Wacoal has been designing bras for more than 70 years, with plenty of fans who’ve been shopping there for just as long.The brand has always been proactive about adopting new technologies and materials, and a big part of the brand’s ethos lies in personalized bra fittings with experts who can do a lot more for you and your bosom than a brief measurement quiz ever could. But with more folks pivoting toward online shopping (especially during a pandemic), Wacoal took on the challenge of turning those one-on-one fit sessions into something anyone could access right from their phones. The answer: the mybraFit app.
Wacoal’s new app (available for both Android and Apple) takes all the expertise and precision of an in-person fit sesh and brings it right into your home, so you can still get a unique fit recommendation without the hassle of driving over to the mall, finding parking, willing your way past the Auntie Anne’s stand and finding your local Wacoal retailer. Unlike other bra size calculators you may have seen before, the mybraFit app does more than simply spit out a size based on two measurements. Just like Wacoal’s expert fitters, the app takes into account your body type, breast shape, breast tissue type, shoulder slope and preferred fit, leaving you with both an accurate size reading and recommendations on which Wacoal bras (of which there are more than 60) are mostly likely to fit both your boobs and your personal style.
So, how does it do all this, exactly? The app uses an innovative new technology to scan your body through your phone, using methods very similar to how Apple’s face ID works (no images are ever saved within the app, so you don’t have to stress about posing for your measurements in a bra and leggings). It then asks you a series of questions to better get to know your needs, and voilà! A personalized bra shopping list and size are emailed right to your inbox. I actually got to test the app early last week and have to admit, it’s more impressive than I expected it to be.
The most challenging part of using the app was finding space in my 500 square-foot NYC apartment to prop up my phone and step back far enough to be correctly positioned for the camera scan. After that, it was as easy as completing a handful of poses and answering questions, like ‘What’s your breast shape?” and “What’s your breast tissue type?” (both have plenty of descriptors and info to help you figure these out) before confirming what type of coverage I prefer. In just a few minutes' time, a band number and cup size was sent to my inbox, along with a list of the Wacoal styles the mybraFit app thought I’d like best.
As someone who’s written and learned about lingerie for years, I was fairly confident the size I was wearing pre-app was accurate, so it was satisfying to see that the app provided the same cup and band information. But a shockingly high percentage of women aren’t wearing the right size, which at best means they’ve yet to find a bra that’s actually comfortable and, at worst, means they’re potentially doing harm to their breasts or back. The app is free to download, so if you’re part of the population who thinks bras cannot possibly be comfy (trust me, they can and should be), why not give it a go? You might be surprised to learn that bras aren’t nearly as awful as you think.
