Back bulge be gone
A fledgling designer is reshaping the bra through the success of her Sassybax, an undergarment designed to hide "back flab."
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published March 3, 2005
Amanda Horan Kennedy noticed her back bulges a couple of years ago when she was trying to wear a form-fitting cashmere sweater.
Frustrated with the lumpy outline, she cut the legs off a pair of control-top panty hose and pulled the waist over her torso, covering her bra and the bulges.
"It was pretty darn ugly without my sweater on," said Kennedy, a size 8 who is in her 40s. "From the back though, I was totally smooth."
Many women may examine their rear for telltale pantylines, but their eyes will hardly venture up to check their bra lines.
No worries: Kennedy has got their back.
Last year, she introduced Sassybax, a back-slimming bra designed to eliminate the bra bulge. She sold $1-million worth in the first year to Neiman Marcus and hundreds of lingerie stores and online retailers.
The bras are now found in six department and specialty stores in the Tampa Bay area, including Odile's in Safety Harbor, Figure Fair in St. Petersburg and Neiman Marcus and Well-Heeled Well-Dressed in Tampa. The stores have had the product for only a few months and some say they are sold out or running low.
Sassybax, which come in small to extra large, are made of 96 percent microfiber nylon and 4 percent Lycra spandex. There are no hooks and no seams. You step in them and pull them over your hips.
The bras are in Bralette and Torso Trim styles. They offer enough support for light exercise such as Pilates, yoga and walking, Kennedy said.
Dana Hater, a personal trainer at Shapes in South Tampa, said the back is one of those stubborn problem areas for women. She equates it to the spare tire men have around their waists.
Cardio exercise and eating healthy aren't enough to get rid of back flab, she said. A woman would need to do rear deltoid exercises as well, and even that is no guarantee.
"It tends to be one of the weaker muscles because we hold our shoulders forward," said Hater. "It can definitely be improved with some row or reverse-fly exercises that target the area."
But women seem to be choosing Sassybax over those back exercises.
Last fall, the bra was featured on ABC's Good Morning America, in a segment where Lucky magazine fashion editor Liz Kiernan showed Diane Sawyer how Sassybax becomes virtually invisible even under a snug sweater.
"Since (creating) the bra, I have a lot of women say to me, "Wow, I hate that about bras. I never knew what to do,' " said Kennedy, who co-starred in the television series B.J. and the Bear under the name Barbara Horan.
Odile de Candia, who owns Odile's, said she started out with 24 bras. She has only two left. She ordered 96 more Sassybax last month, and then another 24 in the extra-large sizes. She was told the bras are on back order and she won't have them until this month.
Deena Ewing was lucky. She bought a Torso Trim style from Odile's before the store ran out of her size.
Ewing, who wears a C cup, said she had always thought about her bra-created love handles. She refused to wear a girdle, and another garment she purchased to hide the fat was so tight she couldn't breathe.
"I was pleasantly surprised," said Ewing, 50, who lives in Palm Harbor. "It seems like a very light, modern-day apparatus that is comfortable, affordable and certainly does seem to do the trick. The bra part is very comfortable, too."
Elaine Sleigh of Pinellas Park said she had been trying for years to hide her back flab. But finding something to eliminate the flab and support her D-sized chest wasn't easy. She recently purchased a Sassybax.
"Whenever I wear bras, the straps are always falling down, and it's never fitting right," said Sleigh. "You never get that nice, fine line. I put on the Sassybax, and I said, "Gosh. All my problems are gone now.' "
Sassybax does more than hide the bulge, said Dorry Rice, owner of Figure Fair in St. Petersburg.
She has sold the bras to travelers who want to avoid setting off the metal detector with their bra underwire. She also recommends the bra for people with rib injuries because they can step into a Sassybax, rather than hooking it around the breast bone.
Kennedy said she is amazed at her success.
A former Miss Texas and full-time actor, she had no background in fashion design when she came up with Sassybax. She made a drawing, sent it to a friend who sewed the product, and then found a factory to manufacture the bra. The bra went through 50 prototypes.
She worried women wouldn't pay $65 for a Sassybax, especially since Victoria's Secret bras cost half as much.
But she now understands the cost of making, marketing and selling the product. She operates the business from her Southern California home, with her garage serving as the warehouse.
Kennedy is planning to introduce a few new styles this spring, including underwire versions in Torso Trim and Bralette, an underwire strapless bra and a Racerback version. A Sassymax, one with silicone inserts for augmentation, is expected in the fall.
She said she may do matching panties one day.
But for now, she wants to continue watching women's backs with the Sassybax. She wears the Bralette version every day.
"Once in a blue moon, to see if I am still accurate, I will put on one of the underwires, because I did save a few," she said. "At first, when I put it on, I will say, "This isn't uncomfortable.' But after about three hours, I'll be like, "I can't wait to get this off.' "
- Megan Scott can be reached at 727 445-4167 or mscott@sptimes.com