Pink October

Today marks the end of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and what a great month it has been. We wanted to use this post to look back over what has been achieved over the last 31 days of Pink October.


Every Friday we have seen offices, banks, and fundraisers dressed in pink across London, raising awareness for this great charity:

The Natural History Museum

Photo: Breast Cancer Campaign

Tower of London

Photo: Telegraph

Tower Bridge

Photo: Vancouver Sun

The London Eye

Photo: Telegraph

10 Downing Street

Photo: BBC

London, you did good!

According to Breast Cancer Campaign, over 570,000 people living today have been diagnosed with breast cancer, which is the most common form of the disease.  1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime- that's 50,000 women per year in the UK!  The likelihood is, if you haven't already been exposed to it, at some point it will touch your life.  That's why raising awareness and doing your bit to help is so important.

You can help by:

1. Donating to Cancer research- this can be as simple as giving what you can or as fun as a Race, or cake sale- because everyone loves cake!

2. Encouraging friends and family to Coppafeel!  One of the best ways to fight breast cancer is to nip it in the bud and catch it early- so don't be shy ladies!

Breast cancer in men, although rare, still occurs and breast cancer awareness month is a great way to raise awareness about this disease.

Emma Watson's inspirational United Nations speech drew attention to gender equality meaning that people should feel free and comfortable with who they are. So men, don't be afraid to Coppafeel! too!  This is key, as being familiar with what's normal for your body is so important for all genders and crucial in stopping cancer in its tracks.  

We can't wait for next year's Pink October!

Fabric Forum - One Marylebone

Last week we started our hunt for fabrics, laces, trims and labels. 

To kick it off, we attended Fashion Forum’s latest exhibition of fabric suppliers at One Marylebone - a venue some of you may recognise from Cosmopolitan’s Lingerie Show last month. 

The bridal laces particularly attracted our attention, with their delicate and intricately hand-sewn designs sparkling under the chandeliers. 

 

There was some stunning beading.

The bright and soft coloured laces were beautiful also.

We got some floral print ideas...

 And inspiration from these beautifully delicate leaves...

Some silks...

Even spied on the men’s tailoring fabrics…

 Checked out some labelling manufacturers...

It was a beautiful event, we got some great contacts and started our long journey of education in the garment manufacturing industry. 

  

Pitch Day

Last week, we got a shock of an email on Thursday night; “Can you two pitch on Tuesday?”. Our reaction was more or less this....

For our last three pitches, we’ve had months leading up to them and time to fully prepare our presentation. 

Its fair to say our weekend plans got cancelled and scripts, notecards and powerpoint became our new best friends. Unlike our past presentations, this one was not in a competition final, it was to a group called the 3 C’s community. They have been running for over 15 years and are a community of professionals and investors. 

Three times a year they give three start-ups the opportunity to pitch and to invite the community to help with their venture. 

It was not only a privilege but a complete shock to be deemed advanced enough to come and pitch to such an amazing room. 

At 5pm sharp, we arrived at 6 New Street Square, and headed to our ninth floor destination- Taylor Wessing Law Firm. 

We were sent immediately up the ninth floor...

....where the views were breathtaking. 

We even got a sneaky peak of our beautiful old university library, and it looks spectacular in the sunset!

6pm arrived and the proceedings began with a public apology from the host, expressing that this evening there would be a lot of ‘boob-talk’, something that had never graced this event in 15 years! 
Apparently it’s not everyday that people get to publicly discuss breasts - to us its just a no-brainer so we never bat an eyelid. Apparently not everyone has the same reaction and there were many giddy reactions to the mention of a lingerie company coming to pitch!

We retreated into our pre-pitch routine in preparation and at 7pm we took to the stage. 

After a very strenuous Q&A session and the pitching was wrapped up; the networking began. With a final cheeky look at the spectacular views, we were chooed out of the building as they needed to lock up. 

The response to our business model and plans for the direction of Attollo was incredibly humbling and we are still in a state of shock from Tuesday, but hopefully, the new doors which have been opened will lead to some very exciting opportunities for Attollo. 

One nude doesn’t fit all

We read a very welcome article on the Mail Online recently. One lingerie brand has realised that when it comes to nude, one colour doesn't fit all.

A nude bra is a wardrobe staple. For sheer, strapless and bright coloured tops, there’s nothing better.  For anyone with a medium to dark skin tone, we've all had those days where beige is too light and just won't do and black doesn't cut it. It's a real nightmare if you want to wear a sheer top! 

Finally, in terms of colour, the day is here- nude bras for all!! Nubian Skin's beautiful bra range comes in darker nude shades and also with lace or moulded options, between sizes 30B- 36E.  We only wish they came in our sizes so we could test them out and review! This is a definite step in the right direction.

What we adore about Nubian Skin is that it is challenging perceptions- when people hear that Attollo is for DD+, the response is, "oh, so it's a plus size brand?". No, its not. At 28FF and 30GG, we are small girls with big boobs. It seems to be huge misconception that you have to be bigger to have a big boobs.  Before Nubian Skin launched, there was a big misconception about nude bras needing to be beige. 

We love this brand for the fact that they are pushing the boundaries and solving a real problem by highlighting the fact that bras need to do more than just support your boobs.  After all, good underwear is the foundation for every outfit.

Well done NS, we're already fans!

We've taken the plunge

The MailOnline wrote an article yesterday titled "Is this the end of big, ugly bras? High street shops finally launch stylish underwear for bigger breasts". 

They believe yes. We believe no.

The comments section went crazy almost instantaneously. What we were so glad to read was that so many women had the same response as us, "no". 

We have found in the last two years that the high street is providing more and more 'pretty' bras for DD+ women. More lace details, band details, colourful combinations and girly prints are appearing all over the high street. Ranges are expanding and more and more options are now available for DD+ women. 

However, still, these bras come with a compromise in our opinion. If you can find a DD+ that's pretty, it will either not come in our small band, large cup sizes (28FF, Fleurette; 30GG, Alice) or it will not be shapely. In addition, the prints are normally visible under clothing and the detailing either reveals your nipples or the boning shows through - greattttt!

Despite this expansion of DD+ bras, we have noticed that these bras do not have young girls in mind. We struggle to actually find the 'pretty' DD+ bras pretty. The grading is incorrect and ratios of material, print and lace is just not right. The prints are outdated and the shape that the cup gives you from the front and in profile is is just not youthful or flattering. 

These are the photos used in the article:

How unexciting are these?! Although the pricing isn't bad, the lack of shape is outstanding. Not one of these bras will be subtle under clothes, either revealing nipples, colour or seams from the design. Plus the shape is so saggy... not a bra that as a young woman you'd want to wear!

In addition, DD to G or GG is offered. This is better than it used to be however the high street either starts at 32, going up to bigger sizes, or if you're lucky starts at 30, up to a G. Where is the 28 band size? Where are the bigger cup sizes for 30 and 32?

Great - this one has no underwire, but why must it look like so bulky and material heavy?! 

This bra is 'pretty' but where is the shape and lift? We are young and want to feel celebrated, not dowdy and saggy!! 

We have both been DD+ since we were 14. At 21 & 22 we are beyond fed up. We can't escape the fact that we have to wear bras everyday. Being frustrated, annoyed, and disappointed that everyday the high street forces us to wear bras that we did not want to buy and do not want to wear is simply horrible. This is why we are putting our heart and souls into creating Attollo. 

We are a brand designed by DD+ women, for DD+ women. We are the people behind the bras, therefore every detail, strap placement, pattern, shape and design has been created by the people who are trying to solve what the market is missing. We are designing for ourselves, for our friends, family and for you all - for you lovely lovely, booby ladies who have been unrepresented in the market place until now. 

We have two aims; remove the shape/ aesthetic compromise faced by small back, large cup sized DD+ women and celebrate the fact that you have tremendously wonderful boobs. We are not designers, business women or manufacturing experts; we are two recent geography graduates trying to change the market place so that all you lovely women out there can finally say "Yes, this is the end to big, ugly bras, finally the high street is allowing me to enjoy my big boobs and I love the bras I now own". 

One year from now we hope this is the case. Everyday we are working tirelessly round the clock trying to bring beautiful, aesthetic, girly, feminine and well-made bras that shape, flatter and uplift young girls DD+ breasts.