preaching good underwear

lara stone in another magazine, jean paul gautier's infamous creation worn by madonna on her blonde ambition tour

When i did my stint of work experience at lingerie supremes Rigby and Peller, I was well and truly converted to the "always start with a good bra" philosophy. While previously I was likely to tutt at such a statement, placing it in the category of pointless fashion rules alongside "never wear black and brown" now I often notice if a woman is wearing ill-fitting underwear.

I think teenage girls are put off going for fittings (I know I was) because of that age-old issue of "will I have to remove my bra in front of the measurer?" As somebody with a small chest, I always dismissed the need for a proper measurement, instead starting with an A cup from Tammy. So years later when a free fitting at Rigby was offered, it turned out that I was infact four cup sizes bigger and a chest size smaller than I had thought. "D? I can't be a D!" I muttered as the fitter fastened me up. Alas I am. And the comfortable fit was enough proof, as well as the fitter's reassurance that women generally wear their cup too small and chest too wide. My perception of bra sizes and proportions, I realised had been completely skewif.

I was also taught that the best way to put on your bra was to lower yourself into it, and I must admit it took a bit of practise to do this, after all the years of that lazy, 'fasten it upside down and hoik it up' trick.
After my work experience, I came back home, urging all of my friends to get a proper bra fitting. "I have before, at Marks and Spencer!" they would reply, though I had been told that bra fitters should be able to match a woman to her bra by looking at her, rather than actually measuring with a tape, which is what the ladies at M&S do. I am aware that this story has a distinctive whiff of "girl gets brainwashed by bra cult", but don't take my advice as biased, because once you have a free fitting at somewhere like Rigby and Peller (or a 'high class equivalent' in your respective countries(!)..) you will instantly feel the difference.

It doesn't mean you will be constricted to a life of trying to afford expensive underwear; once you know your size you can always roughly apply this to the high street, like I do. And there is something incredibly rewarding about walking down the street in jeans, a jumper and some converse knowing that beneath this simple ensemble is some fantastic underwear.