New bra company promises better fit
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - As lingerie brands battle it out to be the next Victoria’s Secret, one local startup, CUUP, is going after female customers by offering more sizes and challenging traditional fits.
CUUP Co-Founder Abby Morgan says 85% of women are actually a D cup or larger, and many of them don’t even know it. CUUP Co-Founder Lauren Caris Cohan, says she’s one of them.
She always thought she was a 34C, but went for a fitting and found out she was a 30E, which she didn’t even know, at the time, was a size.
Morgan explains that when most women go for a fitting, they’re pushed into one of the sizes that the story actually has. It’s called sister sizing. Stores won’t carry a 30E so they’ll steer you towards the 34C.
CUUP is trying to change the stigma around sizes by offering more of them. Cohan says the notion that women, as a gender, collectively fit into 16 sizes is a wild thing that isn’t a reality.
At CUUP, she says, they broke down what sizing is and started over. They launched CUUP in November with four different bra styles in 35 different sizes, A through G, changing the way bras are both designed and fitted.
Most brands start with a 34B, Morgan says, and then they grade up and down using a linear algorithm.
At CUUP, they use eight different sizes. They start with a 34E because, they say, that’s the average women’s size. But they don’t just grade up or down.
They use those eight different sizes to create different proportions for every piece of the bra.
They’ve also sourced what they call healthier fabrics for both their bras and their underwear. All of CUUP’s materials are seamless or sheer.
Morgan says they avoided memory foam in their bras because it’s carcinogenic, going instead with a high performance mesh used in a lot of athletic wear. Their underwear is made with a bamboo material that is completely breathable and sustainable.
CUUP is direct to consumer, offering video consultations online with their fit therapist, Tania Garcia, for women across the country. New Yorkers can book an appointment to come see Tania in person in the SoHo showroom.
CUUP is able to offer women more size and fabric options because they’re supply-side integrated, meaning their supplier is a partner in the business. Morgan says that means you never have to compromise between fit, function, and style.
CUUP also secured pre-launch funding from Forerunner Ventures, one of the top early stage VC Firms in the country, enabling them to offer $68 bras and $18 underwear, which they hope to eventually carry in 65 different sizes.
Morgan says they wanted to make a bra as good as the splurge that’s so expensive you never actually want to wear, but at $68 so you wear it every day.