'Fit is my Right': Online lingerie store to help women

With an overwhelming majority of Indian women simply unaware of their correct bra size and wearing the wrong size all their life, a new initiative by a lingerie e-tailer -- named 'Fit is my Right' -- aims to help over 500,000 women over the next 12 months in finding innerwear that suits their size.

The initiative has been launched in the wake of some facts that came up during a Zivame survey on usage of bras among Indian women.

According to the survey, four out of five Indian women do not know their right size and have been wearing wrong size bras all their life. Women are also not aware of the life of a bra and 53 percent of those surveyed were using bras that were 'too old'.

Also, as many as 82 percent of the respondents had never received professional help in finding the right bra even though they had been buying lingerie at least once in six months.

These can create implications that go beyond mere physical appearance. There are a host of health and wellness concerns that arise out of wearing bras that are either too old or the wrong size or both.

Richa Kar, founder and CEO, Zivame, said: "Women are not comfortable talking about bras. For most girls, the first bra-buying experience consists of going to a lingerie store and having to deal with salesmen or women, who are rarely equipped with the knowledge to 'consult' on the right fit and style.

"With 'Fit is my Right', we aim to correct this by making young college-going women aware about the importance of wearing the right bra. This will not only help them personally to adopt a healthy practice for the rest of their lives, it will also get passed on to others in their circle of influence -- their mothers, friends and relatives and most importantly, their daughters later."

As part of the campaign, experts will visit colleges across Mumbai and undertake educational workshops and free counselling and fitting sessions for students. The idea is to educate women about the importance of wearing the right brassiere and the health and wellness implications involved.

The campaign will be run with the help of a 'Mobile FittingLounge', which will travel to colleges in the city. The all-woman customised fitting van comes equipped with three trial rooms and bras of all sizes required for the fitting exercise.

The fitting lounge will also have three fitting experts, who will help women in identifying their right size. In Mumbai, Zivame aims to help over 10,000 college-going girls identify their right bra size in the next one month.