Grab yourself a sewing project and settle in! This podcast goes deep into the history of Beverly Johnson who shares stories from over 40 years of experience in bra making!

Check out our sponsor wayfinder3d.com

Yearly catch up with one of my favourite people, Sofia Luzon!

It was a pleasure to welcome Eleanor Mooney Co-Founder of Verdant a NYC based lingerie brand. We had a great conversation about starting a lingerie brand in NY and how the vision came to life.

https://verdant-nyc.com/

Another fantastic episode sharing the story of Laetitia Dupuich's evolution as a lingerie designer. Laetitia found her calling while in Business School when she created a lingerie brand for an entrepreneurship course. Through a lot of hard work and grit Laetitia launched a brand, taught courses, freelanced and gained the skills which she applied to learning and using 3D and now continues to trail blaze applying her technical and creative knowledge in the advancement of AI.

I could listen to this woman talk about bras all day! Kimberly Hamilton is basically a walking encyclopedia of bra knowledge, especially when we're talking about the full bust size range. Besides all that, Kim's story is incredibly inspiring, she has an uncanny breadth and depth of knowledge and experience garnered from decades of working in the industry in Canada and Europe. She's worked with both small retailers and large corporations like Lululemon, she's battled breast cancer, and she is now running her own boutique bra store providing individual bra fitting and access to great products in her store Kimtimates in Red Deer, Alberta.

Make sure you stay tuned until the end, Kim gave us an extra special bonus in helping me identify fit issues of a couple of sports bras I was testing out. I'm happy to get to share her beautiful mind filled with juicy bra knowledge.

https://www.kimtimates.com/

In this episode of Underdressed, I sit down with custom bra maker and teacher Linda Crawford. Linda shares her incredible journey from scuba diving instructor to becoming one of the most respected voices in bra making in Canada. We talk about her early days working alongside Beverly Johnson at Bra-Makers Supply, the birth of a bra making community, and what she’s learned from decades of fitting every kind of body. We also dive into why custom bra making is such a rare skill, how teaching has shaped her expertise, and how cultural shifts continue to influence lingerie design today.

Other episodes mentioned:

E42 Monica of Bravo Bellas on Learning as Empowerment

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2cPrcrE7V6ZU8q52KlwfmX?si=311107c8e00a4c4a

E5 Ruhee Rajan on The Value of Custom Bras

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5cSmfMa9vHWia3tbSLLw2I?si=dd34437556984ea5

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Find Monica here

https://bravobella.teachable.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bravobellabras/

In this episode of Underdressed, we speak with Monica O’Rourke, founder of Bravo Bella and creator of the Bra Making Mentorship — a 10-month program designed to meet sewists where they are and guide them through the technical, creative, and often emotional journey of bra making.

Monica shares how her upbringing in a family-owned fabric store shaped her maker mindset from an early age, and how she later combined her background in teaching math and science with her deep knowledge of bra construction to develop a unique and empowering approach to lingerie education.

The conversation explores the complexity of bra making, from the technical nuances of fit and pattern alteration to the psychological barriers many people face when trying to make garments that work for their bodies. Monica emphasizes the importance of learning in community and reframing “mistakes” as discoveries — moments that move us forward in our craft and in our confidence.

We also discuss the limitations of ready-to-wear sizing, the underrepresentation of custom bra makers in our communities, and how Monica’s mentorship aims to shift that narrative by equipping more people to design, fit, and create intimate apparel that truly works.

This episode is a powerful reflection on skill-building, self-trust, and the radical act of making garments that support us — literally and emotionally.

Sponsor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Clo3D Foundations For Intimate Apparel Online Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Use code: Underdressed for 20% off

Find Chloe here:

https://www.instagram.com/createdbychloegrant/

https://www.instagram.com/peopleoverproductmagazine/

In this episode of Underdressed, we speak with Chloe Grant, an intimate apparel designer dedicated to sustainability and ethical fashion practices. Chloe shares her journey from studying contour fashion at De Montfort University to launching her freelance career focused on environmentally-conscious ethically produced garments. The conversation explores the delicate balance designers face between making structured, supportive intimate apparel and minimizing long-term environmental impact.

Chloe discusses her approach to sustainability, highlighting innovative materials like bio-based elastane and seaweed-derived fabrics. She emphasizes the importance of accessibility and transparency in sustainability practices and introduces her new project aimed at building a digital community and platform for intimate apparel creatives to easily access sustainability information.

The episode also touches on broader industry challenges, such as reconciling consumerism with sustainability, the role of legislation in ethical production, and the potential for digital solutions like CLO 3D to reduce environmental footprints. Join us for an insightful discussion that sheds light on making sustainability achievable and attractive in intimate apparel design.