Interview: The Man With the Best Breast Forms
An interview with Oren Perry
Oren Perry shows off a packaged breast plate, ready to be shipped. Photo by Dexter McMillan.
If you have thought about being fitted for breast forms and were not sure who to turn to, look no further. The Breast Form Store based in Vancouver, Canada is the leader in supplying custom-made forms, as well as offering other breast form brands and many products for the crossdressing community.
I was recently introduced to Oren and was so taken by his breast form story that I wanted to share some of his story with you.
TGForum: Provide a little of the history about The Breast Form Store and how you took on the role of CEO.
Mr. Perry: The business was started by my folks catering to the mastectomy market. It was a brick and mortar store located in an office building that was downtown in Vancouver, Canada. A few times a year, my mother, who did the fittings, would get a request to do a fitting for a man. They tended to be very shy about it, so my mother would offer to do the fittings after hours. In 1995, my father thought that crossdressers and transgender women may feel more comfortable shopping online, so they would not have to confront anyone. And so, the groundwork for The Breast Form Store started. I took over the company with my brother-in-law a little over 10 years ago and put a lot of effort into growing it into what it is today.
TGForum: As The Breast Form Store has been reinvented over the years, so to speak, who makes up you customer base today?
Mr. Perry: Today, 95% of our business is to the crossdressing and transgender communities. We still get genetic women that buy from our breast cancer survivor websites (Breast Form Shopping and TrueKare).
TGForum: How does one get fitted for a breast form?
Mr. Perry: Getting fitted for a breast form virtually can be done in a couple of ways, but the best and most accurate starts by taking one’s measurements for the correct bra. Our certified fitters can only help so much if the person taking the measurements at home is not accurate. We have designed our fitting program based on decades of experience and fit tests, tailoring for the AMAB (assigned male at birth) body to work with traditional bra sizes found with major brands like Victoria’s Secret, Wacoal, Goddess, and Maidenform. There are two measurements that help find your perfect fit -– your underbust and your bust measurements. Both measurements are taken going all the way around your body. The underbust is taken below the curve of your pec muscle or breast tissue (where the bra would usually sit), and through the middle of the nipple is your bust measurements. The underbust measurement is used to determine the accurate bra band size. It is an especially important step to make sure that the breast forms (and corresponding cup sizes) look as natural as possible on a person’s body. It also helps to ensure that your breast forms are positioned in the correct spot on the body. The bra band measurement is not the same as your underbust measurement. In fact, it is often the same size as a men’s’ suit jacket size. The bust measurement lets us then figure out how much muscle or tissue the person has naturally, and therefore what style of breast form would fit the most naturally. Once we have that information, it is up to the person to determine their desired cup size, and what features are most important to them: bounce, realistic skin, going braless, sleep-safe, etc. We have tailored all of our fitting and size charts to work better for crossdressers and transgender girls so that they can fit skeletal structure more naturally.
TGForum: Does (breast) size matter?
Mr. Perry: Yes and no. As long as you feel comfortable and confident, you are in the right size. That being said, we have a general guideline for cup sizes (based on a person’s correct bra band size).
A cup – Very demure
B cup – Demure, ideal for svelte ladies
C cup – In proportion
D cup – In proportion but curvier, ideal for those who carry more weight in their tummies
DD cup or larger – Busty!
TGForum: What are your best-selling products?
Amolux Diamond self-adhering form.
Mr. Perry: The best-selling products are by far the breast forms. Our best-selling brand are our Gold Seal & AMOLUX breast forms, but our most popular breast forms are the Aphrodite breast forms. They look realistic, especially when topless, but are not as expensive as the custom-made ones that come with airbrushing. They are also exceptionally durable and will not puncture or burst like traditional breast forms sometimes do. Gaffs and wigs are also quite popular and necessary for many of our customers.
TGForum: Do most of your sales come from the U.S.?
Mr. Perry: A large portion of our sales do come from the U.S., but our England (UK) office does sell quite a bit in England and to the rest of Europe. The North American market adapted to online shopping early, and our customers like the anonymity that the online shopping offers.
TGForum: Has celebrity endorsement helped boost sales?
Mr. Perry: Caitlyn Jenner did mention us in her book The Secrets of My Life, and I am sure it helped to make new customers that read her book trust us. We were also involved with a mini-challenge on season five of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which I think helped to introduce the idea of breast forms and falsies to an audience who might not have known that such a thing even existed.
TGForum: Do you have transgender or crossdressers working for your company?
Mr. Perry: We do. We have one transgender person working in our U.K. office.
TGForum: How does your business give back to the community or to society?
Mr. Perry: Over the years, we have contributed in several ways to society and to the transgender community. Specifically, and most people do not know this, we own and pay to publish TGForum. We are also partners in BigCloset TopShelf which is a TG Fiction story site. We also help with hosting a suicide prevention site dedicated exclusively to transgender persons. In addition, we do our best to help with non-profit and community events, like Esprit, Tri-Ess, and Fantasia Fair.
TGForum: Do not get me wrong, I realize you have a serious business. But has any one situation or request really made you laugh?
Aphrodite Self-Adhering forms.
Mr. Perry: You always get a second take when explaining to someone that you sell artificial breasts. It is a great opportunity to provide education to those you meet about the communities that we work with, and that it is a truly diverse world. My brother-in-law, when his children were very young, used to meet with his sons’ teachers to explain to them that if the children blurted something about nipples or other body parts, that they were not trying to be vulgar, but it was simply part of the family business.
TGForum: As CEO, does anything about the company keep you up at night?
Mr. Perry: As for any CEO, when times are tough and you need to lay people off and figure out how to pay the bills, you tend to lose sleep. I have been at this role for over 10 years now, and for the most part we have been able to navigate hard times, but I cannot take all the credit. I have a good business partner and we have surrounded ourselves with good people.
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Category: Interview
About the Author (Author Profile)
Shelley Anne Baker has been part of the transsexual and transgender community for six years. Wandering about the California BDSM community, she finally found her stride in making the transition to dresses and high heels. Today, her women’s apparel, and shoes outnumbers her male apparel (that she just has to have for certain occasions, but such is life). She has seriously considered HRT, but now feels life has passed her by on that count. She is a professional writer and experienced corporate brand marketing and public relations consultant. For interview consideration and participation email Shelley Anne at [email protected].Subscribe
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