Cornwall’s Bra Fit Expert helps women in all life stages
When Christina Faraj Savarese was five-years-old her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Christina was 17 when her mother succumbed to metastatic breast cancer. As a professional bra fitter, Savarese is able to help cancer survivors in a way she wasn’t able to help her mother.
It’s not the career path she initially envisioned for herself, but it’s the one she fell in love with.
“I am helping people in a way I wasn’t able to help my mother when I was young,” said Savarese, owner of The Bra Fit Expert on Main Street in Cornwall. “As it turned out, I have dedicated my life and career to helping as many people as I can and will continue to do so. I saw what she went through all those years and as a child I wasn’t able to do as much as I would have liked. Now I can.”
Originally from Seattle, Savarese attended the University of Washington where she studied communications and political science. It was during college she obtained an internship with Senator Patty Murry, but quickly found she didn’t like the idea of sitting at a desk shuffling paper.
“Being around people, talking to people, helping people turned out to be what made me happy and what I liked to do more for work rather than the alternative,” said Savarese.
She instead landed a job working for Nordstrom where she eventually learned to fit bras. At the time, she didn’t think that’s what she would be doing for the rest of her life.
“I have dedicated my life and career to helping as many people as I can and will continue to do so.”
Christina Faraj Savarese
She was part of the team which helped start the bra fitting program within the company. An expert was brought in to demonstrate fittings, how to take measurements, and what those measurements meant. She learned what products and bras worked best for a person’s particular body shape. Vendors would come in and teach about their products — the differences between them and the advantages for different body types.
In 2001, Savarese moved to New York City where she managed Nordstrom’s lingerie department in Westchester. From 2003 to 2015, she worked for a company in the city called Underneath it All which specialized in servicing the post breast cancer community. She helped fit women with such things as prosthetics and surgical bras.
“You see people come in and of course they’re upset because of what happened,” Savarese said. “In a matter of 30 minutes, finding something that makes them feel like themselves again is pretty amazing. They leave like a new person.”
While with Underneath it All, Savarese started The Bra Fit Expert on the side. It originally began as an at-home business where she would schedule fitting parties and go to people’s homes.
When she and her husband moved to Salisbury Mills, in 2013, she was still commuting back and forth to the city. With two young children, it eventually became too much.
Savarese met a woman who owned Echo Boutique in Beacon. They did some events together and eventually she moved her business and began subleasing space in the Dutchess County storefront. She stayed there for five years before opening her own store on Cornwall’s Main Street in October. The business grew quickly, making it difficult to leave, but owning her own store was always on her mind. With a following on both sides of the river, it seemed like a good time to make the move.
The Bra Fit Expert offers a selection of bras, underwear, pajamas, women’s tights, bath soaps, candles, and face masks. Savarese will soon be expanding to offer post-surgery bras, camisoles, and prosthetics. Through her website, thebrafitexpert.com, one can book an appointment for a fitting.
Savarese said having a properly fitting bra can affect posture, helping the wearer stand up straighter. She said clothes fit better and they can make one look 10 pounds thinner. With a bra off the rack, she said every brand and size is different. Nothing is 100 percent consistent.
