"It all started when I went into costume studies straight out of high school," says local designer, Dorothy Yang. "It was an extensive unit on corsetry that kick started the obsession." Since then she's been working as a tailor's assistant, and growing Cutopia, her own line of custom-made clothing, aprons, accessories and corsets. But she says bra fitting's always been on her mind.
"I've always been really interested in bra fitting, and how to do it properly. I have a personal love for lingerie and I'd go shopping with my friends and have a relatively easy time, but my larger busted friends would struggle to find stuff that would fit them properly," says Yang. "It had to change."
She hopes Dartmouth's first indie lingerie store, Custom Curves (135 Portland Street), will be part of that change. It'll provide Haligonians with extended size bras (that means D through K cup with bands in the 28-40 range) and lingerie from international suppliers like Panache, Tutti Rouge and Parfait, corsets and sleepwear, but will focus on helping people understand what a proper-fitting bra should feel like.
"There were definitely a lot of moral issues for me in working at a tailor shop for so long. Ready-made clothing isn't really forgiving to sizes outside the standard matrix," says Yang of what pushed her to open her own boutique. "Bras really can affect how you feel about yourself they're the most worn garment on a woman's body. People don't spend a lot of money on bras, but they're the hardest working thing in your wardrobe."
She aims to open Custom Curves in early March. For more information and updates click here.