Bratique Helene

I should have known in high school when I was the only girl during drill team practice to wear a sports bra that I was going to be a boob-girl. I recall in college I had brassieres that fit well, but were matronly in appearance and didn’t quite match the image of myself as a cute new sorority pledge. As a young single woman living in Dallas in the mid 90’s, my hobby became acquiring luxury lingerie at the likes of Neiman Marcus and exclusive boutiques around the world. I had disposable income and easy to fit 34Ds. My eyes were opened to the fact that one could have a correctly fitting underpinning that was also aesthetically inspiring. I became a bra aficionado.

I married and had a family, which affected both the pert D bust and disposable income. Hint: the bustline grew and the money for bras shrank. These changes lead me to start researching brands, body types, breast shapes, etc, and increased my knowledge and skill. Shopping with family and friends and fitting them in bras, I began giving consultations and evaluations to friends’ friends as they were referred to me. My flair became evident, my passion developed. I was offered positions in both the retail and the trade sectors of the lingerie industry, but I chose to stay home with our growing family.

Then in May of 2007 my life dramatically changed: my mom - Helene - died suddenly of an aortic aneurysm. We went to pick her up to go to the children's swim class and discovered her body; I was eight months pregnant with my fourth child. Through the next several months as I mourned our family’s loss I realized that if GOD can walk me through a nightmare, he can walk me through a dream as well. Thus became Bratique Helene, both my dream and my homage to my best friend who I know looks down and says, “YOU GO GIRL”.