AnaOno Founder Dana Donofree Designs Beautiful Lingerie for Breast Cancer Survivors

AnaOno Founder Dana Donofree

Bra shopping can be a frustrating experience when you can’t find anything pretty that actually fits you right. This can be especially true for those who don’t fit common sizes or have unique needs. AnaOno is a sexy intimates and loungewear brand that changes the game with inclusive styles thoughtfully crafted by a breast cancer survivor to fit women of all sizes and from all walks of life. 

Founder Dana Donofree launched the intimates brand to make her feel sexy again after her own breast cancer diagnosis at age 27. Whether you have no breasts, one breast, fake breasts, or natural breasts, the styles are created to make you feel beautifully different.

AnaOno’s latest launch, “Underneath,” hopes to give women strength, empowerment, and loving care to show you that “no matter what's underneath, you are WORTHY, you are BEAUTIFUL, you are SEXY.” Styles from the collection include Gloria Pocketed Wirefree Bra ($54), LA’ Babydoll ($58), Beth High Waist Brief ($20), and Sarah Crop Cami ($48).

What chatted with AnaOne Founder to learn more about her journey to launching the brand and its unique offerings.

Can you share a little about your journey to launching AnaOno?

I started AnaOno after my own bout with breast cancer at the age of 27. When I was diagnosed over 10 years ago, finding something that fit was hard enough, let alone something that allowed me to feel beautiful, empowered, and strong I knew there had to be more to life after my breast surgery. Being fit into matronly mastectomy bras was not going to cut it for me, so I took my decade plus of fashion design experience and started designing bras that were beautiful and fit my new and different body. 

What I didn’t realize was how this was affecting so many of us that lost our breasts to our cancer diagnosis, so I went from a tiny Etsy store to an online boutique! I knew that I was different, I just didn’t realize that being different was going to be such a pain in my everyday life, and I wanted to celebrate my new body because I wanted to feel beautiful again. Cancer takes away so much, I wasn’t going to let it take away my expression of myself as well. 

What are some of the unique options that you offer that might be harder for cancer survivors to find? Is there anything that makes your bras especially comfortable for those with unique needs?

I started by designing bras that were underwire free, had no molded cups that would gap and pucker in places where my nipples used to be, and pocketed to use breast forms or other insert pads for balance and asymmetry. I knew I needed a different bra, designed with my unique needs in mind, and finding that in traditional lingerie stores was nearly impossible.

I was designing bralettes before we even thought of it as a trend, still very much in the “push-up” era. When you have reconstruction, or use a breast form, “push-up” is no longer an option, so I knew I needed to design something comfortable and attractive, something that every woman struggles to find in the bra market. And to add to that, I wanted to be as inclusive as possible, I like to call it boob-inclusion, because if you have one breast, two breasts, no breasts, or new breasts, there is an AnaOno to fit YOUR body. 

What are some of your most popular styles and do you have a favorite?

This is like asking a mother who her favorite kid is! And of course she has one! But really, I feel lucky to be a customer and the designer, I don’t ever make a bra that I can’t wear myself. I wear-test every design for days or weeks on end and I am constantly tweaking them to ensure the highest level of comfort.

I love our new sport bras --this was a category I found so many challenges in the market, because sport bras are meant to squeeze natural breast tissue so it doesn’t move, and that just caused me loads of unnecessary pain, and I am IN LOVE with the new sexy intimates. Feeling sexy in the bedroom is a challenge that so many of us have anyways, but imagine mastectomy scars, missing nipples, incisions. These all add up and can tear you down over time, so now we have something intimate and feminine to celebrate these marks with someone that loves you (or hey, even just yourself!).

Do you have any upcoming launches that we should have on our radar? 

It is my honor to continue to design and offer unique solutions for those of us that don’t fit the “mold” of a typical two-breasted person, so to continue to launch new items, expand our collections, and provide even more bra solutions is always my goal. I am super excited to have expanded our underwear offering so you can complete the underwear drawer with matching sets! And to get the undies 50% off when adding them with a bra is a huge plus, it’s just my little way of saying, “Treat yourself, YOU DO DESERVE IT!” Celebrating the simple things in life can make a huge difference! 

[Images courtesy of AnaOno]

Lizzy Sherman is an award-winning digital content writer/editor. She has been a featured guest speaker at Cal State University Northridge, Digital LA and The National Association of Audience Marketing Professionals. When she's not writing, Lizzy enjoys yoga and playi