Breast Cancer Awareness Month is drawing to an end so we wanted to remind you of something nice  you can do for the girls – get fitted at least once a year. Your breasts fluctuate in size with weight loss and gain, hormonal changes (hitting puberty, going on or off the pill, menopause) and most women don’t take that into account, continuing to wear the same size they were given when they were fitted for their first bra (me).

I headed to Nordstrom to check out the new Triumph bras. Triumph is a German company (founded by two men) and has over 130 years of experience. It continues to be family owned and operated to this day. That is all well and good, but what makes these bras better than the bargain brand boutiques? Quality. Quality in design, manufacturing, materials (they are known for their lace). They also carry a large range in sizes (A-H) and are particularly adept at fitting petites.

Triumph reached out to women globally and asked what they wanted in a bra and the majority said a bra that could be worn all day long, that you wouldn’t want to rip off five minutes after getting home, and one that wouldn’t sacrifice style for comfort.

I went to try a few, first getting fitted. I was helped by an amazingly friendly and knowledgeable girl, Hannah, who works for Nordstrom. She measured me around my rib cage, just below the bust and then disappeared. She came back with bras two sizes bigger than I had been wearing. She helped me into one and explained how a bra should fit:

• A new bra should always be fastened on the loosest clasp because, over time, it will stretch so you have a longer lifespan
• Straps have no rules – just adjust to your own comfort
• The underwire should go all the way around your breast
• The middle bit called the gore should lay flat against your chest between your breasts
• The cups should hold you in just right – no spilling over, and no space between the cup and your breast.

The bras do run at a higher cost than Lasenza, and their basic ones are on par with Victoria’s Secret, starting around $40 and running up to around $100. We tend to think of our clothing items like this: we will pay more for investment pieces such as a little black dress or nude pumps. Why not a bra? An item of clothing that supports a delicate part of our bodies. Take the plunge, buy a good bra. If you take proper care by hand washing or running through the delicate cycle in a lingerie bag and always hanging to dry (never drier!) you will have your bras for a very long time. Take care of them, and they’ll take care of the girls.