The Balanced Bra Company: Made Especially for Asymmetry!
By ESTELLE PULESTON
Created by Heather St John and her husband, Christopher, South Carolina-based The Balanced Bra Company is a lingerie brand unlike any other, dedicated to addressing a specific and underserved need: stylish bras for asymmetrical breasts.
After struggling for a long time to find a bra that fit, Heather enlisted the help of a professional bra fitter who revealed that she had uneven cup sizes. Still, knowing the reason didn’t make it any easier to find a solution for it. As she recalls:
“My search for a well-fitting bra often ended in frustration, leaving me to simply ‘deal with it.’ As I started looking for possible options, most of what I found felt medical or bulky and was actually more uncomfortable than if I was using a basic bra.”
Many more years of poorly-fitting bras went by, until Heather and her husband decided time was long overdue to do something about it. Their idea? Bras made in two parts, detachable at both the front and back, which could be purchased with the same band measurement but a different cup size on either side.
Armed with plenty of determination but no prior lingerie design experience, they began by cutting up bras and sewing different sizes together to test out their concept. “Let’s just say, this did not go very well,” says Heather. Local seamstresses and various factories led to similarly disappointing results, but they didn’t give up. Eventually, their search led them to Jessica Owusu-Afriyie, founder of Suite Creative Studio, who was finally able to help to bring their vision to life in a well-crafted, real-world-wearable way.
The Morgan bra is a smooth t-shirt design with ultra-light spacer cups, available in 32-38 A-DD cups. Also designed for the same size range is the Rachel bra, a high-apex plunge with similar spacer cups that are overlaid with subtly-detailed lace. And rounding out the collection is the Lily bra, another high-apex plunge but this time opaque and unpadded, and available in a wider US 32-40 A-G size range. Each option comes in three or four color choices, and there are two coordinating underwear options.
Most of The Balanced Bra Company’s customers have a difference of one cup size. Heather herself falls within this range, and found it to be more than enough asymmetry to cause significant fit issues, discomfort and self-consciousness in conventional bras.
The company’s sales show that a two cup difference is also not uncommon. But whether you have a one cup size difference or a five cup size difference, The Balanced Bra Company’s system allows you to shop for a bra ‘off the rack’ that feels like it was custom-made for your body.
And of course, you can also shop these bras with no cup size difference at all – you’d just pick the same cup size for both sides. While it may not be their primary target audience, I think they’re also a great option for anyone who likes a front-fastening bra that also has the band-length adjustability of a classic hook-and-eye back closure.
Next on Heather’s agenda is developing a wirefree bra for the collection, both for post-mastectomy wear and for those who simply prefer to go wireless. Expanding the size and color range is also a top priority. “We want to make sure we’re truly inclusive,” says Heather, “We believe everyone deserves to feel confident in their body without having to compromise comfort or style.”
The Balanced Bra Company’s bras are all priced at $64, and bottoms at $18.
Contact information:
Website: https://thebalancedbraco.com/
Instagram: @thebalancedbraco
Email: info@thebalancedbraco.com
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