I get very jealous of my friend who can just pop into any store and come out with these lacy/sheer/stringy things she calls bras that fit her perfectly... I am quite the opposite. My bra purchase has to be thought out and deliberate and is generally (and unfortunately) expensive. I've been to several bra boutiques in the past. I am very "well-blessed" when it comes to bra size, so I can't go just anywhere to find a bra. It has to be sized and it is usually expensive.
My bra shop of choice in the past has been Secrets from your Sister in Toronto, which is similar to Dawn's in that you make an appointment (or walk in and wait) and they give you one or two choices in the fitting room after sizing you and then you go from there. The bras I've gotten from Secrets were fine... they mostly fit, but were very uncomfortable and dug into my arms and the skin on my sides. Sometimes my skin would be rubbed raw from the elastic, and I would sometimes develop sore spots where the wire would dig into me. It sounds like a slow torture (and it was) but if you're a big girl then sometimes you have to take what you can get... at least that's what I thought. While I always bought from Secrets (I kind of had to as I wasn't from Ontario and could only get there once a year at most, and it was either buy then and there or do without!), I was never completely satisfied with the purchase.
My experience with Dawns in this regard is completely different. I didn't have an appointment so they told me what time to come back for a fitting. They had me fill out a profile and showed me to a dressing room where I was sized and tried on 2 bras (different brands). Yes, it did take a little while with the sizing and all that because I wasn't the only customer in the store and the person doing the sizing was the owner herself and she was basically the only person helping all the customers (other than the girl at the front desk).
I get very emotional when I'm shopping for clothes and such, because most of the time they don't fit. I am easily frustrated because I expect to be much smaller than I am and when things don't fit I realize how large I must be and I realize how I must look to everybody else. My body image doesn't exactly match with reality, and I never really realize this until I go clothes shopping. While I was trying on bras at Dawns, the first two didn't fit, even though I'd been sized and all that. At one point I started tearing up and told the her how difficult it was for me to find something that fit. She assured me that she would have plenty for me but that it is always trial and error at first. Then she brought in the bras... they were in pretty much every color of the rainbow... red, navy, baby blue, violet, lavender, green, etc. I looked at the lady with dread in my eyes because nothing like that had ever fit me before and I was sure the appointment was going to turn into a torture session with me winding up loathing myself at the end and walking out empty handed. I couldn't have been more wrong. I took my time (over an hour) and must have tried on 10 different bras. I purchased 5 bras that day, most of which were in the $80-90 price range which is actually pretty cheap for me. The most expensive was a print (YES! I said a PRINT bra, available in sizes bigger than a D-cup!) and was $120. Dawn's had a very large variety of styles and colors for me, even though I am such a big size contrary to most stores who operate under either the "order it in and hope it fits" policy, or carry-everything-in-only-beige-or-black policy. Before going to Dawn's I didn't even know that they made bras in my size in different colors!
What really put Dawn's Bra-Tique over the divider from good to great was that they offered free custom tailoring! I had 4 tailored and wore one out (-- I was in pretty desperate need for a new bra after finishing breastfeeding my baby and really needed something with an underwire). Dawn mailed my bras to me when they were finished (--I don't live in Edmonton) and they fit like a glove! I will be sending the 5th back to her for tailoring this weekend.
I had a really great experience at Dawn's. I think those women who had bad experiences here probably aren't used to having to go to a place like this to get their bras, and they probably aren't used to having to pay these kind of prices. This isn't Sears, or Wal-mart after all. But, let me tell you, Dawn's custom tailored bras don't dig into me, the underwires are where they are supposed to be, the elastic doesn't rub my skin raw, and I barely notice that I am wearing them... seriously! I love Dawn and her Bra-tique, and I would definately go back there and send all my friends there too! Every woman deserves to have a bra that fits-- especially one that is a custom fit. read more