Next month, Marks & Spencer is going to launch the first major high street lingerie collection for women with breast cancer, who have undergone surgery. Sheelagh Barron, 50, who was told that she had breast cancer two-and-a-half years ago, helped encourage M&S's decision to create this line of lingerie after she wrote a letter to the chief executive. Stuart Rose. In her letter, she explained that she handled her mastectomy quite well, until she walked through Marks & Spencer's lingerie department, and couldn't find a bra to fit her, despite them having a small line of "post surgery" bras:
"I suppose everyone has a moment when they realize the enormity of what’s hit them. I felt totally disenfranchised and bawled my eyes out. I wrote to Stuart Rose and said: ‘We women support M&S and we’re there for the long haul. You should give something back’".
After receiving Sheelagh's letter, Stuart Rose then contacted the Breakthrough Breast Cancer organization, and together, they have created a lingerie line for women with breast cancer, that Soozie Jenkinson, the head of design for lingerie, says will allow women to feel feminine, and most importantly: comfortable."We ensured that all the components...had a soft, cool feel with no rubbing or itching. The centre front of the garment has to be relatively wide, the underarm wing slightly wider than normal size to keep a prosthesis in place, and the fabric not too stretchy."
M&S's new line will sell 12 styles, some with matching pants, as well as one-pieces and tank-style bikinis; all available at Argyle Street, Glasgow, Mary Street, Dublin, and the Marble Arch branch on Oxford Street. Online shopping is available, and 10% of the bra's sale price will be donated to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.