'I was sick of showing my cleavage during meetings': Lobbyist designs modest shirt

'I was sick of showing my cleavage during meetings': Washington lobbyist designs a white shirt that CAN cover a women's modesty

By DANIEL BATES

Last updated at 12:35 PM on 4th July 2011

As a Washington lobbyist, she was always did her best to ensure she looked the part.

But Rochelle Behrens soon discovered that she was regularly becoming undone - by her own shirt.

The 28-year-old, who describes herself as 'buxom', found that every white shirt she bought tended to gape open at unfortunate moments.

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Rochelle Behrens, who describes herself as 'buxom', found that every white shirt she bought tended to gape open at unfortunate moments

During a board meeting, male colleagues would be shown too much of her décolletage when a button gave way of its own accord.

On other occasions, she would be openly mocked for giving the guys an unintentional glimpse of her bra.

The 28-year-old has quit her job as a Washington lobbyist to focus on The Shirt, her gape-proof invention

In frustration, Ms Behrens, who had no experience as a fashion designer, set about making a shirt that would solve her problem - and that of all women like her.

The result is The Shirt, which has recently been featured on the Oprah Winfrey show as one of 'five things to have in 2011'.

Ms Behrens has now quit her job as a lobbyist and hopes to sell 10,000 of the shirts by the end of the year.

'The one item in a woman’s wardrobe that is supposed to project professionalism ends up undermining your credibility,' she said.

'I wanted it to be youthful, to be fresh. I wanted it to look like myself. I wanted to wear things that were not form-fitting but that were tailored.

'And no matter how much I spent, button-down shirts never fit across the bust. I would safety-pin my shirts from inside.'

Innovative: Rochelle was tired of always exposing herself from gapes in her shirt so decided to design her own

Ms Behrens began spending all her free time working on a design and aligning the buttons so they allowed just enough of her cleavage to show, but not too much.

She found a pattern maker in New York who worked with Diane Von Furstenberg, tracked down a manufacturer in Spain and has now put it on sale.

The Shirt is now on sale via the-shirt.com along with Bloomingdales and boutiques nationwide.

Posing: One of Rochelle Behrens' new shirts - which doesn't leave her exposed

Good fit: The shirt is now on sale via the-shirt.com along with Bloomingdales and various boutiques

There are four options which cost from $88 to $94 including the classic model and one with tie in a bow around the neck - to ensure no man can even get a peek.

Sartorial slip-ups for women are rare in Washington but the most memorable was in 2007 when Hillary Clinton exposed a little to much of her chest on the Senate floor.

The offending blouse was never seen again.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2010864/The-Shirt-Rochelle-Behrens-designs-white-shirt-CAN-cover-womens-modesty.html#ixzz1R8msRVW5