National Bra Fit Week is fast approaching, and here at Boudiche, we’re keen to spread the word!

Does your bra feel too tight? Do you find you’re spilling out of the cups? Feel that you need some more support? Do you find your bra is uncomfortable? Unsure of the difference between balcony and plunge bra styles? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, chances are you could benefit from a fitting – it’s alarming to know that the vast majority (it’s estimated 80%) of us are wearing the wrong size of bra. Wearing the wrong size not only changes how your clothes look (wearing the right size can really enhance your gorgeous curves and make the most of your outfits!), but wearing the wrong bra size also have physical effects, such as damaging breast tissue, and even leading to back pain. Think you might benefit from a fitting? That’s where we can help!

The Fleur of England Daisy Drema Balcony bra offers sumptous styling and support.

Our boutiques offer a fitting service, so you can find out what size you really are. You can drop in at anytime (even if you can’t make it in during National Bra Fit Week), or you can call up in advance on 0141 2216477 (Glasgow boutique) and 0131 2265255 (Edinburgh boutique) to book an appointment with one of our expert advisors.

National Bra Fit Week runs from 19th April.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Last night, Boudiche’s Glasgow boutique hosted a exclusive event for brides to be. With an abundance of bubbly, cupcakes, bridal models, and fittings, Boudiche boutique staff were also lucky enough to show-off exquisite, individual hats and head pieces by William Chambers Millinery. Boudiche helped lots of brides find their perfect lingerie for their special day during this glittering evening! We snapped away and here are some fabulous photos from the event:

Model wears Masquerade Hestia Basque

Model wears Ayten Gasson Grace Teddy

If you are interested in bridal lingerie but couldn’t make it along, please call our Glasgow boutique directly on 0141 2216477 or our Edinburgh boutique on 0131 2265255 to arrange a fitting appointment – we understand that what is underneath your dress is just as important, and our expert fitters look forward to helping you find the perfect lingerie.

All head pieces and hats from Glasgow-based William Chambers Millinery

Cupcakes from Cupcake Glasgow

Since you are reading our blog it is highly likely we have already brought a smile to your face with lingerie from Boudiche – how do you fancy returning that smile?

A survey revealed by Poll.com this week  found that British women are hoarding 124 million unwanted bras. Poll.com interviewed 3,000 women nationwide aged 16 – 65 to discover the typical female owns 13 bras but only wears 8 of them regularly, while the remaining 5 are left untouched and gathering dust!

We aim to donate 1000 knickers to the women and children in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia as part of the Smalls for All campaign.  Smalls for All started in 2009 when Edinburgh based Maria Macnamara visited Africa doing voluntary work in an orphanage, and became aware of the need for basic underwear for African women and children. She has since collected over 6500 pair of pants!

We are donating 5 pairs of women’s or children’s underwear for every bra fitting carried out in our Glasgow or Edinburgh boutique and would very much appreciate if you could help the cause by donating new multi-packs to help reach our target. There will be rather fetching collection boxes in our boutiques for you to drop off your dontations!

After all that giving we thought you may like to get a little something? How about a 20% discount on a new bra if you trade us for an unworn or ‘gently worn’ bra. We all know once properly fitted our customers generally go down a back size and up a cup size or two and many old bras are left redundant. So here is the perfect excuse to grow your exquisite looking, well fitting lingerie selection and help the women and children in Africa!

This campaign is also open to our international customers send us your ‘gently worn’ bras and or multi-packs of new knickers and we will send you a 20% discount code to use online! Please email us first at africa@boudiche.com and we will send you more details.

The campaign runs from 29th March.

Keep track of the campaign by becoming a fan on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

On January 25^th 2010, the independent consumer advice company Which? published a report on bra fitting services, after trying and testing major high street and specialist lingerie retailers. Which? had 11 researchers, aged 25 to 70, hit the high street (department stores and shops) in search of finding the perfect fitting bra – not a difficult task, you would think? It would appear that this is in fact very difficult, with the report’s shocking findings showing that less than one in three bra fittings accurately measured up.

Overall, the survey made very distressing reading for us at Boudiche, knowing that so many women had been so badly fitted on so many occasions! The report exposed an alarming reality – that amongst many lingerie retailers, there is a severe lack of fitting knowledge and expertise. Surely an excellent fitting service is an essential, if not basic, component to any retailer specialising in, or selling lingerie?

That’s where we at Boudiche hope to help. As a small, independent company, we take our fitting service very seriously, because we know how important it is for you, our customer, to be properly fitted. In our boutiques, we have our trained, expert advisors ready to fit you, and if you are an online customer, then we also have trained fitters available at the other end of the phone to offer advice. We understand the absolute importance of helping you find the right fitting bra – wearing the wrong size can result in posture problems, acute back-pain, and even breast pain.

As well as being able to actually fit you accurately, Boudiche also offer a large range of cup sizes (from an A to GG), and our back-sizes also start at 28” – we know that every woman has different dimensions and requirements, and we want you to find the perfect-fitting, supportive lingerie for every occasion. Here are some of our favourite-fitting Boudiche brands:

• Mimi Holliday, the fabulous little sister brand of Damaris offers 28” backs available in B-FF cup-sizes – perfect for those of you needing a snugger back-band.

• For those of who are able to get away with a little soft-cup bra, then Fleur of England also combines comfort with beautiful styling with her non-wired soft-cup bras.

• If you are size DD+, you have the pick of fantastic brands including Miss Mandalay and Pleasure State VIP, offering you excellent support and style.

• If you are heading down the aisle, then Boudiche have gorgeous bridal bras and bustiers to ensure you look and feel great under your dress on your special day – Marie Jo and La Perla are popular bridal brands.

To make a fitting appointment at one of our Boudiche boutiques, you can drop by, but at weekends when it gets busier, it’s recommended that you call and book in advance: the Glasgow boutique is available directly on 0141 2216477 and the Edinburgh boutique is available directly on 0131 2265255. Boudiche.com advisors are also available on 0845 475 0250 from Monday-Friday, 10-5pm.

For those readers that do not live near our Glasgow or Edinburgh boutique we are big fans of indpependents  Kathryn Rolfe in York, Rigby & Peller in London and of course the mighty Harrods department store in London.

Boudiche recently attended the Scottish Winter press day in Edinburgh where we had several interesting chats with journalists about Elle Macpherson Intimates now going up to a G cup.  It seems there is a buzz about this coveted brand now (finally) catering for those ladies who are considerably blessed in the bust department. However, there is a bit of confusion as to which styles are available in a G cup and how well the Elle Macpherson Intimates signature style transfers?

So we thought we would share our Braoligists knowledge with all you current A-D Elle Macpherson Intimates enthusiasts and those soon to be D-G’s.

Having inquizically examined the new styles on the Autumn Winter 2009 buying trip we can confirm that the same luxurious fabrics and fashionable styles have remained for the new D-G sizes. In fact the only real differences are those adaptations which offer additional support such as wider straps, higher coverage and a more rigid supportive lace.

Elle herself said “Our research and customer feedback has shown that our breasts are getting bigger! I’ve been working with our design team to take our sizing beyond an E cup and up to a G cup on both beautiful new designs and some of our popular existing ranges. It’s great news for the fuller-busted women who need comfort and support but want beautiful, covetable lingerie options”

At Boudiche, we currently have two Elle Macpherson Intimates D-G styles available with a further two arriving in the coming weeks. The ‘Artistry’ range is a favourite style which is one of the first to be introduced as a D-G and is perfect for everyday wear available in both cream and jet.

Elle Macpherson Intimates D-G Artistry Retro Cream

Elle Macpherson Intimates Artistry D-G Jet

Folllow Boudiche on twitter to be the first to find out when the next Elle Macpherson Intimates D-G ranges (shown below) arrive at Boudiche.

Buy a Chantelle bra from the Invisible Collection & get a 2nd one half price.

We have teamed up with Chantelle, to offer Boudiche customers the chance to buy one bra and get another one for half the price on the amazing Chantelle Ultra Invisible Bra.

The truly innovative Chantelle Ultra Invisible Bra has been awarded top marks by Boudiche! Chantelle’s first ever seamless fabric bra is designed to add at least an extra cup size without any gel, silicone or liquid.

The Chantelle Invisible bra is everything you could ever want in a bra. Smooth, versatile and completely invisible under your clothes. The Ultra Invisible collection comes in both black and nude and includes a padded plunge shape which gives the most amazing lift and is available in A – E cup. The ultra comfortable t-shirt bra is available in an F cup.

If you buy any Chantelle bra from the Ultra Invisible Collection at Boudiche, we are offering a second one at half price. Simply enter ULTRA50 at the checkout to receive your discount. See how to add discounts to your order.

For this month, you can enjoy free UK delivery on all orders over £35 and we now accept PayPal to make your shopping even easier with your favourite designer lingerie boutique.

The Boudiche girls and a Braologist from Fayreform, show presenter, Vicky, how to properly fit bras.

See some great tips on how to get perfectly fitting lingerie, and an idea of our boutique experience when you come in for a fitting.