We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Rushton recently and have shared our conversation below.
Danielle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
The bra design and sizing system the industry uses today was developed in the 1930’s, nearly 100 years ago, with little innovation since. The industry’s current attempt at innovation is focused on size inclusivity – but their solve has been making more sizes of the same design. Although the right intention, this approach forces brands to carry even more inventory — in what is already one of the most size-intensive categories in the marketplace. (For example, Victoria’s Secret just acquired AdoreMe due to their size inclusivity of 77 different sizes.)
Wherewithal redesigned the bra for the first time in 100 years. As of November we are officially patented on our design + sizing system that creates more size inclusivity than any other competitor, with a third of the inventory.
Our design focused on bra size personalization for the consumer. We replaced hook + eye closures w/ an adjustable back band that introduces a 3-bra-sizes-in-1 sizing technology, and puts women in control of their size, in a garment where 91% of women are wearing the wrong size, causing a less-than-comfortable fit (and general disdain for bras from the group collectively).
This design innovation makes us the most size inclusive bra company to-date, offering 93 traditional sizes (16 more sizes than the company VS acquired for $400M), while only carrying 31 size SKUs (62 less than what any other company producing the same size range would have to do). We are a personalized, simplified, sustainable, and inclusive solution to this $21B industry, and with the right partnership (investment, distribution, etc) we will be the paradigm shift that this industry has been needing and we can move faster to produce the bras women need to become part of their everyday wardrobe.
Wherewithal by definition is having the tools, resources or support necessary to do. Bras are a tool women wear to wear the clothes we want to wear. Women don’t hate bras because we don’t want to wear them. We hate/don’t want to wear them because they don’t support us and limit us in what we are able to wear. When women have the wherewithal, the will have what they need to do, to wear, to move, and to embrace themselves and their size, exactly as they are.
Danielle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started my career at the Home Shopping Network, specifically in the Fashion Division, where I saw week-over-week the intimates category was the driving force for the division as a whole. This isn’t why I started my company. During this same time, I had ordered an XL Bathing suit top – the largest size available – that barely fit. Although you can’t see me via this app, my boobs aren’t that big, and I remember thinking, “who are these things even being made for?” This wasn’t a one-off occurrence, having to wear a bra since 4th grade, this has happened my entire life. It was just the final straw where I decided to buy a sewing machine and start making my own clothes. Bathing suit tops turned into blouses/dresses when I realized – bras are supposed to be the universal garment we wear under our clothes. They just haven’t changed in a billion (100) years. Maybe I could make one better.
Starting w/ a strapless bra – I reverse engineered why I hate strapless bras. It’s because they fall down. To stop them from falling down, we would need a horizontal element that supports the upper bust in the way shoulder straps do, but remain strapless in appearance. It would be even better if it was something we could adjust as much as we needed so we could ensure it was secure. Then reinforce that support on the underbust side, so the silhouette was the same as a normal bra, just the functionality was actually — functional? I put on my frankenbra, jumped up and down, and realized I had just done something lol. After asking other women in a FB group whether or not they had this same issue with clothes/bras, over 300 women responded and this was the starting point of it all.
My design solves the issue that 91% of women are wearing the wrong bra size: because they are able to adjust their bra to fit them, however feels best to them. I’ve also created a new sizing system — because in any other industry, if 80%-91% of users don’t know how to use the product, that’s not a consumer issue, that’s an inherent product flaw. Our band and cup sizing is on a smallest to largest basis (and if you think bra sizing now is that way, it’s not — and no, I don’t know why they would do that, either).
What sets us apart from others is our patent.
I am most proud of what this gives to women. The way it expands a woman’s mind, options, wardrobe, and security. In her bra and in herself. That she is capable. I want her to embrace herself exactly as she is. To honor what feels good to her, and when it no longer feels good, to make the changes necessary.
I want people to know that it has never been their body – or their fault. That style has no size, only limited size options. That your self-expression in the form of clothing, can be unlocked. That you are no longer chained to the limitations you once blamed on yourself, and now have a garment that sees you, supports you, and wants to put you in control of every size you are, and everything you want to wear when you move through this world, creating the life you want to live. To take themself out of the box this industry has placed us in, and turn our bras and underwear from something seen as ornamental (for other men) to instrumental (for ourselves). I feel the “sexiest” when I know I can get shit done. And that starts with the first thing I put on my body, and I hope we serve that reminder to women every single day.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
Yes, and it is all due to my CPO, Heather Parisi. We will need to include her on the podcast because I cannot speak for the magical work she does, and the life she has had prior that built the connections we were able to bridge into what we have been able to accomplish today. All credit to her, and she is my biggest blessing far beyond a colleague, but a piece of my soul, that I might not have found if not for this business.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I never had a twinkle in my eye (that I was aware of) to start a business. And if you told me 6 years ago I would be the founder of a bra company, I would look at you like you deserved: like you know nothing about me and my own disdain/avoidance for bras and probably walk away lol.
The resilience for me comes from the women I talk to every day. The people who ask me what I do, I hardly mention a bra company, and the gushing that comes after starting with “this is my problem with bras.” My 27 years of problems with bras isn’t exclusive to me. I represent the lived experience of all women. It is through them that I find the resilience, that I continue to fight every hardship that comes along this journey, and that I continue breaking through every wall as we move ahead.
What supersedes my customers is my team. We have had a tough time this last year due to a restructuring and it set us back like a slingshot does. We had to change the foundation to prevail and though we are on that track, it has been really hard to climb out of the hole. My team has never wavered, and without them I would not be here now.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopwherewithal.com
- Instagram: @shopwherewithal
- Facebook: @shopwherewithal
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopwherewithal/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/shopwherewithal
- Other: Virtual fittings available! https://calendly.com/danielle-wherewithal/wherewithal-personal-fitting?month=2022-12
Image Credits
@deleo @kanvismedia