The Daylilie Story
Chapter 1: Daylilie started with my body.
Hi! I'm Manuella, a recreational climber. I've always had broad shoulders and a strong back. And while it's something I wear proudly, I was only able to do so in recent years.
A big part of how I felt about my body came down to how my bras fit, because my back tissue would always spill out in a way that felt both uncomfortable and unflattering.
I also have a smaller breast size. So while bras pinched across and around my back, cups gaped at the front.
It was a constant tradeoff and so I am left choosing either compressive sports bras that feel restrictive for everyday wear, or bralettes that feel junior and frumpy.
Chapter 2: Silhouette, not size.
I'm also only 5'4" and 120 pounds - by no means an edge case. By every standard metric, I am a size that fashion designs for. So why is fit such a challenge?
That's when it hit me: what if size was never the whole story?
I'm a biochemist by training, so naturally, I investigated. I left QR codes in university washrooms linking to a survey, asking women about their bra struggles and body shape, not just their cup size. The women who responded left their numbers. So I called them.
What struck me most was how they described their struggles. They didn't complain about not being able to find the right size for themselves. They talked about their body parts: specifically the shoulders, upper backs, traps, and lats.
Chapter 3: The fitting that changed everything
I met with a veteran apparel designer. She studied my bone structure, fat distribution, and stature. Then she said something nobody in a fitting room had ever said to me:
"Your shoulders are a size 8. Your waist is a size 6."
That was it. That was the whole problem — finally named. And that's when we got to work.
