Bra Shopping

I don't know about other women, but I don't particularly like bra shopping. Shoe shopping is another thing I abhor, but unlike bra shopping, you are unlikely to walk away with the wrong size of shoe. Unless, you have feet of completely different sizes. Actually, a friend of mine wished shoes were sold separately (i.e., not in pairs) because she has one foot at least half a size bigger than the other. But, I digress.

Bra shopping is annoying for many reasons. First, it is comparable to swimsuit shopping (or any type of shopping that requires trying on a garment), in that if you don't find a flattering style, it can make you feel less than happy about your body shape.

Second, bras, like many clothes items, seem to fit differently depending on the make. You might think you know what size you are, but it could be quite different for each brand of bra. 85% of women do not wear the right fitting bra. Could this be because even though we have tried to learn how to measure ourselves, we still can't pick out the right size without "expert" advice? Oprah does her bra show, and we see how every woman is wearing the wrong type of bra, but we still can't pick out the right bra for ourselves.

Third, bras are expensive. I usually buy cheap bras. Well, what I consider cheap are the $25 ones from LaSenza. They often don't fit me well, but I hate spending the time going through all the styles, trying to find a bra suited to my body type. After about a year, the underwires start poking out, and I have to chuck them, or sew the hole shut. The sewing thing usually just staves off the inevitable, of having to chuck them, for another couple of months.

What am I getting at here? I went bra shopping today, and it was relatively painless, except for the fact that it hit me in my wallet. I spent about $100 on one bra. It is a great bra, very flattering, and presumably the right size and fit for my body, but I did spend $100 on one bra. (Chantelle: Style 3858)

Before my wedding, I used to buy bras at the department store, or places like LaSenza and La Vie en Rose. I always bought a 38B. I don't know how I got that size. I don't remember ever measuring myself and saying, I must be a 38B, but that was the size I was buying for almost 15 years.

When I went to buy my wedding bra, I was fitted by a woman at a lingerie shop. She told me I was not a 38B, but a 36 B/C. I spent $150 on my wedding bra. It was a LeJaby (look at me name dropping bra brands!) I still wear it. It is a very flattering bra, but the underwire is starting to poke through it it as well. Apparently, you are supposed to hand wash your bras. Not likely to happen when you are a mother of two young children.

For the past three and a half years, I have either been wearing LaSenza bras much bigger than my regular size, or nursing bras because I have either been pregnant or nursing. Now that my son is a year old, I have been trying to find flattering bras in my collection at home, without much luck.

I went back to the lingerie shop, and presumably the same woman was able to measure me with her hands, and pick out three well fitting and flattering bras in a matter of minutes. I am now a 34D, but could be a 32 in some brands, and a different cup size. See what I mean about needing expert help?

Yes, I did spend quite a lot of money on one bra, but I also saved a lot of time. I was in and out of the shop in about 15 minutes. If I go to LaSenza, I often have to spend up to an hour finding a bra that fits, and I am usually just fed up, not satisfied, at the end of the ordeal. It is often an ordeal.

My experience today was pleasant, if not enjoyable. The woman helping me out said I was very easy to fit. She was finding bras flattering to my shape, and they looked great under my clothes. When you shop at a specialty store, you are also paying for the service as well as the product. I am not likely to hand wash this bra either, but I will certainly be more gentle with it than I would be with my LaSenza bras.

I guess you have to look at it this way. My bra may have cost 4Xs more than the bras I usually buy, but I probably won't have to go shopping for a new bra as often. In the long run, I probably spend just as much when I buy cheaper bras because they are not as well made, and don't last as long. We often get what we pay for.