I just got married and I'm shopping for my honeymoon. Do I need a new fitting?

Clara had only ever shopped with us online. She found out we have a store, decided to stop in, and spent a while browsing before she told me why she was really there: she had just gotten married and wanted ideas for her honeymoon.

She pointed out a few styles on the walls she wanted to try. When I offered a fitting, she politely turned it down, which is completely normal. Most people who have worn the same size for years have no particular reason to think it is wrong.

Then she tried on the first bra and called me in for a size check. It felt too tight, she said.

I could see straight away what was happening. The underwire was too small for her, so it was sitting on breast tissue instead of around it. That is what produces the tight, pinched feeling most people assume is coming from the band. Once I explained it, she gave me the green light for the fitting she had just declined.

She came in believing she was a 34B. I fit her into a 34D, and the difference was immediate.

From there I pulled white options in her true size, and added a few bodysuits she had not asked for. For bra and panty sets, the Anais and the Loulou were the winners. For bodysuits, she went with the Sapna and the Natalia.

Here is the part worth repeating: everything Clara loved most was something she had overlooked on her first pass around the store. Trying on the pieces you would not have chosen yourself is not about being talked into anything. Every body is different, lingerie is intimate, and the only reliable way to know how something sits on you is to put it on.

Clara kept an open mind the whole way through. That is what let us find her real size, work out which shapes suited her tissue shape and proportions, and send her home with pieces she genuinely loved rather than the ones she walked in assuming she wanted.

Expert Tip: If a bra feels tight, check the underwire before you blame the band. A wire that is too narrow sits on breast tissue instead of around it, and that reads as tightness and general discomfort. Going up in the cup often solves what feels like a band problem.