Full Support: Lessons Learned in the Dressing Room
Full Support: Lessons Learned in the Dressing Room
Author: Natalee Woods
To Be Published: December 3, 2019
300 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Dates Read: November 1-9, 2019
Book Description:
Lingerie is the foundation for every woman’s wardrobe, but it’s also where we feel the most pressure to be beautiful—and feel the most shame at falling short of impossible standards. Concerns about our age, body type, family expectations, jobs, and romantic partners crowd into the dressing room with us. The result is a bra that fits other people’s standards instead of our own bodies.
As a bra-fitter at a high-end department store for more than a decade, Natalee Woods watched women bravely facing down their fears and embracing what worked for them. Full Support shares their stories alongside judgment-free secrets for a good fit.
Jessica’s Review:
Full Support has had a long journey to publication, which is still to come in the next few weeks. It is Natalee Woods’ debut memoir of her 10 years working in a fitting room in the lingerie section of a high end store. If you have ever worked in retail, you know some of what Natalee feels, but her job was much more personal to the women she fitted. We live in a world where 8 out of 10 women are in the wrong size bra, and this candid memoir is for every woman out there as it shows how society pressures us about our ‘imperfect bodies’ and influences us in every way possible.
We meet a variety of Natalee’s customers in many different situations. These customers (women, men, and transgender) give the reader a mix of emotions from hilarious (an entertaining and raucous bridal party) to the serious (women dealing with mastectomies to a widowed father trying to find his daughter a bra) to the anger-inducing (an over the top beauty pageant mom). And we see how Natalee handles each situation, as each customer has unique and specific needs.
It is a quick and enjoyable read. It is a memoir and Natalee also goes into her family situations, which includes a death, but for me it took away from the rest of the book. I was not attached to Natalee; I just wanted to read more stories from the fitting room.
Most of my bra shopping is done online as most stores do not carry the much larger sizes. I do remember when I was getting fitted for undergarments to wear under my wedding dress and I knew I was in the wrong size bra, but to find out my actual size was shocking. The bra fitter helped to put me at ease and made a nerve wracking experience pleasant. Every woman needs a positive fitting experience and Natalee helped to give her customers what they needed. If only more stores catered to the larger sizes and had some cute bras that were not over the top price wise!
Full Support is recommended for every woman out there! Special thanks to the publisher Amberjack Publishing for granting me an arc.