MY LEAST FAVORITE THING TO SHOP FOR

Saturday was one of those odd days where Michael got up at the same time as me and we both ended up doing the grocery shopping. The original plan was for me to get him up when I got home from grocery shopping so we could go to early voting at Union Station. The new plan included a car wash and tag teaming grocery shopping (tag teaming grocery shopping means, I get most of the things on the list while Michael roams around the store grabbing things not on the list). Groceries purchased and put away, we finally headed to Union Station, parking at Crown Center because parking is free on Saturdays and we can walk the sky walk over to the station.

We wandered around Union Station looking for the polling place which turned out to be closed, and while we were walking, I told Michael about the bra I had on because the one I wear all week is in the washer. He stops and says “Wait. You wear the same bra everyday? This is unacceptable. Where do you buy bras?” and he immediately pulls out his phone to start looking up places to buy underwear, finding a boutique near by. I voiced my concerns about bra shopping but I couldn’t tell if he was not listening or just flat out ignoring me, because we got on the streetcar anyway and rode it a few blocks up the street. The closer we got to the store, the more anxious I became about even looking into the store window let alone stepping inside. This is not a department store or Target (where my last bit of lingerie was purchased). This is a BOUTIQUE, the kind of place you make an appointment to go to. Walk ins are welcome, but it’s better to make an appointment. I did not have an appointment. I did not have any business walking into this store. Michael sort of shoved me through the door and said “I’ll be back in a bit. Have fun!” It was not unlike any time I’ve ever dropped Josephine off at the groomer’s or that time Talaura shoved a cookie into my hands while pushing me off the bus at the airport in NY so there would not be goodbye tears.

The boutique, Birdie’s, is tiny and filled with beautiful bits of ethically sourced lingerie displayed in old glass and wood cases and at first I didn’t know where to start, but the woman behind the counter stepped up. She asked me a few questions about what I needed in a day-to-day bra and then she measured me. She pinned closed the curtain, sealing me into the tiny dressing room and then came back with a handful of lacy bras and said she’d be back with some slightly padded ones next. My shoulder sagged a little at the stack of lacy bras. Once, while I was in graduate school, a guy in my department looked right at my chest and said “Oh! It must be cold in here.” I have worn a padded bra ever since. I never reach for just lace when shopping for a bra. I want to reach for the lace. I’d love to wear something pretty every day, but that one comment ruined me. I tried on every single bra the woman handed me (there were a lot) and every one of them fit me and was comfortable. I finally had to narrow it down to three based on color and only one of them has padding. It is also mostly lace. I bought three lacy, very pretty bras that fit, are comfortable, and make me feel like getting in a time machine so I can go back to that day in grad-school and give that jerk the response he deserved and probably still deserves.

Michael came into the shop while the woman was ringing up my purchases, which included a new, very sexy sticker for the scooter. I looked at him and said “There’s a lot of things in here that I like and this is a very appropriate place for you to buy gift cards for me when you don’t know what to get me.” I walked into Birdie’s feeling insecure and cranky about having to do my least favorite kind of shopping. I walked out of that store feeling empowered, knowing that I would go back in there in the near future able to confidently point at any style or lingerie set and say “I’d like that in this size please.” Heck, I don’t even have to go in there and point. All I have to do is tell her my size and an array of beautiful things will just be brought to me to try on.

I think Birdie’s just turned bra shopping into my new favorite thing.

NEW THINGS

Hanging around @midtownyogakc probably going back there soon

7 Likes, 1 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "Hanging around @midtownyogakc probably going back there soon"

I decided to use the coupons that I had recently received from Victoria Secret and buy some new bras over the weekend. I don't really remember the last time I bought a new bra, but I think it was about four or five years ago. I've been wearing the same two bras for five years. It had been so long since the last brazier purchase that I couldn't even remember what size to get. When I mentioned this to one of the sales ladies, she got super excited and clapped her hands together while saying "Oh! let's do a bra fitting!" I responded with zero enthusiasm and a "okay." Turns out I've gone up one whole cup size which really leads me to wonder how that is when the scale at home keeps telling me that I have lost weight. Am I living the boob dream where all of my fat migrates to my chest? Are boobs like noses and ears and just continue to grow as we age? What is happening to my body?!?! I don't understand bra sizes any more than I understand the sizing of pants or children's shoes. 

I spent the next twenty minutes trying on different styles of the right sized bra before narrowing it down to two different styles. Then I added five pairs of cotton panties to my pile, because why not? I spent enough money to earn a 'free' tote! (Any one want a VS tote?) One of those styles has more padding and push up power than what I'm used to, so I'm waiting for a more confident day to wear that one. When I tried it on at home, Michael said "People are going to be looking at your boobs and wondering if you got a boob job." I'm not ready for that. I put the other one on the next day and was really surprised at how nice the new bra felt. Nothing was pinching or poking. The straps weren't slicing into my shoulders like a cheese slicer. I mentioned this to Michael who then asked me about the last time I bought a new bra. I mumbled something about the five year old bra and he said "Maybe you should buy new underwear every year." Sure, this is probably true but buying new bras is like shopping for pants or children's shoes. I'd rather poke myself under a finger nail with a toothpick. 

Then, I took my newly clad boobs to an intermediate AlReal yoga class (yoga in a hammock) at Midtown Yoga KC where I felt like maybe I was the oldest person in the class and definitely the least fit. I knew this class would be challenging, but I also new that as a teacher, I would not have any problems modifying. I was a little concerned about hanging myself in the hammock, but I ended up surprising myself and everyone else in the class with how easily I managed to get myself into wheel and shoulder stand. My body hurts a little bit today. There was a whole lot of core work and I have bruises on my hips and kidneys from hanging upside down in the hammock, but I kind of loved the class. I kind of loved the whole studio and I will probably be going back. I need to be pushed out of my comfort zone sometimes in my yoga practice. This class does that. 

So I did two things that I am normally resistant to this weekend: bra shopping and challenging yoga. And I liked both of those things. Well, maybe not the shopping part as much as the having a bra that fits me well part, but you get the idea. I just also realized that I tend to put myself in situations where I am either the oldest person in the class or the youngest. I guess I have a hard time hanging out with people my own age. I prefer to think that I have just grasped onto the concept that age means nothing and we could all use some time suspended in a hammock.