If you are going to be in an earthquake, it doesn’t hurt to be in a bra bar. Then if you are hit with projectiles, you won’t be dented, scratched or mutilated.

We were with Tracy Moore, host of Cityline, the morning lifestyle show, at the Bayview Village location of Linea Intima lingerie boutique when the earth moved. Moore is 7 months pregnant with her second child, due Aug. 22. Her son Sidney was born in April 2008.

The shop stocks sizes from pancake to va va voom — cups A to H. Cityline shot a health and wellness segment on maternity bra-fitting at the store a month earlier, and owner Liliana Mann fitted Moore with a beautiful lacy, black non-maternity bra.“I really didn’t appreciate the difference a proper fitting made,” Moore allows. “When I came in here in a maternity bra, my boobs were maa waa waa,” she says, making a sagging sign. “The audience loved it after the new bra, especially when I said, ‘Look, no bouncing.’ ”

Mann doesn’t approve of maternity bras. She feels maternity-specific bras do not fit or support as well as regular well-designed bras. They dig into shoulders because the breasts enlarge and the expectant mother has enough stress on the back already. Go larger in a cup instead.

“The breast is not a muscle; it is composed of glandular tissue and fat and responds to weight change and age,” she explains. “It needs to be supported.”

As Oprah and countless others have informed us, most women wear the wrong size bras.

“You exercise, take pills, go through menopause, gain weight and lose weight,” Mann says. “You need to change your bra. In clothes, if size 4 is too small, you go to size 6. In bras, if you are a 32B, you don’t necessarily go to 34C. It could be too big around the back or the cup is too small.”

Mann stresses the importance of fittings, especially after a pregnancy or mastectomy.

“You start sagging when you lose the weight so it is important to come in after breast feeding.”

Moore intends to work right until the end. “I’ll break water on air,” she jokes.

She will have been on the show for two years come October. She has been working on TV since 2001, doing internships at CTV, CBC and Toronto One before joining Breakfast Television as a reporter in 2005.

Born in Toronto and raised in Richmond Hill, she always thought she’d be a newscaster.

“In grade 2, I would have said Solid Gold Dancer,” she laughs. “Cityline is an awesome gig. I love my job. The live audience is the best part: it’s instant reaction. I came from the news side; very serious. If I were covering the G20, I’d be in the middle of the protest. I did political science and history and worked on a radio show at McGill.”

Cityline, currently in its 25th year, covers home decor, food, fashion, health and beauty and Moore loves it all — especially fashion and particularly shoes. She is wearing a fabulous pair of blue and fuchsia pumps by Nine West.

“The last time I was pregnant, I turned into Shrek, my feet swelled so much.”

Moore is not afraid of colour, even though she is dressed in black. “I like colour; black is very rare for me,” she insists. “I like coral, blue, green and yellow. Liliana found me a fuchsia bra.

“I’m girly; I’m 7 months pregnant and still in heels. I’ll wear heels until the end, just like with my first baby. I dress for my figure: high-waisted pants, pencil skirts, frilly blouses and chunky jewellery. I’m curvy: I have a bust, a bum and a waist. Mad Men is a good era for me.”

She shops for clothes for Cityline at Freda’s.

“I haven’t gone to maternity wear though I have two pairs of mat jeans,” she says. “I shop H&M and Zara and mix high and low. I do Banana Republic and Bebe. I’ll buy leather jackets at Value Village for fall and spring — I don’t care about labels or sizing. I wear whatever fits.”

But Moore draws the line at miniskirts.

“I’m a box store buyer,” she insists. “I’m not trying to break the bank. I don’t pay for a label. My husband (a journalist) is thankful for that.”

That said, she loves Canadian designers Greta Constantine and Joeffer Caoc.

After Moore exits to put up her feet, Mann fits Store Gazing with a lacy black bra and she really knows her stuff — or her stuffing.

We also buy one in fuchsia.

There are four other Linea Intima locations in Ontario. Visit www.lineaintima.com.

ritazekas@rogers.com