So. I'm having a great year for hosiery. Tights and footless tights options abound. Even bought a pair of patterned tights with a view to turning them into footless tights to wear with boots. It's been a long time since there have been nice patterned tights in my size, actually probably never since I've been the sort of size I am now. (Basque plus size) The helpful woman at Myer even suggested another brand I might like to try too - she said she'd been hearing some good things about them. Excellent. And good on them for actually carrying the stock.
However, my other shopping mission yesterday was new bras. I have been wearing the "Touched" by Berlei underwire style in a size 20DD for about ten years now - with a break while pregnant and breastfeeding. I loved that it was comfortable, had a natural smooth shape with a degree of support and lasted pretty well. Perfect for wearing under t-shirts. And it came in black. Also good, because I don't do beige. I desperately need to replace them but I haven't been able to find them in the shops or online. The sizes stop at 16DD now. Apparently these days, they are only being marketed to young women, because the stretchy material suits growing bodies. Fine. I can see that. But it suited me too. Why can't the same product be made to serve a number of different markets? Isn't that sort of efficiency a plus from a marketing point of view?
Moving on. I breathed deeply and after wandering around the David Jones lingerie department aimlessly for some time, prepared to subject myself to the hideous process of being fitted for a bra. With two assistants. The older woman was actually not much older than me, but seemed worlds away and couldn't seem to understand that I just did not want to do beige or lace. Or spend $98 on a bra. And that I was not prepared to buy a minimiser bra. I explained to her that when you are "big", you want definition where you can get it. Actually, I may have used the word "fat" at one point, much to her horror and discomfort. She said she agreed with me, but still the minimisers kept coming. I suppose there wasn't that much else to choose from. Anyway, discussing how the minimiser worked with the younger woman, she said that they squash the bosom under your arms. Nice. We agreed it wasn't a great look. I suppose that the "minimiser", a term I find somewhat offensive, is sold on the basis that if your body is big enough to jiggle or protrude then you'd want to do everything you could to make it look less so. Even if that means having your breasts squashed sideways or under your arms. Which looks weird, well it looks weird on me. If that's what some women want - then by all means cater to that desire - but don't assume that we're all the same. Or want the same thing. Or that we all have a problem with our breasts protruding and taking up space. Although I like a degree of support, I certainly do not want to be be minimised. No, I don't.
In the end I bought a beigeish Fayreform bra. The "Helen" which looks like an instrument of torture but was the best fit and shape. Despite the palaver of fitting, I was exactly the size I thought I would be, 22DD. If it is comfortable next week I am going to buy some more online. In black. Because David Jones doesn't have them in any other colour than "gold" which is really a hotted up beige. Another thing I don't get - why would you allow your shop to be essentially a fitting service and then have your customers buy the colours they really want at a cheaper price online? Because while I was there with my card and spending the money, I probably would have bought several. Or if they had an online shop as well, they could leverage the service they had already provided. Stupid. Anyway, am also going to try the Sara bra - which DJs used to stock but now don't. So I'll just take a punt and buy it online. Because I can.
So why is it so hard to buy good basics? Do they not want my money? One would think not.