Baby, It's Cold Outside ...

... BUT, we're heating up underneath with beautiful lace, patterns, prints, & colors! There are very few lingerie restrictions on fabrics and hues under colder weather wear.  'Tis the season for pretty bras!"  Below we have highlighted some of our favorite fashion colors and styles available at Belle Mode throughout the holiday season <3

AND DON'T FORGET if your personal Santa(s) wants to shop for something special for you this holiday season to send 'em in!  We can use your customer profile to help them pick out something you will LOVE...and that fits. Gift wrapping is complementary!    

For When The Snuggling Get's Real!

Ladies, how's your cozy lounge/sleepwear wardrobe looking these days?  Are you and your loved ones ready for the bitter cold winter that's right around the corner?  If you're not, we are here to help!   We've gone ahead and stocked the store with fun, must have, cozy separates and sets for all ages!   

Below you can find pics of some of our favorite styles that we currently have at Belle Mode, but we are also getting in new styles daily ...

DON'T FORGET ... we offer complimentary gift wrapping AND our Gift Certificate Special is going on until December 18th, read details below!

5th Annual Bras For Hope Event & Bra Drop 2016

These handsome guys...

They're all members of Omega Psi Phi's Eta Delta Delta Chapter at George Mason University!  They generously donated their time and efforts again this year to collect bras and raise awareness about breast cancer on the George Mason campus. 

We are so appreciative of these young men, THANK YOU!

In addition to the bras Omegas collected, our *AMAZING* customers, health partners, their friends & family donated almost 1,100 bras again this year to be recycled or donated to women's shelter's in the area.  THANK YOU!

Special thanks go out to:

Karma Vitality Studio, A Women's Wellness Gym

Fairfax Radiological Consultants, largest private radiology practice in the DC Metro area

Neck, Back, & Beyond, Chiropractic Services & Holistic Wellness Services

Studio BE Pilates, Fairfax's Premier Pilates Studio

for collecting bra donations and spreading the word about our event & bra drop!  

We all specialize in women's wellness & are so happy to have small business support within the community.  THANK YOU!

This year, we were delighted to name INOVA Life With Cancer Foundation as our beneficiary. 

The portion of the day's proceeds that is donated to Life With Cancer will go to helping provide classes, resources, and support for women in our community fighting cancer and those who are on the road to recovery.  We have been fortunate to get to know some of the oncology nurse navigators in the past couple of years, and in turn, some of their patients who have come to Belle Mode for post surgical & mastectomy bra fittings.  We can't tell you how honored we are to be providing this service to women in the Northern Virginia area.

Bras for BRAWS

We were also delighted to be able to take donations for our friends at BRAWS, a local organization that is female owned and operated.  BRAWS collects new bras to provide to our area's homeless shelters for women in need.  They also collect packaged feminine products to provide to the shelters, as these items are not able to be purchased with government assistance, but are a VERY NECESSARY item for every woman.  Please visit their website to find out how you can donate or volunteer.

Each year our event is growing, THANKS TO YOU!

We have no words to express the gratitude we have for the support of our customers & our community so that we can continue to help educate women on breast wellness and provide special fitting services for those in need. 

If you would like to be a part of our 2017 event, there are many ways you can help.

Please contact Belle Mode to find out more.  Planning for next year's event will be underway shortly!

Bras for Hope: AMAZING Raffles, Gifts with Purchase, & More!

Saturday, October 22nd

Belle Mode's 5th Annual Bras for Hope Fundraising Event 

to Benefit INOVA's Life with Cancer Foundation

We are so happy to be able to donate to such a wonderful organization this year! Throughout the past few years, we have gotten to know some of the amazing nurse navigators that serve breast cancer patients by helping them find the valuable resources they need to transition from cancer patients to CANCER SURVIVORS. From gentle exercise classes, to support groups, to self-image recovery help, this foundation provides it all. 

The gals at Belle Mode have been working hard to be sure that we have some excellent ways to thank our customers for coming out to support INOVA Life with Cancer.  This year, we've got even more great raffles and gifts with purchase, and swag bags for the first 25 customers who make a purchase! 

Check out what we've got in store for you...

BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE!

Raffle items donated from some of our neighbors, the wonderful businesses in Fairfax Corner and the surrounding area include:

2 3-D Mammograms from Fairfax Radiological Consultants

2 months unlimited classes at Core Power Yoga, 1 for you, 1 for a friend!

Medalase Laser Treatment Gift Certificate
$25 Gift Certificate from Nest Egg

2 $25 Gift Certificates from Uncle Julio's

Lunch for 4 from Potbelly

$25 Gift Certificate and a full growler from World Of Beer
Gorgeous pink Arianne camisole in size Medium

...AND MORE!

Gifts with purchase from your favorite brands include:

Boy shorts from Fleur't Intimates with a $75 purchase
Jewelry rolls from Chantelle Lingerie with the purchase of any bra or 3 panties
Compacts from Natori with a $45 purchase

Thongs from Cosabella with a $50 purchase

Assorted bottoms from Yummie Tummie with a $50 purchase

Mesh wash bags from Anita with a $45 purchase

Thongs from Hanky Panky with a $60 purchase
Jump Ropes from Panache Lingerie with the purchase of a bra
Lip Glosses from Commando with the purchase of any bottom

A very special "Thank You" to all of our friends & neighbors in Fairfax Corner & the surrounding area who generously donated to our swag bags:

StudioBE Pilates
Core Power Yoga
First Impressions Salon
PF Chang's
Pot Belly's
Reflections of You Salon
... and more!

"Bra Fit Specialists" vs. "Sales Associates"

Okay, Belles of Belle Mode.  If you share a blog post with friends this month, let it be this one!

We're going to get down and dirty and explain why you need a "bra fit specialist" (think locally owned & operated boutique) in your life instead of a "sales associate" (you know ... the employees at mall and big box stores).  It's not about semantics, it's about your experience.  We've earned our titles as Belle Mode Bra Fit Specialists!

WARNING: It might not be pretty (except the gorgeous Panaches sports bra model in our photos), but we're going to duke it out for you right here!

ROUND 1: Commission vs. Honesty
Let's just address this and get it out of the way.  Many major department stores pay their sales associates on a commission base. There's nothing wrong with being paid commission, unless it clouds the sales ethic of the sales associate.  At a boutique, with a bra fit specialist, you are most likely going to experience honesty based on the boutique's desire to make a difference in the community they serve.  Sure, we need to make money to keep our doors open and pay our employees, but most small business owners start a business because they have personally experienced a need for the service they provide and products they carry.  They care about their employees and don't want them to be worried about sacrificing honesty and integrity for a sale.  Most importantly, they want every customer to walk away confident with their purchase and comfortable in their bra!

ROUND 2: Size vs. Fit
Most women visit us in the hopes of finding the right bra size.  Here's where we're going to disappoint you:  you don't have a bra size.  Truth be told, you can't even measure for a bra size- there's no magic formula.  You can measure for a *starting* point on band size, but that's it!  Measuring for a cup size does not work because each pair of breasts is shaped and placed differently on the torso.  Plus, fit standards are very different for each company AND, even within the same company, for each bra.  Sorry, but you'll have to see a sales associate to find a "bra size"!

On the other hand, your fit specialist will make sure you find the right bra FIT for your body.  A bra is not a bra, is not a bra ... each bra fits a little different from the next based on factors such as fabric composition, cup, strap, wire, & band proportions, etc.  The key points to finding the perfect fit include: band fit, cup volume, underwire placement (if you wear an underwire), strap placement, & of course, comfort level. Focus on fit vs. size with your specialist & you'll have a positive bra shopping experience!

ROUND 3: Friendly, Familiar Faces vs. High Turnover
Familiar, friendly faces mean that the fit specialists are knowledgeable about the product.  They see many bras in many sizes on many body types.  Your fit specialist may take one look at your body type and know what works before you even get into the room.  Although sometimes we freak people out when the first few bras are homeruns ... but hey, we've been doing this for a while!

Unfortunately, high turnover in sales associates means that for the time the employees are there, they may not have as much exposure to product or body types.  It can be a frustrating experience to spend hours only to find one bra that, as one of our customers said about her best Vicky's bra, "kinda has an okay" fit.

IT'S A KO! 

BRA FIT SPECIALISTS HOLD THE TITLE OF
"BEST FOR YOUR BREASTS"!!!