Friday, April 15, 2011

Holy Double D-cups, Batman!

In my house growing up, my mom and I had a running joke with my stepdad. If we were discussing something vaguely girly-like, we would just tell him we were talking about "bras and panties" and he would leave. So, warning: this post is about bras and panties. The menfolk might want to vamoose.

As previously mentioned, last night I was invited to my best blogger freebie event to date: a gathering sponsored by undergarment company Wacoal where I got my boobs measured and ended up with a free bra. Prior to the event, I had the following conversation with my husband:
Me: So, I'm excited to get a free bra because it's like a $50 value.

Bill: No way, bras come in like a six-pack for $10, like underwear.

Me: No, I'd say $50 is about the average cost for a bra. I do have some that were on sale at Target for $15, but it's not unheard of for bras to cost in the hundreds of dollars.

Bill: No way!

And it went on like this. He, a person who has presumably never purchased nor worn a bra, insisted that he knew more about the cost of bras than I did, even though I have been buying and wearing bras for years.

Oh well, that conversation gave me a good anecdote to tell at the Wacoal event.

So, the deal on the event was that a bunch of way-more-influential bloggers and I huddled together in a small hotel room where they had some fancy cheeses and a bar. And then each person got called, one at a time, to go get her boobs measured in a little room by a stranger. After we found out our bra sizes, we got a form to order a bra in that size, which would later be shipped to our homes.

Now, let me say I was very grateful for the bar part, because networking with strangers and having my boobs touched by another stranger are not two activities that rank high on my comfort list. So I was glad for a little liquid courage at the event.

But everybody else was very nice, and I even passed out a few of my pretty new springlike business cards. As a side note, I'm also not a natural business-card-hander. You know, like people who just have business cards like they're an extension of their own arms?

So, after eating more than my share of cheese and brownies (What? It was my Weight Watchers bonus 49 points day!), it was my turn with the measurement lady. And here's the shocker ...

It turns out I should be wearing a DD cup.

I have always purchased C-cup bras. And I have always had a self-image based on being a wearer of C-cup bras. Like, seriously, I have never thought of myself as a bigger-boobed person. I just throw on any old sports bra to work out, because I figured as a medium-breasted woman I didn't need to worry that much about support.

So now my whole self-image is destroyed. Apparently I have large breasts. As in, the largest breasts for which you can buy a regular bra in the "average figure" section. But I think maybe when I lose weight (I've taken to saying when and not if), my boobs will probably shrink.

Which is a shame, because thanks to last night's event, I will finally have a nice, not-purchased-from-Target bra in the correct size. Oh, and somewhat disappointingly, I had to get a bra with wide, padded straps, which is something I kind of associate with old ladies. But apparently those are the kind of straps that come on big-ass DD bras.

Also, I have never, not once, owned a bra where the straps didn't fall down from my abnormally-sloped shoulders. According to Bra-Fitter Sue, that is because I should be wearing a bra where the straps are somewhat contoured in the back, like this:

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So, that's the back view of my new Wacoal bra.

I was a little bit disappointed that Wacoal didn't give me a free bra to give away in a contest to you guys. Apparently you needed to bring a blogging friend to the event in order to get another bra to give away. I tried to pretend this random woman next to me was my friend, but the Wacoal lady wasn't buying it. So, sorry you guys, I don't have any bras for you.

I do want to give a shout-out to my mom for teaching me how to correctly get your breasts into a bra in the dressing room. Fitter Sue told me to bend over and grab the cups while you shake your boobies until they're situated, and I told her I already knew how to do that because my mom taught me. Tina Fey says her mom fitted her for her first bra by trying the bra on her outside of her clothes. So, my mom is awesome.

1 comment:

Katie said...

I would just like to point out to Bill that women's underwear is also not 6 for $10.

Wish I could have gotten you that second bra!