Fit for the Cure accomplishes both goals

SOUTH COAST PLAZA — The bra and lingerie department at Nordstrom was bustling with women Saturday, but it wasn’t just an average busy weekend shopping day.

For every woman that was fitted for a Wacoal, Donna Karan Intimates or DKNY Underwear bra, $4 was donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, which raises money for breast cancer research.

And for the women who shelled out the cash — another $2 was donated in their names.

The Fit for the Cure event’s purpose was two-fold: donate money to help find a cure for breast cancer and help women find out their correct bra size.

Eight out of 10 women apparently wear the wrong size bra, so “they” say, Wacoal sales consultant and Balboa Peninsula resident Trudi Marinovich said Saturday.

But she and the company wanted to test that theory they had heard so many times. So for two years when they’ve held this event around the country — this is the sixth year for the event — people like Marinovich kept tabs on every woman they correctly sized.

“It turned out to be true,” Marinovich said.

Wearing the right-sized bra can help clothes fit better, Marinovich said. Sandi Gonsalves of Turlock, Calif., happened upon the event at Nordstrom Saturday while shopping.

After deciding to have a fitting, she was amazed to find she was wearing the wrong size bra.

“I’m so happy I did,” she said, writing her information on a the Susan G. Komen for the Cure sign-up sheet. “Plus it’s a great cause.”

Many people made appointments for the event, which was on Friday and Saturday at the department store, but many, like Gonsalves, simply walked by and decided to help out.

“It just makes people more aware,” Huntington Beach resident and Susan G. Komen volunteer Rhonda Farkas said.

Farkas, who wore a shirt that said “One in Seven” — the amount of women with breast cancer — volunteered Saturday at the event, making sure people who received a fitting signed their names so Wacoal would donate $2 in their name.

Nordstrom matched the fitting donation.

People who missed this weekend’s event can gear up for the next one, which will be right before Mother’s Day in May at Macy’s.

For more information, visit www.komen.org .