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‘Bra whisperer’ opens underwear shop in D.C. area, expands on Oprah fitting

Laura Donovan Contributor
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If you’re a woman, you’re probably wearing the wrong bra size.

According to “Bra Whisperer” Susan Nethero, 85 percent of females go through life in the incorrect bra size, and this seemingly innocuous mistake creates a series of complex problems.

In an effort to spread the word and help women all over the country acquire proper sized bras, Nethero has opened up one of her specialized bra fitting boutiques, My Intimacy in the Washington area.

Nethero, who has stores in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Scottsdale, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, and several other large cities, was thrilled to begin selling bras in the nation’s capital.

“We’ve been working close to five years to find the right location here in the D.C. area,” Nethero told The Daily Caller about the boutique, which is located at Tysons Corner Center. “This is our sixteenth store, we call it our ‘sweet 16th,’ so we’re very excited to be open finally, it’s been a journey, but one that’s worth it.”

Unlike Victoria’s Secret or some other lingerie vendors, My Intimacy offers 90 different sizes from A to K. The company also mirrors the European bra manufacturing process, which spends 18-22 months on bra creation whereas the US takes 6-9 months on bra creation. Stressing the importance of coming into the shop for a fitting, My Intimacy doesn’t sell its bras online.

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Believe it or not, the most sought-after bra is a 32D or DD.

“34DD is one of the most popular sizes, and it’s kind of surprising because for a lot of women you tend to think a D cup is very big, but a 32 or 34D is actually quite average,” Nethero said. “So, that’s what it’s all about for us, getting women properly fit. If you’re in the right size, all of the sudden it doesn’t matter if you’re a C or D.”

Though she says the C cup bra would be ideal, in reality it’s pretty small. The greater issue, Nethero says, results from females selecting bras that are too large.

“Most women are buying a bra that is too big around the body and as a consequence the bra is shifting and moving and is unstable, so she’s not getting the lift she needs, and her bra is riding up her back,” Nethero told TheDC. “As that happens, the under-wire shifts forward and digs in. Comfort and look are really sacrificed if you’re in the wrong size bras.”

According to Nethero’s research, almost all women purchase bras that are not deep enough in the cup. That, Nethero has learned through her findings, is the most common problem for females.

“Because women blame their bodies for their problems, they tend to think they should go looser to be more comfortable, but when a bra is looser it is actually less comfortable,” Nethero said.

Though Nethero says My Intimacy caters to the average woman, billionaire Oprah Winfrey has encountered bra size issues just like most ladies.

In 2005, Nethero appeared on Oprah for a “bra intervention” special, where the television host got fitted for a bra. She brought 1,500 bra sizes for the episode and passed them out to employees. At the time of Oprah’s fitting, she was at one of her lowest weights in adulthood.

“The interesting thing is that by the time we went to fit Oprah, she had heard so much that she was really worried about it,” Nethero said. “She was like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re going to make me a bigger cup size and I don’t want to be any bigger than I already am!”

Oprah went down in the back and up in a cup and was very satisfied with the transformation, Nethero said.

“She couldn’t believe how good she looked,” Nethero said. “She called me two weeks after the show aired in the end of May to tell me that she wanted to stock for fall, that she couldn’t believe the story and that women were coming up to her everywhere and telling her that a bra fitting can be a life-changing experience. She agreed with them and was telling me how excited she was about it. I have to tell you, that was one of the most special moments of my life, when we got that phone call.”

The only downside of My Intimacy’s northern Virginia location is that it opened the week of Osama bin Laden’s death.

“That was a hard week, so we need to come back and spend some more time to knock it out here [at Tysons Corner Center],” Nethero said.

But because customers have gone out of their way to find Nethero’s products, the Virginia store manages to profit regardless of the big news about the terrorist’s killing.

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“Our customers had to seek us out over the years, we’ve actually had many customers from the D.C. area, so when we announced we were opening, people flooded through the doors and our sales have been excellent,” Nethero said.

Nethero, who was small-busted growing up, was inspired to start My Intimacy after traveling to France and checking out the country’s bras.

“I would always have to seek out special stores to find my size,” Nethero said, adding that European bras are of better quality. “It wasn’t until I was in my thirties until I decided to jump out and start my own business.”

Nethero, an advocate for serving the “every woman” and females of all ages and sizes, says bras are typically bigger now than in earlier generations.

“They tend to be at least one cup size larger than their moms, some suspect it’s from hormones and foods, others say its due to more fat content in our food,” Nethero said.

Nethero, who has worked with celebrities but ultimately markets to regular women, says she would like to fit females throughout each stage of their lives.

“We’re on our way to becoming a real national resource to women to help them from the time they go into puberty to menopause,” Nethero said. “We love women of all sizes and shapes, we’re about making women feel great no matter her age, diet, income, or whatever.”

Laura Donovan