The FitRoomLog magazine
Trade reporting for independent bra fitting and lingerie boutiques: sizing craft, buying math, post-surgical fitting and store economics.
Nine reports for the women who own and run these shops, written by Jimenez Julien from the counter, the stockroom and the buying appointment. Every piece answers one question a fitter or an owner has actually asked out loud.
practical guide
A step by step account of a first fitting, from the conversation before the tape comes out to the sister size check, and why a measurement is a starting point rather than a verdict.
comparison
Two buying strategies for a small boutique compared on open to buy dollars, fitting room success rate, reorder speed and the kind of customer each one actually keeps.
mistakes to avoid
Where well meaning fittings go wrong, from pocketing the wrong style to rushing a customer still in treatment, and the corrections that protect both comfort and trust.
regulation and compliance
How the durable medical equipment side of the business is structured, from accreditation and supplier numbers to prescriptions, documentation and the quantity limits payers apply.
case study
A close reading of one store's recovery: how it re-sorted bridal appointments, replaced longline and backless inventory and reset delivery promises without missing a wedding date.
trends and outlook
An honest look at what direct to consumer brands, extended size ranges and shifting wholesale terms mean for a fitting led store, and which parts of the work cannot be shipped.
checklist
The questions to settle with a rep before signing: opening order minimums, size curve depth, reorder windows, damage policy, territory protection and how the brand treats its own web store.
numbers and benchmarks
How to size stock against fitting capacity: appointments per day, styles pulled per fitting, sell through by size band and the turn rate your open to buy can actually carry.
field report
A shift by shift account of a busy Saturday in a two room boutique, tracking walk ins against appointments, the stockroom runs between fittings and the point where the schedule breaks.
Almost everything else in this trade rests on measuring a customer who has never been properly fitted before. Our step by step guide covers the conversation before the tape, the sister size check and what to write down when she leaves.
How do I actually measure a customer who has never been properly fitted before?
Then work outward: the eight other pieces in The Fitting Room each take one part of it further, and every one links back here.
