REVEALED SUMMER 2023 - Flipbook - Page 15
Building the Community We Want to See
The Pencil Test, Portland, OR
about bras, it’s vital to offer plunges and
balconies, smooth bras and wire-free
bras to as many sizes as we can. This
includes choices in skin tone bras, lined
and unlined bras and fashion colors in
every size.
• Finally, we consider gender and gender
expression. People with boobs often
struggle to find boob solutions that
match their needs and style. We’ve got
some extremely feminine bras, but we’ve
also got some wickedly comfortable nononsense bras that skip the bows and
ribbons and have a modern, clean style.
We offer binders and advice about fit that
you can’t find when ordering online.
At The Pencil Test we create community
welcome and encourage them to keep
This selection means that we welcome
by embracing inclusivity and diversity
coming back:
many people to the shop. We love groups
with broad strokes and subtle touches.
of folks out shopping together. We love
• Being size inclusive is an ongoing
three generations of a family in one go
As someone who spent years visiting
challenge, and we don’t carry every size.
(the melons never fall far from the vine,
every lingerie department and boutique,
Since our average cup size sold across all
as we like to say). We love people who
I stumbled upon in hopes of finding
band sizes is a UK FF, I make sure that
don’t see themselves in more traditional
answers to my bra woes (spoiler alert:
every style we stock goes at least to that
boutiques coming in for their first fitting
it took living in another country to find
cup size. That means saying no to a lot of
and having a blast. All of these things
my perfect fit), I wanted to create a shop
pretty bras, but it means saying yes to a
drive customer acquisition and retention,
where my busty besties would not have
lot more deserving customers.
but most impor tantly they help us
achieve our goal of showing people how
to walk by racks and racks of pretty bras
to be comfortable in their own skin.
to get to the industrial units in the back.
• We also pay close attention to fit.
I didn’t want to have to say “Sorry, that
Every brand offers different shapes, cup
doesn’t come in your size,” or “Nope, no
depths and wire widths. Being able to
That’s the kind of community we want
lace for you.”
offer customers a wide variety of brands
to foster.
means they can really dial in their perfect
In the years that we have been open,
fit.
our understanding of inclusivity and
diversity has evolved. Here are some
• While buxom customers might not be
of the ways we help customers feel
accustomed to making style choices
Holly Powell
www.thepenciltest.com
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