup and band size. People sell to what they have versus to what the customer’s true size is. We are selling not only to fit the customer in front of us, but the next customer you might bring. I could let you pick out whatever and let you go into the fitting room and do whatever, but if I’m going to be a true fitter, I’m going to have to measure your band size. A lot of customers are repeat customers. We always say to tell the next person you meet about your experience and why it was so great for you. That’s where we get our business.
