Where do Canadians buy basic bras these days?
April 12, 2024 5:11 AM Subscribe
Where do I buy a basic bra. Like the kind you used to get at the Bay or Sears. A Warners or a WonderBra type thing. The Bay has gone super-high-end (I know this varies, but the ones in downtown Toronto are all very shi-shi now) and Sears is gone. My bras are down to threads. I'm willing to order online but I want something decent and I'd like to pay $30-50 ish and what I get offered on facebook costs quite a bit more than I want to spend, however miraculous they might be. Also, I don't even know what size I am these days, so trying on might not be bad.
I think Walmart still has your typical "boxed bras" of yesteryear.
posted by Mrs. Rattery at 5:35 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]
posted by Mrs. Rattery at 5:35 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]
Nthing Walmart. Winners is hit or miss as always and the bras are on hangers but with stopping in every couple of weeks they’re one of my sources.
Extra: If your bra size is a big question mark….Secrets From Your Sister on Bloor is super expensive but their bra fittings are amazing. My tip is if you feel so inclined, buy one Very Expensive bra there and then every bra you wear after (even the likes of Joe Fresh) will be better.
posted by warriorqueen at 5:41 AM on April 12 [7 favorites]
Extra: If your bra size is a big question mark….Secrets From Your Sister on Bloor is super expensive but their bra fittings are amazing. My tip is if you feel so inclined, buy one Very Expensive bra there and then every bra you wear after (even the likes of Joe Fresh) will be better.
posted by warriorqueen at 5:41 AM on April 12 [7 favorites]
Best answer: I've had good luck with Montelle and Understance online. Both do returns. I'm hard to fit, and the fit guides on the Understance site were really helpful. I'm in Canada and both were easy to order from and I did a few returns with Understance and the process was painless.
posted by eekernohan at 6:07 AM on April 12
posted by eekernohan at 6:07 AM on April 12
Best answer: I just went through this after American Eagle went to absolute crap. I recently ordered several bras from Understance (Canadian company based in BC) and I am really happy with them. Price point is around $50 and they are very comfortable, and don't feel like they are going to fall apart after a few washes!
posted by dazedandconfused at 6:19 AM on April 12
posted by dazedandconfused at 6:19 AM on April 12
Jockey ships to Canada. Until 2 weeks ago, I had never bought a jockey bra in my life. But I got a recommendation and they're very affordable. This no underwire bra is the most comfortable bra I've ever worn. And makes a really nice shape. Don't freak out that it's xs to xl. Follow the size chart and live your best life.
posted by atomicstone at 6:27 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
posted by atomicstone at 6:27 AM on April 12 [1 favorite]
Agree with warriorqueen to get fitted and bite the bullet with an expensive one, and then use that to find your size elsewhere. If you are a challenging size (i.e. one that isn't stocked in stores often--and the fitting might surprise you about what your actual cup size is!), bras are a lot cheaper and more plentiful in online European/UK stores. I like Belle Lingerie.
posted by pised at 8:23 AM on April 12
posted by pised at 8:23 AM on April 12
I would also recommend getting properly sized somewhere like Secrets From Your Sister on Bloor. It's worth it to buy 1 or 2 very nice bras to be well-fitted - and then you have them for special occasions. (I went there last to get a good strapless when I needed one for a wedding).
Once you know your size, you can buy more bras online - Amazon has them (just like everything else). There is a very large selection of a variety of good brands, from cheap but solid (Fruit of the Loom) to nicer (like Bravissimo). I prefer not to return bras because I suspect that they go into landfill, so I will order just one to see if I like it, and then (if I do), I order as many as I need. (I had some nursing bras that didn't work for me; fortunately, I was able to give them to someone else who could wear them).
(I got my last in-person bras at the Bay at Yonge & Bloor, but apparently that closed at the end of 2022. They were a good source for medium priced (~ $40-50) good quality bras - and also came in larger sizes than the more teen/young adult oriented stores like La Senza. If you can get to a Bay outside of downtown - or even a Zellers when they open again - those stores might have a good selection).
posted by jb at 9:10 AM on April 12
Once you know your size, you can buy more bras online - Amazon has them (just like everything else). There is a very large selection of a variety of good brands, from cheap but solid (Fruit of the Loom) to nicer (like Bravissimo). I prefer not to return bras because I suspect that they go into landfill, so I will order just one to see if I like it, and then (if I do), I order as many as I need. (I had some nursing bras that didn't work for me; fortunately, I was able to give them to someone else who could wear them).
(I got my last in-person bras at the Bay at Yonge & Bloor, but apparently that closed at the end of 2022. They were a good source for medium priced (~ $40-50) good quality bras - and also came in larger sizes than the more teen/young adult oriented stores like La Senza. If you can get to a Bay outside of downtown - or even a Zellers when they open again - those stores might have a good selection).
posted by jb at 9:10 AM on April 12
This is a timely and important question. Thanks to the asker and the responders.
posted by Sauter Vaguely at 4:17 PM on April 12 [1 favorite]
posted by Sauter Vaguely at 4:17 PM on April 12 [1 favorite]
The Bay seems to have done that high end thing in its central urban stores but the more suburban locations carry the wider range of options. If you look on their website they will tell you where you can buy it if you enter in your postal code. I found this out when I was trying to buy a basic bra somewhere quickly before a trip and only had the time and energy to go to the downtown Ottawa Bay where I had to buy a Calvin Klein bra and not to the outer urban location where they carried the full lineup of stuff, including basic Jockey bras (which are fantastic, I agree) (and they do have that one at the Queen Street store). IMO The Bay is still the best place to go for quality bras without going to a specialized bra store.
posted by urbanlenny at 7:40 PM on April 12
posted by urbanlenny at 7:40 PM on April 12
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I placed an order from Understance. Their fit tool was super helpful, for sure. I've been to Secrets from Your Sister and the thought of going again...ugh..I mean I liked it just fine, but if there's one thing I learned in the pandemic it's that I hate shopping even more than I thought I did and a long-involved-in-store process just sounds exhausting and annoying.
I've been to Zellers. Don't go to Zellers. It's not Zellers, it's just messy garbage from The Bay (look, either put all the Sweaters of This Model together on one rack and then if I like the sweater I can look for my size OR put everything of size X together, so I can go to my size and see which sweaters I like. Just throwing all the sweaters together on one rack and making me flip through it all if I want to see if there's anything I like is just WAY more annoying, unpleasant work than I'm willing to do).
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:01 AM on April 14
I've been to Zellers. Don't go to Zellers. It's not Zellers, it's just messy garbage from The Bay (look, either put all the Sweaters of This Model together on one rack and then if I like the sweater I can look for my size OR put everything of size X together, so I can go to my size and see which sweaters I like. Just throwing all the sweaters together on one rack and making me flip through it all if I want to see if there's anything I like is just WAY more annoying, unpleasant work than I'm willing to do).
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:01 AM on April 14
Response by poster: My order from Understance came an I can report that thanks to their fit tool the fit is perfect. The bras are good quality and comfortable and look nice. I wish they had more colours.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:45 AM on April 23
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:45 AM on April 23
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posted by VirginiaPlain at 5:20 AM on April 12 [2 favorites]