Charlotte's 'doctor of bras' is in
Singer-turned-lingerie-fitter at SouthPark Mall has developed a cult-like following for her measurement prowess; 'I can just eyeball you'
The following article appeared in the Jan. 8, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Editor’s note: Peaches retired from her job at Nordstrom in February 2024 and has since moved into a new job in the lingerie department at Dillard’s in SouthPark Mall.
Nordstrom’s Julia Rich, better known as 'Peaches,’ can guess a woman’s bra size in seconds; She can also sing ‘Better Be Good to Me’ as if she were Tina Turner
Peaches has been a certified fit specialist at Nordstrom in SouthPark for 17 years. She learned how to fit women in the perfect-sized bra without needing to measure.
by Lindsey Banks
The fitting room at the Nordstrom lingerie department in SouthPark Mall is tucked into a back corner on the second floor. On busy days, it looks more like a waiting room at a doctor’s office during flu season.
“It’s like, ‘OK, next! You can step into my office,’” jokes Julia Rich, who is better known as “Peaches,” a nickname given to her in her youth by her mother.
Peaches, a certified lingerie fit specialist with 17 years of experience, thinks of herself as a “doctor of bras” — but not just because of her long list of clients.
She’s developed a special skill that has earned her celebrity status among her colleagues and given her a cult following: She can guess a woman’s bra size just by looking at her, taking a weight (quite literally) off their shoulders and giving them an instant confidence boost.
“Instead of bringing 100 bras to see which one will fit, I’ve been doing it so long, I can just eyeball you,” Peaches said. “If I don’t get it on the first try, I’m pretty damn close.”
Peaches is so good at her job that she’s often tasked with training and passing her wisdom down to new fit specialists, like Emma Stabel, 22, who has been working with her for over a year.
“Every single day, people come asking for her,” Stabel said.
Stabel shopped at Nordstrom with her mother when she was younger, and she remembers seeing Peaches running around the store. When Stabel showed up for her first day on the job, she says Peaches looked at her and guessed her bra size without any hesitation.
“She’s definitely made a name for herself,” Stabel said. “It’s very inspiring, like one day, maybe I could be somebody like that.”
A performer who supports other performers: Peaches has a few celebrity clients on her list, including Grammy-award-winning singer Stephanie Mills, Peaches says, and Quiana Parler, the lead singer for Ranky Tanky, a two-time Grammy award-winning band based out of Charleston.
Whenever the singers pass through Charlotte, they always stop by to see her at Nordstrom. Peaches can get them in and out of the store with what they need in a matter of minutes.
“If I can bless somebody with the right size and make them feel good, it makes it worth coming to work,” Peaches said.
Although she’s found purpose in her work as a fit specialist, it wasn’t always her dream job.
Peaches, who has been playing the piano since she was 3 years old, started her professional musical career in 1980 as a backup singer for an Elvis Presley impersonator in Las Vegas.
A more lucrative job offer came along as a Tina Turner and Diana Ross impersonator, and she took it, traveling the world with her group, The Gentlemen and Their Ladies, for 12 years. Peaches performed songs like “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross and “Better Be Good to Me” by Tina Turner on stages like the Manza Beach Hotel in Okinawa, Japan.
When her father fell ill, she took a job at the new Nordstrom store in her hometown of Norfork, Va., playing piano. After he passed away, Peaches and her daughter, Ashley, moved to Atlanta for about a year to play piano at Atlanta’s Nordstrom before moving to Charlotte in 2006.
The only job opening at Nordstrom in SouthPark was a lingerie fit specialist. Peaches had never had an interest in fitting women for lingerie before, but she needed a job.
It didn’t take her long to realize how much a woman’s confidence could improve by having a comfortable, supportive bra.
“I love making my ladies feel special and more confident about themselves,” Peaches said. “If they have the wrong size, everything just runs together — boobs, stomach, everything. But when you have the right size, it separates everything and gives you a waistline.”
‘All-Star’ fitting powers: When she first started, Peaches went through training to become certified by Nordstrom as a fit specialist. Now, she’s a “pacesetter” for Nordstrom, which means her sales exceed the annual goal for her department, and she’s received All-Star status, which means customers have sent positive feedback to Nordstrom about her.
“I’m the only one who doesn’t need to measure,” Peaches said. “It doesn’t take all day with me. That’s why a lot of people like to come to me because they’re in and out.”
It’s more than just about cup size, Peaches says. Understanding how and where the straps and band sit is just as important to ensure a comfortable fit. (The strap is the lift and the band is the support, Peaches told The Ledger over coffee one morning. The band should never sit high on the back; it should always be straight across all around the torso.)
“I have clients come in and say they don’t want underwire, and I’ll put an underwire on them and they go, ‘This is real comfortable,’ and I’ll tell them it’s underwire and they’ll go, ‘Wow,’” Peaches said.
Peaches declined to give her age but describes herself as “wonderfully mature.” She has no plans to retire anytime soon and hopes one day to work with women who are in the public light.
“I see a lot of anchorwomen [on TV], and their bras are bubbling up at the top,” Peaches said. “I would like to have a job like that and fit professional women.”
Peaches also isn’t giving up performing anytime soon — although these days, she performs for the “enjoyment and the stress-free purposes,” she said. She sings and plays piano at the Wine Shop at RiverGate in Steele Creek every Thursday from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Lindsey Banks is a staff reporter for The Ledger: lindsey@cltledger.com
🛍️ If you’re interested in experiencing Peaches’s special bra-fitting powers, you can make an appointment with her at Nordstrom.com. (Select “Julia” when prompted to choose a staff member.)
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman