38 vs 40

I may have to apologize before you read any further into this post. I went bra shopping today and it did not go well. Here's a good synopsis of how it went.

Now I want to apologize to any and all people who read this little 'ole blog who have known or experienced the loss of a loved one due to suicide, but seriously bra shopping has to top swim suit shopping in regards to killing any self esteem you may have.

What makes this awful experience worse was the sales girl who was helping Mom and I. Yes, I went bra shopping with my mom. She did just enough to be considered helpful, but only just. So sales girl 'measures' me. 38 around the torso (yay!) and a DD around the girls. Um? Ok, you're the one holding the tape measure.

So we grab 4 bras (gotta love buy 2 get 2 free sales) and I say as I'm about to put on the first bra - Wow this is really small. The cups are tiny. I had no idea how right I was. T.I.N.Y.

The girls produced a better mushroom than Pennsylvania. So I ask Mom to go get some 38DDD's. Still no dice. Mom please go back out there and ask if they have a 38F. Mom says are you sure you don't want to try a 40. No, I don't want to try a 40 because I've been wearing 40's and 42's and they don't fit well. Please go find a 38F.

Mom comes back and says that the sales girl says they don't make a 38F, so she hands me a 40DD and a 40DDD. Neither fit. I mean they fit around me, but not as well as the 38 and the girls do not fit in them. Sigh.

Mom goes back out and asks the sales girl  if there's anything in the store that will fit my girls. The ever-so-helpful sales girl says no. Then low and behold Mom comes back with a 38F and a 40F. I thought they didn't make them that big. Mom says, "I just found one. So I don't know." We try the 38 on and again the band fits great, but the cup is almost there. I try on the 40F and it fits. Its a little loose in the band, but the girls fit. Hallelujah!

So I find 4 bras that fit and we go on our merry way - $115 later. WTF? The convertible bra I bought (for a wedding this weekend) costs $70. WTF? Sheesh. Sigh. Again, on our merry way. On the way out, what do I spy? A 38G. SERIOUSLY! A G would fit me and the band will fit better than the 40.

Guess what I'm doing before Saturday. Yep, going back to Lane Bryant and trying on that 38G and if it fits better than my 40F's guess what's getting exchanged.

Yay for customer service.

Now, I know that a 40F and a 38G are basically the same damn bra, but 38 is a much nicer number than 40. I've been a 40. I've been a 40DDD and it was in 2007. I'd like to be smaller than that, considering I weigh less now than I did then and I certainly don't want to spend $115 on bras only to not have them fit in about 3 wearings because the elastic has been broken in. Grumble.