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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Caroline Wilson & Sarah Ward

Scotland's only 'braologist' who can tell a woman's bra size by eye reveals common mistakes

Scotland's only 'braologist' says she can tell a woman's bra size just by using her eyes.

Kirsten Rees, 36, was trained by the Queen's bra fitter, and has measured everyone from celebrities to brides-to-be and to women recovering from breast cancer.

She trained at the London College of Fashion, and aspired to own a lingerie store.

And she was trained by Elle MacPherson's lingerie firm, becoming one of only 12 'braologists' in the world and the only one in Scotland which involved passing stringent final exams.

Kirsten said: "If I'm out with my friends, if we are in the toilets, my friends will say 'she's not fitted properly, Kirsten, will you help her out.

"I've fitted all my friends and family and say to people, put it in your diary, the way you would a smear test.

"You should be measured regularly. Our weight fluctuates year on year, people have babies.

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"I have seen every single thing you can possibly imagine. I've had women with different sized breasts crying on my shoulder because they have never felt normal and it is absolutely normal.

"I've had women who have had cancer and it's heartbreaking but if you can help them a little bit to feel better, to feel pretty and sexy again, then that's wonderful.

"There is still such a stigma around boobs, people don't want to talk about it."

Trained by the Queen's former bra-fitters Rigby & Peller, Kirsten is fairly confident she could accurately assess a woman's bra size simply using her eyes.

The most common mistake she sees is the 'four boobs' squashed fit, which could mean that the cup or back size is too small.

"Sometimes it is that the back size is too big and it's pulling the stitching down or it might be the wrong shape of bra," she said.

"You shouldn't be able to feel a bra and you shouldn't be left with red marks."

Kirsten Rees was trained by the Queens former bra-fitters Rigby & Peller (Herald and Times/SWNS)

Originally from Uddingston , South Lanarkshire, she worked for years on 'bra street' in Glasgow - otherwise known as Ingram Street - named for shops such as Agent Provocateur, and her former employer Boudiche.

Kirsten said: "I remember in my 20s, I wanted to own a bra shop.

"I don't know where that came from but bras were always a big part of my outfit if I wanted to feel great and that was before I knew anything about fitting.

"I was definitely wearing the wrong size though.

"I went to the London College of Fashion and studied a course in bra design and then got a job in a shop that was bra fitting properly.

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"I then moved on to work in Boudiche on Ingram Street which was known as 'bra street' at that point because you also had Agent Provocateur there.

"I started off as a sales assistant but I quickly realised that staff were still using measuring tapes, which I was quite horrified by.

"A measuring tape is stiff but bras are stretchy.

"If you are trained properly and you should be trained properly if you are fitting a woman for something she will be wearing day in day out, you should be able to do it by eye.

"I just had a knack for it.

"Women always show me from the front but you should look at the back first. You do the band first.

"It has probably been a man who has designed the system for measuring and it's very confusing."

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