The closest people to me in my life are women, so I am all too aware of the pressures and insecurities which present themselves when ‘bra fitting’ is even mentioned.
What’s all the fuss about I wonder? But then I remind myself if I had to flash my flesh to a complete stranger and have my body measured on a scale I might feel a touch uneasy about the situation, too. I am also all too aware that most women live their life in the wrong bra size.
Luckily for me as I climb the leopard-print-laden steps of the flagship Victoria’s Secret store on London’s Bond Street, for my own bra fitting, I know I am in the safe hands of real life angel, Romee Strijd. Not quite the typical bra fitter you would expect!
Meeting Romee it’s hard not to get a fanny flutter – even as a gay man. The 23-year-old’s beauty, both inside and out, is enough to question your sexuality. Wearing a silk dress in Victoria’s Secret’s trademark baby pink, it’s as if the Barbie doll I secretly played with as a child has come to life before my eyes. Alexa, play Gabrielle’s Dreams Do Come True, I think to myself.
Helen of Troy’s beauty launched 1000 ships, but Romee’s intoxicating mix of beauty and ‘real talk vibe’ has mobilised 4. 6 million followers and it’s not hard to see why IRL. As she flips her long blonde hair around with pure abandonment, she exclaims, “no one should be nervous about getting a bra fitting, but if you take a friend and make it fun! ” Cue me living my best bra life with the dreamiest of gal pals – or bra babe, if you will.
A touch flustered, I make my way into a fitting room – with the best mirror selfie lighting one has ever seen – for my fitting. I wonder how many selfies Romee takes to get the perfect snap, surely, she’s a one-shot Hun? Laughing, she reassures me, “I take a lot of selfies to great the perfect one – believe me – probably around 20! ” I could be a VS model after all then?
Luckily for those who are self-conscious like me – my tits aren’t exactly in the best state ATM as I am skipping gym sessions in favour of summer boozing, and they could also do with a Veet – you can keep your clothes on. It takes a strong man to get topless in front of a VS Angel, after all. “Don’t worry,” she jests, “I haven’t worn a bra for 13 years! ”
Romee whacks out the tape measure and my man breasts come out at a respectable 36A. Small but perfectly formed, I think to myself. Jokingly she comments, “you just need to make sure your breast doesn’t over flow out of the bra, it should be tight, so it doesn’t rise up! ” The experience was akin to ripping off a band aid – done in a second and relatively pain free, despite the build-up.
Tape measure down, me and Romee take to a velvet, aptly pink toned sofa to talk about the mystical world of Victoria’s Secret from wardrobe malfunction defying bras to just how often you need to go for a bra fitting. It’s more than you think ladies…
You need to go to a new bra fitting every six months…
It’s really important to do it every six months because your body fluctuates so much. So, go into Victoria’s Secret and see the experts who will do your measurements and give you the right size bra. Plus, you get to pick any style you like – it really can be fun!
This genius bra will adapt to your size to accommodate for your ever-changing breasts
Just like you, your bra needs a rest day too…
I have a lot of bras. I like different bras for different occasions. Wherever I am I always have one to wear, one to wash and one to rest. It’s really important to rest your bras to save the elasticity – not many people know that – a bra fitting expert told me. They need a break too!
I couldn’t live without a t-shirt bra…
My go-to bra at the moment is the Victoria’s Secret t-shirt bra with the logo strips because it’s super soft, comfortable and you feel like you aren’t wearing a bra at all. I think the logo strips are so cute if you are wearing a low-cut top, or a lace top so you can show it off.
We don’t use any tit tape for the VS show…
We hardly have any tape for the show as we go through such a lengthy fitting process with great tailors and they make the outfit on your body, so you are good to go when you are stage ready.
We may attack the runaway with serious sass, but we never worry about wardrobe malfunctions…
I do a bit but that is only backstage, because once you step on the runway all your concerns slip away. You only focus on enjoying the moment, making it to the end of the runway, so there is no time for stress. Before I go on I just repeatedly tell myself, own it, own it, own it! Who Run The World? Girls! That’s the only thing going on in my head. On the runway I am in the zone but trying to look out for people I know and making sure I am not stepping on anything! Beforehand I think about what I should do at the end of the runway but on it, I forget!
Here’s how to check if your bra is causing your headaches
I have never regretted a runway pose…
“For my first year I had something in my head that I was going to do, but the results were different from what was going on in my head. It was fine, but it was different from what I thought. It was still good, but nothing weird. ”
I still get nervous about the Victoria’s Secret show, but I combat against my nerves…
It’s healthy nerves though. I cope with the nerves by creating as much fun backstage as possible so that I can’t think about the nerves any more. You hear the music and just start dancing, and I sing as loud as I can to sing over my thoughts! Then they just push you on! ”
I am so bored about talking about what I eat and what I don’t…
People always ask what do you want to eat after the show, and it makes it sound like we can’t eat anything beforehand. But you can, it’s about living a healthy, balanced life style all year long, so you don’t have to do crazy diets. It’s not good for your body at all! I am conscious of making sure I set a good example by just staying true to what I think and believe.
My oldest bra is seven years old…
I still have my first VS bra, which my boyfriend bought me back from New York as we didn’t have a store in Holland. I was 16-years old, so that was seven years ago!
This is how you can make two different sized breasts look the same
You should perfectly fit your bra to your larger breast but then just adjust the straps to fit the smaller breast. Almost every woman has two different sized breasts – it’s completely normal.
My go-to bra hack is…
I put on bras backwards, then I twist it and just pull it up! Everyone is different, but as long as your bra fits you you will be able to put the bra on however you want – and you won’t have to struggle doing it up from the back.
I want my photos to document real life, not a photoshopped one…
In one of my YouTube videos I showed me editing a photo. There was this one photo I wanted to post but it was one that wouldn’t fit on Instagram. I wanted the avocado on toast in it, but also my head. So, I cut out a bit of my stomach to make it smaller. It’s good to show people the reality behind the picture. I always try to document and not photoshop. Of course you pose, find the right lighting and put a filter on it but you don’t want to be someone who is totally different in real life. Luckily my boyfriend is really good at taking photos, too – he was naturally really good at it, so I didn’t have to train him!
