Recently my dear friend Angelica introduced me to what has become one of my new favorite shops in town. The Foundation: From Billie to Bettie. It’s a little shop located at 4831 SE Davision here in Portland that sells everything (and more) that I included in my Vintage Must Have Foundations Series (Read more on bullet bras, girdles, seamed stockings, slips, and crinolines).

If you’re a Portland gal who has ever been hesitant to purchase a bullet bra off the internet, then The Foundation is the place to go! Not only does the shop carry the What Katie Did bras, but a selection of new-old stock 1960s bras, all in addition to more modern bras.  When I walked in I felt like a kid in a candy store. Corsets, garters, stockings, girdles, bras, crinolines! Even pasties and tiny burlesque hats!  There is a wide array of shape-wear available, including vintage inspired Rago girdles.  There is also a large selection of stockings, crinolines of varying lengths, and steel boned corsets! Since I’ve been dying to own a steel boned corset since I was a freshman in high school, I went ahead and purchased one, along with a few bras.

And for those of you who have ever wanted to bring out your inner pin-up girl, shop owner, Tami has teamed up with Tammy Kravitz, a photographer who does classic boudoir and pin-up photos in their portrait studio.

Proprietress Tami is a wonderful gal who doesn’t just cater to the specialty market of bullet bras and corsets, but she also sells beautiful contemporary slips, sleepwear sets and panties. So there’s something for the vintage gal as well as the modern woman.  She was also very nice and patient with me when I was trying on my corset. She explained the best way to loosen the laces, how to properly fasten the front, and tighten the back.  The Foundation is open Wednesday through Sunday, twelve to seven.

What this all brings me to is a new series I am starting on bullet bras.  There are a few out there, and most with mixed reviews, so I figured I’d throw in my two-cents on various ones on the market.  So tune into tomorrow for the first in my new Bullet Bra Review Series!