Recently, my young, hip daughter introduced me to a new way to buy bras through a company called True and Co. I was curious, but when she sent me a promotion* to try it, I decided why not. Bra shopping, for me, is tedious at best, and the opportunity to try on bras for free seemed ideal.
Their gimmick is “no fitting rooms, no measuring tape”, and the first step is to guide you through a “fitting quiz” to determine your best size using, I’m sure, complicated algorithms to determine said size. This is all well and good, but one of the first questions asks what size your favorite bra is, and the manufacturer of that bra. Not surprisingly, to me anyway, the size that True chose for me was the same one. Hmmm.
OK, I’m still game, so the page for bra selection pops up, and, as directed, I choose 3. The company bra choosers select 2 more for you (which is kind of like Christmas!). And they send you the package. You do enter your credit card info, because if you don’t send back the ones you don’t want in 5 days, they are yours! I certainly don’t have a problem with that. Because you know that going in. Don’t try this kind of shopping experiment when you don’t have time to follow the rules. It’s as simple as that.
The real fun starts when your box arrives. I’m not going to go through how I felt about each bra, because that isn’t my point here. Suffice it to say that I did keep one, and sent 4 back. The one I kept was, for the record, one that I chose. *about that promotion… read the fine print… it was for $25 off my purchase of $100. oops… i didn’t meet the $100 threshold. i wasn’t going to buy more just to save $25 though.
Did the method work? Well, sure, it worked for me. I’ve read some other reviews, and bloggers loved it or they hated it (and when they hated it, they truly bashed it). There are 2 main problems, as I see it, and the first is not really a “problem” but rather a company limitation.
1. Their size range is limited to average sizes. In response to criticism, True and Co now says something to the effect, if you are out of their size range, “I’m sorry, we don’t have your size, check back later because we might get a larger range.” I don’t know the exact wording because I do happen to be an average size, but you get the gist. Apparently, in the beginning, they tried to “suggest” a size in the range they carried, even when it was clearly not right for the customer. Oops.
2. You really can’t fit a bra properly without using a measuring tape at least once. Those numbers associated with bra sizes? They are derived from measurements. Cup sizes, ditto. It’s a great starting point, and if your favorite bra is not the right size, all the algorithmic calculations will really be meaningless, IMO.
Will I shop there again? I guess that’s the bottom line for any company. To get return customers. I might. How’s that for noncommital.
Should you try it? Yeah, if you are fairly confident you are in the right size to begin with, and you fall into the average range of sizes, i.e., what you might find at your major department store.
Happy Bra Shopping!
Ellen Maybe 