Maybe you are lucky enough to know Bravissimo, the UK based on-line retailers that specializes lingerie, swimwear, and clothing for large breasted women. While in London I had a chance to visit their Oxford Street store and sit down with store manager Stojanovic´to talk about Bravissimo’s revolutionary approach, how it is impacting the lives of women, and future plans for the brand.
Bravissimo is a pioneer in the word of women’s lingerie offering large breasted women real options in sizes, color and styles. Sarah Tremellen founded Bravissimo in 1995 based on a simply idea, large-busted women deserve to have lingerie that fits. Standard bras at the time offered only limited options for curvy-busted women. Bravissimo started as a catalog mail order business, but today, Bravissimo has eleven stores in the U.K. and Ireland and offers products on-line for the U.K., Europe and the U.S. Offerings include lingerie, swimwear, sleepwear, clothing and sportswear.
Mila shared her own personal Bravissimo story, the brand missions and products, and what the future holds for Bravissimo fans.
Mila: I started working at Bravissimo while attending college. I got my first fitting for a bravissiomo bra when I was 18. I am so grateful to have discovered the importance of having a bra fit correctly. It makes a massive difference. The experience changed how I think about myself, it gave me more confidence.
Me: Tell me about Bravissimo’s mission and customer experience.
Mila: We want women to feel like they are in a friend’s house. We make it a shared experience between the customer and the Bravissimo team. The Bravissimo team not only learns the fundamentals about sizing and measuring, but also receives extensive training on customer engagement. New staff shadow senior team members and all learn the Bravissimo bra fitting approach and methodology. Measurements are done by eye, no tape measure is used.
Me: The experience sounds like it can be very impactful on a woman’s life.
Mila: Yes. Women come through at all points of their life, young women for their first bra, post pregnancy, and cancer survivors. Some women come and learn that they had been wearing the wrong bra for 30 years. The right fitting bra impacts posture, back health, how clothing fits and self-confidence. We have customers who travel specifically to the UK to visit our stores. We have even had clients bring in photos to ask for help to find the right bra for their mother or a friend.
Me: How are your items sized differently and want are your most popular items?
Mila: Bravissimo offers different options within size ranges. In the U.K. our size range is 8-18 for clothing, that is 0-14 for the U.S. market. Woven clothing is offered for three different breast shapes, curvy, really curvy, and super curvy. Jersey and knit products are offered for two different shapes curvy/really curvy and really curvy/super curvy.
Mila: Bravissimo’s bread and butter is our lingerie. We extended to clothing in 2011 and today the product lines are equal in popularity and complement each other.
Me: What do you want your U.S. customers to know?
Mila: On-line chatting is now available for our U.S. customers, so you can chat directly with a representative who can help you find the product right for you. And even more exciting, Bravissimo is coming to the U.S. So stay tuned for more information on when and where.
Have you tried Bravissimo? If so let us know what you think!
