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Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Win a hamper for Mother's Day - join our Facebook group! We're giving away another fantastic Devine Chocolate Hamper this week - all you need to do is sign up to our Facebook group and tell us why your mum is number 1. Simple!Labels: chocolates, competition, facebook, giveaway, hamper, mothers day  Entry posted by Chloe at 08:24
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Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Interview with Becky Mount from Busts4Justice You may remember back in May last year there was a high profile campaign to get the high street giant Marks & Spencer to drop the £2 surcharge on larger cup-size bras.The campaign was established by Beckie Williams and Becky Mount, who both decided that M&S needed to be challenged on the unfair 'Bra Tax' and their cause quickly gathered momentum, featuring in all of the major newspapers, news websites, on television and radio. In particular, the Facebook group, Busts4Justice gathered over 17,000 members, and a few weeks later, M&S backed down and decided to remove the surcharge, marking a big success for the group's two founders. It's now been almost a year since the campaign kicked off, and I decided to catch up with one of the founders, Beckie Mount, to find out a bit more about what went on, and what she's up to now... Brastop: Tell us a bit about yourself - what do you do for a living etc. Becky Mount: My name is Becky, I turn 21 in a few months and am currently studying for an English degree with the Open University. Before Busts 4 Justice I had thought I'd try and find my feet in the world of journalism but now I'm not so sure! Brastop: How did you get involved with Busts4Justice? Becky Mount: Beckie (Williams) and I have known each other for years, and during the summer of 2008, she told me of her writing in vain to complain about the £2 surcharge. After racking our brains as to how we could reach the most amount of people in an easy, free manner we started the Facebook group and the rest was history. It's been a lot of hard work but we've known each for so long we work well together. Brastop: It's been several months now since M&S backed down over the so-called 'bra tax' - do you feel it was all a ploy on their part, of were they genuinely trying to tax bigger cup sizes? They seem to have done okay out of it in terms of publicity, and they're still one of the most popular high street outlets for underwear, so it's not difficult to feel cynical about their whole campaign. Becky Mount: I think from the beginning we both understood that logically, more materials and a more technical design is going to cost more as M&S so rightly defended their decision to include a surcharge, but that didn't make it fair. They have done well from the campaign, but we never intended to turn Busts 4 Justice into a hate campaign against M&S; we're both huge fans! We actually met with M&S on a couple of occasions to work with their design and lingerie department and they were willing to listen to our members. It's easy to see why people would assume that it was maybe a bit of clever PR, however I can hand-on-my-heart say that it was far from that. The surcharge had been in place for quite some time before we came along, it was just the overwhelming response of the group that made them realise that their customers were not happy and would not stand for such discrimination. Brastop: What has busts4Justice being doing since the 'bra wars' campaign ended? Becky Mount: We're currently developing our own website and looking into the issue of fitting, it's no secret that too many women wear the wrong bra size, and that's something we really want to tackle. We?ve also been looking into recycling old bras for charity. All of this will become apparent once we launch the website, hopefully very soon. Despite the fact we essentially won 'Bra Wars', I definitely don't want the campaign to end. It'd be a shame to see it end when there's so much more potential. What this might lead to I'm unsure of, but I'm very eager to keep the ball rolling and use the popularity and interest for the better. The campaign has really made me realise how passionate I am about not only underwear, but all that has been highlighted by the campaign and it's definitely something I'd consider doing for the rest of my life. Brastop: Buying bras is an expensive business - not just for bigger women - so are there any other areas of expensive underwear you plan to target in future? Becky Mount: At the moment, there's nothing definite planned however we really look forward to the future of Busts 4 Justice and wherever that may take us. It would be a dream to expand into our own underwear line that provides affordable, practical but stylish underwear, regardless of size but that's just a pipe dream for now, unless anyone wants to make us any offers! Seriously though, that would be fantastic; whilst I think it's brilliant that there are an increasing number of brands that focus on the needs of larger cup sizes, it'd be great if one day there was a brand that had no limitations on size, design or price. Brastop: What are your favourite brands of bras? Do you stick with any specific makes, or do you vary it?  Becky Mount: My underwear drawer is like a pick and mix bag of sweets! I do have my firm favourites though; I absolutely adore brands specifically tailored for bigger sizes as I think they have a better understanding of what we want and need. As a 30F, it's not always easy to find comfortable bras that are both supportive and attractive. Freya and Panache have always served me well, but recently I've fallen head over heels for Gorgeous by Debenhams and of course Curvy Kate. Brands like these understand that their customers want affordable bras that they're not ashamed of, and I think that's very important. Women can benefit from owning underwear from all sorts of brands to tackle numerous boob-related problems, so it's great fun to shop around.Brastop: Are you strictly a practical bra buyer, or do you like to buy yourself something nice? Becky MountA mix of both really, however I don't think the two ideas should be too distant! I think it's very important for all my bras to fit correctly and give me the support I need, but there is definitely an aesthetic difference between my practical underwear and the kind I don't mind other people seeing. As wonderful as my multi-way Wonderbra is, it pales in comparison to something I picked up at Rigby & Peller. Brastop: We're always on the lookout for advice and tips on buying bras, getting fitted and women's health - do you have any tips for our readers? Becky Mount: I think all women should know how important it is to be fitted correctly. There are numerous health problems that can be caused by an ill fitting bra, and with a wealth of shops offering a good fitting service, it's vital that women get measured. My personal recommendation is Bravissimo; they offer a fantastic service and go above and beyond, however many other reputable shops have a similarly brilliant service. Another thing to remember is that your size does fluctuate for a number of reasons, and this needs to be taken into account. And if we didn't already have enough on our plates in the lingerie department, different brands do vary when it comes to sizes. I've recently learned the trick to try a couple of sizes either side of what you know is your own when considering buying any bra and you'd be surprised at the subtle differences between brands. We both feel that womens health is something that gets overlooked in the world of bras and it's something we'd like to help to tackle. Brastop: What's your funniest bra story or your worst ever bra disaster story? Becky Mount: Oh gosh, everyone has one of these, don't they? I think my worst ever has to be at a gig. I was at the barrier of a fairly small but packed out venue, getting absolutely crushed when all of a sudden I felt one of my straps tear at the back. It ripped completely off; it was a fairly old bra, and I knew I needed to get re-measured. I was wearing a fairly flimsy t-shirt because it was so hot in the venue, but there was nothing I could do. As the gig went on, the bra was practically in tatters half way down my rib cage and I was hoping and praying that because I was pressed so tightly to the barrier that no one would see. I was centimetres away from flashing the band when it was all over and I could hide under my jacket. Since then I've never gone to a gig without a good sturdy bra and checking my straps. I can't believe I actually admitted to that. Brastop: How can people get involved with Busts4Justice? Becky Mount: Until our website is up and running anyone who is interested in Busts4Justice should join the Facebook group ? we have a fantastic community over there, we love our members! There are plenty of discussions to join in on, and we regularly post discounts from various companies which is always a bonus. Our members are very knowledgeable if you have a specific problem that needs tackling. We also have a twitter account: www.twitter.com/busts4justice. Our website is a way of developing the campaign with a lot more for the public to get involved with, so for now, watch this space! Labels: becky mount, big bras, bra tax, busts 4 justice, campaign, facebook, twitter Entry posted by Chloe at 20:06
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Friday, 12 February 2010
Win yourself a Curvy Kate bra set! Have you got a funny bra story to share? Sure you do - everyone does. Well, if you join up to the Curvy Kate Facebook fan page and share your story, the funniest will win a FREE Curvy Kate Bra set. Here's one from me... About a year ago, I was sitting in the office at work chatting on the phone to a colleague when I dropped my pad on the floor. So, while still sitting in the chair, I tried to reach down and pick the pad up. However, during the process of reaching for it, my bra strap simply couldn't take the strain - and snapped. Of course, being very generous in the cup department, this was something of a disaster (put simply, my boob fell right out of the cup and my bra went south - I was wearing a blouse, so it was very noticable). I had to quickly end my call, grab my bag and make for the loo. The only thing I could do until I could get out at lunchtime and buy a new bras was to put on my sports bra (which was in my bag, as I had been to the gym in the morning before going to work) - but, of course, it was soaking with sweat from my early morning run on the treadmill! Tres embarassing! So go on - tell us your stories, and the winner will be announced next week. Labels: competition, curvy kate, facebook, funny, stories Entry posted by Chloe at 10:07
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Thursday, 28 January 2010
What's your favourite fit and brand of bra? Following on from Monday's post about the poor quality of bra fitting in UK high street stores, we've had a bit of a brainwave at Brastop.com... For more, here's a message from our marketing manager, Hannah Houston: Hi,So, it's that simple folks. All you need to is either leave a comment below here on the blog, or, visit our feedback page - or, you can visit our Facebook fan page and leave your thoughts there. Entry posted by Chloe at 10:00
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Thursday, 14 January 2010
FREE knickers with Facebook - help Brastop reach 1000 fans! We're approaching 1000 fans on our Brastop Facebook page! Help us to reach the 1000 mark by inviting your friends and telling them about the fantastic deals on offer at Brastop.com, and we'll give away a FREE pair of knickers with every single purchase! Visit the Brastop Facebook site to join up and share with all your friends! Labels: brastop, deals, facebook, hot deal, knickers, offers Entry posted by Chloe at 11:40
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Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Can Facebook raise awareness? If you're a regular Facebook user (like me), you probably noticed a trend last week where girls mentioned a single colour and nothing else, much to the bafflement of the boys out there.I think it's safe to say that the secret is out now, and if I'm blogging about it on here, you can be almost certain it was related to underwear. In fact, it was part of a viral campaign (presumably a spontaneous one, but you never can tell), for girls to raise awareness of breast cancer issues by posting the colour of the bra they were wearing. Now more than 30,000 people have joined the 'I updated my Status with my Bra colour' group and the word continues to spread (although, I didn't quite get the point of the subsequent craze of posting up the size of your feet). The importance of such a seemingly trivial and mostly fun trend should never be underestimated - breast cancer affects millions of women worldwide every year, and one of the most important things we can do as people is talk about a subject that was taboo not so long ago - and still is to some people. If that comes from Facebook, or Twitter or any other social networking website, so be it. As long as we're talking about it, people will be aware of it, and the word will spread that more research needs to be carried out to help find treatments and potentially a cure. Okay, that's today's public service announcement over with! Oh - and if you're wondering: red. Labels: blogging, brastop, campaign, cancer, facebook, social networking Entry posted by Chloe at 10:41
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 >> Win a hamper for Mother's Day - join our Facebook ... >> £10 OFF all FREYA Lingerie!! >> Welcome to the Brastop Blog Becky Mount! >> Grab a £12 Bra! New styles added for last day - Hu... >> What hook are you on? >> FREE Delivery EVERYWHERE! >> Interview with Becky Mount from Busts4Justice >> £12 BRAS for one week only! PLUS new shapewear, st... >> Brastop seeks curvy girls for bra testing and fitt... >> Interview on Lingerie Buyer with Brastop model Lau...     
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