By HOLLY JACKSON
This year has been one of significant change for everyone. Both individuals, brands, and lingerie stores have been adjusting to the new normal as things rapidly go virtual. Eveden’s Virtual Fit program helps train stores and individuals so they can offer high quality bra fittings online to their customers. Frederika (Freddy) Zappe’s fit clinic is always a popular attraction at Curve, so this alternative version offers the same thing in a bite sized package.
I volunteered to be the guinea pig for the experience out of more than a desire for research. I’ve lost 20 pounds since the end of August and was at the point where my whole body had changed. I really had no idea what bra size I was anymore. Luckily, Freddy was more than willing to come to my rescue.
The basic outline of Virtual Fit School goes like this: You book an initial online consultation with Freddy who looks at the bra you’re wearing and then helps figure out your size. In my case, I was in Elomi bras already, so I didn’t even need to break out a measuring tape. For others, you might need to do more measuring than I did. Freddy recommended several Eveden bras for me. Once you have your bras, you then do a follow up session to check all of the tiny details of the fit. Freddy did such a fantastic job in the first session that my bras were pretty much perfect in the second. If they hadn’t worked, we would have tried other sizes and set up a third session to make sure everything fit just right. I started out in a 36H and ended up as a 32J.
While this experience was for me as an individual, Freddy has also used it to train staff of various boutiques and to help stores fit customers who may have more stubborn fit issues. It’s easy and painless and truly educational. Freddy has forgotten more about fit than most of us have learned in our lifetimes, so getting her perspective is invaluable.
I wanted to end on a note about the value of a well fitted bra, both mentally and physically. My bras were hanging off me when I scheduled my first fitting, and I was starting to feel like my body had become a little alien. I’m hoping to lose a significant amount of weight, but even 20 pounds had me feeling like my body had started to belong to a stranger. Bras that truly fitted made me look and feel more like myself. The change was literally measurable. I burned almost 50 more calories doing the same workout in sports bra that fit than in one that was way too loose. While I know my body will change a lot more by the end of this process, a new capsule wardrobe and some bras that fit have really helped my confidence to keep going.
