Belovely – innovative mastectomy fashion that holds a hidden secret

Aug. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- With Breast Cancer Awareness month just around the corner, Belovely Designs – a one-stop, online fashion and accessories store for women who have had breast cancer – is helping women look good and feel great.

UK-based Belovely Designs is a specialist retailer that has taken an holistic approach to what it does, creating a unique concept in clothing and offering self-coaching techniques for building inner confidence, aiming to transform the lives of women who have had a mastectomy, lumpectomy or reconstructive surgery following breast cancer.

Designed by owner Michelle Usher, the collections feature trendy tops, pretty day dresses and gorgeous evening wear that contain a secret that only the wearer knows.

Tops and dresses feature subtly higher necklines that minimise gaping and an ingenious integrated hidden bra with cleverly designed pockets that securely hold a breast prosthesis on either side.

Innovating this design into day and evening wear has given women who have had breast cancer a new-found confidence and freedom to wear strappy, feminine styles post-surgery, with or without a bra.

Michelle, who worked as a qualified life coach and HR professional in the NHS prior to launching Belovely two years ago, was inspired to create her clothing range after talking to friends who had gone through breast cancer.

She heard their frustrations at the lack of suitable and fashionable clothes post-surgery, finding high street options low cut, gaping and revealing.  She saw how their confidence and self- esteem was affected and felt strongly that she could offer a solution.

She undertook three years of extensive research, attending support groups, talking to breast care nurses and carrying out one-to-one and group research to test out design ideas.  Working with a designer who had had a mastectomy herself also gave a unique understanding of the design requirements.

The result is a unique design concept for Belovely’s affordable dresses and tops, which feature:

higher fitted necklines that don’t gape, allowing wearers to feel confident;
hidden built-in bra support with pockets to securely and discreetly hold a breast prosthesis,  for peace of mind;
higher underarm and backlines hide visible scarring – often particularly important for women with lymphoedema or breast reconstruction;
adjustable straps for a perfect fit and high quality, breathable fabrics for comfort and style;
empire waistlines that fall flatteringly around the tummy and hips.

What further differentiates Belovely is its holistic approach to helping women regain confidence, not only through what they wear, but how they feel inside, too.

Using Michelle’s extensive coaching experience, Belovely posts a regular self-help blog for women who have had breast cancer, offering useful tips on building inner confidence and self esteem.

“Coaching has helped me to understand the important relationship between how you look and how you feel,” she explains.

“Through the personal experiences of women I’ve talked to and coached, I saw an opportunity to bring both aspects together – helping ladies with breast cancer find clothes that make them look good from the outside and using my fashion coaching blog to help support ladies to feel good about themselves from the inside.”

“Having coached someone who had come through such a devastating illness and seeing the energy and drive she put into getting some normality back into her life was truly inspirational,” she says.

“These are traits I have witnessed in many other ladies who have had breast cancer too, and I wanted to do something that could help them as a whole person.

“I wanted my designs to really make a positive difference to how ladies who have had breast cancer feel about themselves.

“My aim has always been to offer a new fashion alternative for ladies who have had breast cancer that inspires confidence by enabling them to wear stylish, feminine designs that looks like high street fashion, with subtle adaptations only the wearer need know.”

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*photographs are available*

Notes for editors:
1.     Breast Cancer Awareness month takes place in October.

Belovely Designs is an online specialist boutique for fashionable mastectomy wear.
It was founded by former Human Resources professional and qualified life coach Michelle Usher, in Sutton Coldfield, in July 2010, and now ships to customers all over the UK and internationally.
All clothing is made in England from high quality UK sourced fabrics and the pocketed garments are protected under Registered Design No 4 013 741 and Community Design No 001220156-0001, offering an exclusive and unique fashion range that cannot be found on the high street.
Belovely Designs now carries 18 product lines in sizes 10-22. Collections change twice a year –spring/summer and autumn/winter – and are fine-tuned to accommodate feedback from customers and focus groups.
Tops cost from just £23, day dresses from £34.99 and evening wear from £22.49.
Michelle Usher is available for interview.
Telephone 07973 955 881 or email michelle.usher@belovelydesigns.co.uk  to arrange.

CASE STUDY (photo available)
Hillary Hopkins, from Walsall, West Midlands, was diagnosed with lobula breast cancer in January 2011 and underwent a mastectomy and had six lymph nodes removed the following month. Her treatment continued for six months with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
She discovered Belovely Designs online after numerous disappointing shopping trips to try and find clothes that would hide the scarring from the surgery and keep her prosthesis hidden.
“I wanted to start dressing nicely again. I didn’t want baggy clothes that made me look as if I’d just thrown it together,” she explains.
“But everything I found in the shops were too low on the bust and under the arms or gaped open. I was constantly worried about my prosthesis showing and didn’t feel comfortable going out, just in case it did show.”
Hillary said she was thrilled when she discovered Belovely Designs.
“I don’t know of anyone else who makes clothes like this. They are comfortable to wear, fit brilliantly and there is no danger of gaping or showing scars,” says the 49-year-old mother-of-two.
“It was such a relief to find clothing that was perfect for women like me, who want to look nice and fashionable, but have had a mastectomy. All I could find before was vest tops, but I wanted more than that. Belovely offers a great range of styles and I love the way they fit so well at the neckline and around the bust.  They’ve helped me feel so much more confident and feminine and I couldn’t be happier.”
Her husband Idris has also noticed a difference in her confidence, says Hillary, as have her friends when she goes out with them.
“I was always asking them if they could see my prosthesis and reminding them to tell me if they saw it slip,” says Hillary. “Now I’m able to relax and enjoy myself, confident that the Belovely Designs I am wearing are made specifically for women like me.”

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