Monday, December 1, 2008

Mmm, fine washables, what?

Awhile ago, Quigs and I went bra shopping together. We ended up in the upper-end bra store in town where the check out person was telling us how washing our bras with Tide would ruin them. Apparently there is special bra washing detergent...and that we're supposed to wash our bras in a special lingerie bag. 

I scoffed. Quigs looked ready to bolt. We'd been wearing bras for longer than we hadn't been wearing them. And no one, no one had ever told us anything about what has developed into I guess a whole bra science exposed by Oprah and other talk show hosts.

To be clear, I don't buy bras that cost a lot of money. I buy them on sale. Buy one get one free. They're not flashy. 

But after X-man was born, my body shape changed drastically. I find that it's still changing and things that fit right 6 months ago don't now. They're tight in some places and loose in others now, where they might have fit just fine then.

Anyway, I went into Nordstrom's to get sized when X-man was 10 months old and had my own creeped out bra buying experience. It was a shockingly unpleasant experience, even for a woman who'd let it all hang out during birth.

I've never taken anyone into a dressing room with me. Hell, even my mother stood outside. So to have her be behind me, measuring my naked chest and then holding the bra in front of me so I could put my arms in the holes and she could latch me up was insane.  Then she put her hands in front of me, inserted them into the bra and "scooped" my breasts into place.

Besides the emotional scarring,  I found my size, bought some insanely expensive bra that she showed me (like $59) and got the hell out of there. 

I still have that bra. It still looks decent. It still fits okay, even though I've washed it with Tide.... but all the other cheaper ones I've bought since have stretched out or become uncomfortable. And now I'm wondering if I should dig in deep into my pockets and buy a set of the more expensive kind to see if I can get more wear out of them. 

Maybe it's gravity of my ginormous ta-tas weighing the material down. I've known other people who have worn the same bras for years. Or maybe my body is just randomly changing... 

But maybe I'll even spend a few extra bucks on the prettier ones... Is that completely silly? I guess I just haven't been feeling very pretty lately. And I wonder if I got out of my "mommy" clothes if that would change?





8 comments:

Quigs78 said...

LOL

I've changed my ways since that day. Mostly because I spent more on that one bra than I have on all of my bras total since I was 12. I still wash them in the washing machine with my regular detergent, but - wait for it - I HANG IT TO DRY. I know. Drastic changes in my laundry routine. (Also a little embarrassing because it's been seen hanging in my laundry room when visitors are in my family room.)

And while those bras are pretty, I think they're a waste now. I used to wear the pretty, matchy-matchy bras and underwear when the husband and I were dating, but he's stuck now. My Hanes Her Way have the same effect as the pricey ones, so I don't even bother. :P

Quigs78 said...

And she doesn't look seductive or sexy in those pictures. She looks like she's uncomfortable and that she's pissed that she spent too much on her bras. ;)

Unknown said...

I have a couple Wacoal bras from CY that are the cat's meow. I like them SO much more than my lane bryant brand bras.

Misc said...

I'm with you. I cringe spending more than $12 on a bra, but after Flynn weaned from breastfeeding I went on a spree at Victoria's Secret. I'd never spent more than $20 on a bra before, but I've sort of been converted.

After my weight loss, my bra size certainly changed. I no longer have my large-ish size - I'm back to what I wore in h.s. and college. I've found that cheaper bras just don't fit very well. If I buy the size I wear it's still too big around. So, now I only buy my bras from VS and only when they're on sale.

And I wash them in the washer w/reg. detergent (7th generation or Method) and hang them to dry.

~rachel~ said...

We had a garage sale a few months ago and my mom and some lady started talking about bra's, just as this woman was walking up. She said she only shops at VS- and then proceeded to lift up her shirt to show my mom (and everyone else) her bra! I'm guessing she wouldn't mind being in the dressing room with that women!

The most I've spent was on my nursing bra's w/ Rowan- but I hated them and never wore them. Quigs told me wqal-mart sells them so that's what I bought this time for like $10. I would like to get fitted to find out what size I should wear- maybe when Eli's done nursing.

The Fearless Freak said...

I wouldn't mind getting fitted just know what I'm "supposed" to wear but there is no way in hell, I'm spending that much money on bras! I LOVE my Playtex ones from Target, one that I bought when RF threatened to burn my old ones that were full of holes, when TB was about 18 months old. I liked it so well, I went back a few months later and got another one.

I have a Lane Bryant bra and I call it my torture bra because it is seriously solid. Even though it doesn't have an underwire (hate hate hate underwire and padding), it is still heavy and feels like I'm strapping on a bullet proof vest. I only wear it when the others aren't clean.

And I wash everything in Tide and put it in the dryer. If it isn't able to be washed and dried like noraml, it isn't allowed in my house. I don't have time for all that.

I also don't worry about pretty or matchy matchy. I figured if someone didn't like that my stuff didn't match, they were welcome to not be looking under my clothes anymore! LOL

Laura Wells said...

I know about not feeling pretty--it happens to moms alot. Especially if we can wear jeans and a T-shirt everywhere we go. I find that a pretty new outfit (not necessarily expensive) or a little pampering at the salon do a lot more to boost my ego than expensive bras.

-B. said...

I've been in the whatever about a bra camp for a long time (except for my VS phase in college). Hell, I didn't even bother buying a new bra while I was pregnant. But I recently broke down and bought $$$ nursing bras from Nordstrom. And you know what? They are the best damn fitting bras I've ever owned. My breats feel comfy and supported. I don't think I ever realized what I was missing out on before. But because they were so $$$ you better believe I wash them in a lingerie bag and line dry them.