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Ambrassadors, Behind the Seams, Relationships

Meet the amBRAssadors: Jeanette & Christianne on Professional Bra Fittings

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In the back-to-school spirit, we sat down this week with our senior and freshman amBRAssadors. Jeanette, 35 (top right), is the longest-serving amBRAssador on the customer service team, with five years under her belt. Christianne, 25 (top left), is the newbie: She’s been at Bare Necessities three months now.

What has Jeanette learned the hard way that she wishes someone had told her from day one? What does Christianne bring up from a Millennial perspective that changes how we shop for bras? What questions do they both field all day long, and what do they wish women knew?

Listen in for a few insights from the women you’ll find on the other end of the phone—or screen.

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September 12, 2017
Inner Beauty, Power Figures, Relationships

Nitika Chopra on Learning to Love Yourself

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Nitika Chopra has empathy like some of us have parking tickets or high heels—in spades.

First, she’s a global citizen. Born in Ohio, she moved to Cairo, then Singapore, back to Ohio, on to New Jersey and Hong Kong and, for the past 16 years, she’s called New York home. She’s seen the human condition around the world, and the differences we share in common.

But moving a lot didn’t help her escape her personal conflicts. Nitika hated her name, endured a painful and debilitating case of psoriasis for a decade from age 10 and was divorced by her twenties.

Now 36, Nitika is not only all grown-up but fully self-actualized. As the host of Naturally Beautiful, a talk show that ran on the holistic lifestyle channel Z Living, she referred to herself as a “self-love guru,” and few have learned the hard way better than Nitika how to show oneself grace.

“I’m committed to helping others access tangible self-love. It’s such a buzzword these days, but the more I talk to people, the more I realize that most of us have no clue what it is, what it looks like, what it feels like, what it means. My mission is to make it tangible, to help them feel like they can achieve it. I use every avenue I can—my blog, my social media—to share the journey I’ve been on.”

We got philosophical with Nitika to find out how one gets from the lowest lows to the highest highs in the same lifetime.

Continue Reading Nitika Chopra on Learning to Love Yourself

September 4, 2017
Behind the Seams, Personal Style, Relationships, Swimwear

Postcards from Paradise: Travel Tips for New England

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Brooke here, editor and writer for Bare Necessities and the Bare it All blog. I’m wrapping up Postcards from Paradise, our summer travel series, with some notes on New England for your next trip to the compact yet super-scenic Northeast.

Here’s the mini guide I’ve compiled for Newport, Rhode Island (where we go every year), and Cape Cod, Massachusetts (where we finally ventured for the first time). Here’s hoping this summer hasn’t totally eclipsed you yet. Happy trails!

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August 21, 2017
Behind the Seams, Personal Style, Relationships

Postcards From Paradise: Travel Tips for Lake Placid

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The next Bare Necessities staffer who hit the road is Kathy Hein, our director of customer service. (Last month, we traveled vicariously to Puerto Rico with Tera Gallagher.) Let’s check out what there is to do up in the Adirondack Mountains, shall we?

Why Lake Placid

We always do a beach vacation, but my husband isn’t exactly what you would call a beach person. So this year, we decided to do a mountain vacation.

Where to stay in Lake Placid

We stayed in a junior suite at the Whiteface Lodge. The Lodge is amazing. It has a bowling alley, movie theater, spa, indoor/outdoor pools, game room and a couple of restaurants.

Continue Reading Postcards From Paradise: Travel Tips for Lake Placid

June 30, 2017
Behind the Seams, Personal Style, Relationships, Swimwear

Postcards From Paradise:
Travel Tips for Puerto Rico

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We’re taking this show on the road! Bare Necessities staffers are on summer hours, living their best lives out in the world and sending back virtual postcards from paradise with all the travel lowdown on their warm-weather destinations.

The first one to pack a suitcase and turn on her out-of-office message was Tera Gallagher, our premium brands assistant buyer, who just got back from a week in Puerto Rico with her fiancé, Matt, and another couple. We grilled Tera for insider intel, should a trip to this affordable, incredibly beautiful Caribbean island be in your future.

Check back all season for more wanderlust-inspiring reports from near and far.

Continue Reading Postcards From Paradise:
Travel Tips for Puerto Rico

May 31, 2017
Health & Wellness, Inner Beauty, Relationships

Guide to Bravado’s New Arrivals: Our Best Nursing Bras for Moms

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Back in 1992, when two friends couldn’t find comfy nursing bras that were also fun or fashionable, they sat down at the kitchen table and made one—out of leopard print fabric, no less. That’s how Bravado Designs was, well, born.

Fit and comfort are paramount to this brand by moms, for moms. “We get it: Breastfeeding has its ups and downs. We want to help women feel comfortable and confident with maternity and nursing bras that make sense for this crazy, exciting stage in life,” says Tara Hoth, head of design. “We firmly believe bras shouldn’t be bland. We offer fun colors in addition to classic beige and black, and a little bow, polka dot or print isn’t out of the question.”

Like Bare Necessities, Bravado Designs is “pretty much obsessed with fit,” says Tara. She and her designers are black-belts when it comes to feel-good fabrications and sanity-savers like easy-release clasps and cups that fully drop down for those zonked-out 4 AM feedings. (Look for band sizes 32-46 and cups B-M.)

What’s extra cool: an innovative Test Wearer program in which real moms road-test the bras and nursing tanks, from new prototypes to existing designs. Their input helps Tara’s team fine-tune the details that make all the difference. And since necessity is—pun intended—the mother of invention, here’s what’s new and exciting for moms right now from Bravado Designs:

Continue Reading Guide to Bravado’s New Arrivals: Our Best Nursing Bras for Moms

May 1, 2017
Pop Culture, Relationships

Galentine’s Day Ideas for All the Important Ladies in Your Life

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Let us be the first to wish you a happy Galentine’s Day! We’re saving the chocolates, roses and lingerie for V-Day next week; now, we raise a platonic toast to all the women in our lives we most admire.

WHAT IS GALENTINE’S DAY?

Galentine’s Day was officially recognized by Leslie Knope, the fictional heroine of the sitcom Parks and Recreation, who declared it “…only the best day of the year! Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home and we just kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst, plus frittatas. February 14th is about romance but February 13th, Galentine’s Day, is about celebrating lady friends. It’s wonderful, and it should be a national holiday.” As is true of just about every one of Leslie’s passionately poignant utterances, we couldn’t agree more.

And it seems we’re not alone—per U.S. News, we spend an average of $146.84 on Valentine’s Day-related gifts. But you don’t need to break the bank to show your lady loved ones you’re thinking of them. Here’s the pretty proof:

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February 6, 2017
Inner Beauty, Relationships

Give the Gift of a Lift Sweepstakes: You Told Us Who Deserves a Holiday Pick-Me-Up

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Here’s hoping your holidays are healthy and happy! For our “Give the Gift of a Lift” sweepstakes, which wrapped up yesterday, we asked you to tell us what special person in your life deserves a pick-me-up at this most wonderful time of the year. In your thousands of nominations on Facebook and Instagram, you spoke reverently of the everyday heroes who make your worlds go ’round. We loved when you tagged someone—and got tagged back. We loved when you selflessly volunteered to give the entire prize ($50 for you, $50 for them) to your better half. We loved that no emoji was spared.

We sincerely thank you for chiming in and, more than that, for inviting Bare Necessities into your lives. You are hardworking students, tireless mothers, dedicated employees, long-distance friends, indispensable support systems and much more. It’s clear we share the mission of lifting women up.

This week, we’ve collected some of the heart-warming entries we received; you can find more using the hashtags #givealiftgetalift and #bnsweepstakes. It just might give your spirits a little boost, too.

Continue Reading Give the Gift of a Lift Sweepstakes: You Told Us Who Deserves a Holiday Pick-Me-Up

December 26, 2016
Behind the Seams, Personal Style, Relationships

Bare Necessities Staffers’ Favorite Sleepwear & Thanksgiving Traditions

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Thanksgiving is the time of year to hunker down at home with our loved ones and practice gratitude (or, you know, talk politics, whichever you prefer). Here’s what some of the Bare Necessities staffers are up to, and the sleepwear they’ll be all cozied up in.

Stephanie Salardino, brand amBRAssador
Thanksgiving traditions: My entire family goes to our beach house on Thanksgiving Eve. Along the way, I stop for the best pumpkin pie and apple cider donuts. We finish up any last-minute food shopping and order pizza because we know tomorrow will be food heaven. Later, we have a sitter come watch the kids, and the adults go out locally—I organize a dozen or so toy drives at local bars since it’s one of the most popular nights to go out. The toys are distributed to local shelters or organizations that adopt families for the holidays. It’s pretty amazing. One location has brought in over 500 toys.

We have a huge Thanksgiving Day breakfast, appetizers begin around 1 PM and we serve dinner at 5. There are usually 20 or so of us, and our house is like a revolving door. My friends and their families tend to pop in at some point. Thanksgiving night, I do lots of shopping online. By Cyber Monday, I’ve accomplished most of my holiday list.

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November 21, 2016
Behind the Seams, Relationships

Behind the Scenes: The Boys of Bare Necessities Bare it All

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Though Bare Necessities revolves around women, there are more than a few good men behind the scenes helping to make the bra-shopping experience nothing short of flawless. We couldn’t wait to introduce these fine gents to you: Each is snowflake-level special and brings his unique talents to bear every day in the not-unintimidating world of intimate apparel. Because the one thing that unites them (other than a love of Game of Thrones and a good burger) is an admiration for all the impressive women in their lives—family, coworkers and customers alike.

In time for Valentine’s Day, let’s get to know the guys of Bare Necessities….

Continue Reading Behind the Scenes: The Boys of Bare Necessities Bare it All

February 15, 2016