Double-Dippin' With The Mayor

Yes, I'm reachin' back into the archives and reposting what I was doing exactly one year ago today...I think it's adventure worth repeating 'cuz it's not often I get to rub shoulders with The Mayor!

****************************

This handsome gentleman is

The Mayor.

OK, well...not really. Actually, he's pretty much your Average Joe...but we've nicknamed him "The Mayor" because he seems to know EVERYONE in town (and visa versa)...just walking a few blocks down the street to go to dinner with him took us about 2 hours because we had to stop, chit-chat and hob-nob with every other person along the way! (I totally loved it.) Plus, he's quite charming...and took excellent care of me and my Chaperons whilst in Petaluma. He'd certainly get MY vote if he ran for Mayor. (And if bras could vote.)

He recently restored this old drinking fountain to working order

in downtown Petaluma. (Ain't it purty?)

Not that I have an alcohol problem or anything,

but I found the following information very interesting...

This concrete drinking fountain was erected in 1891 by the Women's Christian Temperance Union – an organization dedicated to banning the sale and drinking of alcohol. The members were urged to erect drinking fountains in their towns so that men could get a drink of water without entering saloons and staying for stronger drinks.

*No wonder it stopped working YEARS ago!!

Looking pretty good for being so old... And it works like a charm!

Just ask The Mayor!

How to Relax in a B-R-A

Finding a leisure bra for the full bust is one of the most challenging lingerie wardrobe gaps to fill. A leisure bra used to be termed a day bra in the industry, but now it is more accurate to call it a house bra. While the aim is to be comfortable, one's upfront & together appearance isn't such a top priority. However, comfort does entail support, noone feels good having breasts rest on their ribcage/tummy as they enjoy their day at home.

This is my favorite house bra. In general I advise our clients against wearing an underwire bra at home. One can see it akin to wearing pumps/heels around the house. We may wear them at work and around town because we feel good in them and those shoes are stylish, but when we come home, whether to cook dinner, watch TV, or what have you, we usually rest our feet. Likewise please rest your breasts from the underwire.

When looking for a house bra, consider the "good bra" tenents:

1. snug back band
2. seamed cup
3. rigid fabrication

You can find a soft-cup bra that is made of cotton or cotton/polyester that won't stretch, but will have a soft hand. I warn you that a soft cup bra usually comes up higher in the center front to give the support in lieu of under wires. When purchasing a soft cup bra, which are available only in full cup styles, you may take a different size than your wired, blacony bras. For example, if you wear a 32F in an underwire balcony/plunge bra, then in the full soft cup bra you may take a 32E. A soft cup has a more universal fit because wires are not involved.

When you come home from work and change your clothes, do you change your B*R*A as well? If so, what do you put on in its stead? Sometimes, a sports bra does a fine job.

As always, please contact Bratique Helene if you have any questions on bras, swim, or clothing for your full bust.

These Boobs Were Made For Walkin'...

Recognize this sweet face?

Of course you do...it's my Widnes, England Chaperon and

Smoosh Your Boobies cohort, Claire!
And she (and her boobs) need your help!

On June 20th, Claire (and her boobs) along with 10,000 other women and men (and their boobs) will be participating in The MoonWalk Edinburgh, and walking 26.2 miles through the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland - at night, wearing specially decorated bras - to raise funds for the charity, Walk the Walk/Uniting Against Breast Cancer.

If you'd like to help support Claire (and her boobs) during this unique and worthwhile event, please visit her fundraising page...you can also follow along with Claire (and her boobs) on the day of the event as she Twitters while she walks! And for even more information about Claire (and her boobs) check out her blog, A Little Piece of Me!

Good Luck Claire! Next year, I (and my boobs) hope to be walkin' with ya!

Cleavage

Cleavage is defined as the partial exposure of the separation of a woman's breasts; the depression between a woman's breasts especially when made visible by the wearing of a low-cut dress.

Rihanna is sporting some cleavage in this picture, where the breast tissue starts to rise up from the ribcage. This form of cleavage is usually seen in a scoop neck or square neck top and can be hard to avoid, especially in summer time clothing a la Anna Kournikova in the picture below. I say that it is harder to avoid because as well endowed women, we look better in necklines that are v-neck, u-neck, scoop, square, etc., and not so good in crew neck, boat neck and similar. As I heard an ample bossomed woman say, "my boobs start right under my collar bone". The neckline of one's shirt has to hit right at that sweet spot so as not to show any cleavage, but also give direction and be flattering to our bust-lines.

However, the "bottom crack" as shown below, is really only acceptable when a woman is trying to be overtly sexy, as in at a certain function (romantic date with husband?). This type of cleavage, when not intentional (this isn't usually an appropriate every day look), is due to an ill-fitting bra. Because as we know, the center gore of your bra should rest flat against the chest wall, thereby seperating those breasts - even if its by 1/2 inch.

So look down at your bust-line or in a mirror, do you have the "bottom crack" caused by the breasts being pushed together? Then get thee to the nearest bra salon for a fitting. Unless of course you WANT to have cleavage, then purchase a bra such as the one below.

Cleavage, when not intentional, is caused by one of the following (listed in order of importance):

1. improperly fitting bra


2. neckline too low

And as always, please contact Bratique Helene if you have any questions concerning the best bras and swim for your full bust.

I Support Heather!...And You Can Too!

My blogging friend and Official Olga Chaperon, (England & France) Heather, of The Wishful Writer has applied for a fantastic job at Murphy-Goode, a family-owned winery which just so happens to be located in MY old stomping grounds of Sonoma County in California!...

The winery is looking to hire a "Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent” with the ability to blog, Twitter, Facebook, Skype and use social media outlets in a way that brings Murphy-Goode to life. (Hmmmm, sounds fun!...I wonder if they might be needing a "support specialist" too?)

Heather is allllll that plus she's a fantastic writer with wit, brains and a GREAT sense of humor...who loves to drink wine...so she's P-E-R-F-E-C-T for the job...but she NEEDS OUR VOTES! Click HERE to view Heather's video & then please vote for her...'cuz she needs the job and the job NEEDS Heather!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (for reals!) SPEEDCAT HOLLYDALE!

Today is (finally!) one of my bestest blogging buddy's birthdays!

HAPPY (forty-something'th) BIRTHDAY SPEEDCAT HOLLYDALE!

I had the good fortune of hangin' around Speedy in Minnesota last year. Having never been Chaperoned by a man before, I was a little nervous...but from the moment I laid straps on him, I could tell Speedy was nuthin' but a great big ol' friendly pussycat!...PLUS, not only is he a prolifical blogger, prize winning author, PhD genious (of modern medicine AND html stuff,) famous golf pro, chicken connoisseur, sherriff, blacksmith, and a whole bunch more stuff I can't remember.......He even lined my cups with plastic wrap before using me as a donut launcher!

I mean, really - how many guys can you say THAT about?!?

Yes, Speedcat Hollydale is not only a perfect gentleman,

but a NICE GUY whom I'm proud to call my friend.

*sigh*

If he only had DD boobs, he'd be perfect!

Here we are re-enacting the famous Mary Tyler Moore "hat toss" in downtown Minneapolis....(luckily we did not get arrested!) Please click here to re-live more of my precious mammaries with Speedy in Hollydale, Minnesota, and then pop on over to his blog to wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

A Multi-Talented Mellow Yellow/Music Monday

So, ya'll know by now that my blog-mistress is a bit of a nut.

I mean...a nut about walking!

*ahem*

She says it keeps her butt and brain from getting mushy.

*ahem*
She also likes to take pictures of stuff she sees along the way.

She shot this one yesterday...

Oh...she also has to listen to music and/or talk on the phone whilst walking...

so actually the ol' gal is capable of walking, talking, listening,

AND taking pictures at the same time.

*WoW*

All I gots to say about that is....

WALK ON!

Happy Birthday, Ya Big Boob!

This time last year, I was in San Francisco, California

supporting my blog-mistress as she and her breast friend

celebrated their birthdays together at the annual Bay To Breakers Race!

This year my blog-mistress be celebrating her birthday without me...

but if you click HERE, you can re-live our exciting San Francisco Bay-2-Breakers Birthday Adventure allll over again!

'Cuz some things, like birthdays and trips to San Francsico, are worth repeating!

(My blog-mistress was hoping her birthday would sneak by unnoticed this year...but apparently she has FRIENDS in the blogosphere who think otherwise!

Thanks DaddyP and 70steen! AND Grumpy Ted and SnOwY bEaR...AND FRACAS who just made me a kick-ass cake! ~XOXO)

The Back Band of your Bra

The back band is the size of your bra that is typically something like 32, 34, 36, etc. Most of the women we see wear their back bands too loose, this causes the back band to ride up, which in turn creates the back fat that noone likes to see. Please, try anchoring your bra band below your shoulder blades, just a tad lower than the bottom of the bustline in the front (easily done while viewing your profile in a mirror).

The picture on top has the band higher in the back and you can see a back-fat roll. While the picture on the bottom has the bank pulled down a bit and the back fat roll disappeared. We illustrate this to clients all the time.

We recently went shopping with a client - Bratique Helene provides a complimentary bra shopping service to full bust women. This woman is a beautiful hourglass, maybe fourteen inches or so between her bust - waist - hip measurements. Previously she'd been measured as a 34 band size and even she knew herself that was too big. We tried 32s, because that's all we found at this particular store. But when we found a 30 back band and put it on her she proclaimed, "there, now I feel like I have on a bra". Really, a snug & seccure (as opposed to moving up the back) back band takes the pressure off the breasts. And takes the pressure off the abdomen (if breasts are laying there), the shoulders (if the straps are super tightened), and relieves back pain from heavy breasts. She purchased Freya balcony plunge bras in size 30HH.

Prior to that we shopped with a client who was wearing a 36G. She had lost some weight and we put her in a 34G. As she wore it that evening she said, "This is really uncomfortably tight (in the back), I think I may return it". I told her to wear it for a week and if she still didn't like it, then return it. A week later she says its the best fitting bra she's ever had and is going to buy more of the same kind.

BH recommends the following:

• Wear your new bra on the loosest hook, so as it stretches you may tighten it.


• See how snug you can go. You may be pleasantly surprised at your uplift - both mental and physical.


• If the bra band can be pulled several inches away from your center back, its time to either a) wash it, b) tighten it, c) go shopping!

And finally, do you have a good bra size story? I'll start . . . we had a client who was wearing a 36DD from a mainstream lingerie retailer. I could tell by looking at her that she was a 32 band size because her body was a small size 4-6. Sure enough we fit her in a 32GG. Again, an enviable hourglass with more than a 10 inch difference in her measurements (and believe it or not she wish her body was less curvy). We also have a 32GG client who has a size 14-16 body, can you guess on which body (the S or L) the bust-line looks bigger? Because technically they are the same size - 32GG.

Remember, embrace your endowment; it is a blessing and not a curse

This Video Is Elemental...but not about ME. Again. (Beauty Skool Update #7)

As ya'll are painfully aware know,
instead of devoting her life entirely to
ME and MY Exciting Globe-Trotting Adventures,
my blog-mistress has slowly but surely been infiltrating
MY TRAVEL BLOG with HER silly "Adventures in Beauty Skool!"

*sigh*

...guess I only thought I was done puttin' up with her stuff.

Oh well, at least she and her fellow Beauty Skool students are
puttin' their stuff to good use...check it out!

Hoist Me Straps And Shiver Me Underwires!

I've been Pirated!

Arrrggghh!...

...careful where yer stickin' yer hook, Capt'n Pegleg!

You seem like a really nice Pirate...how'z about pourin' us a wee bit o' rum?

I got D' cups!

And...where in the heck am I anyway? Do you have a map?

A Lil' Bit Coco-Nutty

Ever since I stuffed myself silly with

cuppie-cakes on my 2nd blog-iversay last week,

I've had a constant craving for coconuts!

So I'm kinda hopin' that when I get to wherever it is I am going,

there'll be a couple of nice big ones waitin' for me!

So then maybe my Chaperon and I can do this!...

Woo-Hooooo!!!

This Video Has Absolutely NOTHING To Do With Me!

But it features my blog-mistress's teenaged kids (again) and

it's hilarious (in a silly/stoopid kinda way)...so I'm posting it!

(Enjoy!)