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livEr, well, actually this post is mainly about shopping, but that would be a much more boring title! I decided to go into town yesterday in order to get a few things I need for moving. But Mum and Granny got on my back about buying new clothes, which I don't really need (now or ever), and the trip turned into this marathon clothes shopping expedition of doom. But boobies were involved too, so I supopse that makes it a bit better.
Things I bought: Swedish dictionary and one of those teach yourself language courses, which I actually needed. But Swedish dictionaries are hard to find, and the one I did get is rather expensive and not very good. A bunch of light jumpers and cardigans and things, including a little denim jacket which I'm rather taken with. I would have been happy to do without them altogether, but since I don't want to quarrel with Mum and Granny, at least I bought them in extreme end of season sales, so I got a lot of clothes for relatively little money.
Things I failed to find: pyjamas which do the basic job of keeping me warm in bed. Everything for sale at the moment is ridiculously skimpy, and I don't have a moral problem with semi-indecent pyjamas, I have a practical one. Supposedly "sexy" pyjamas fail in their primary job of keeping me warm, and they don't do any good either because if there were anyone around to care what I look like in bed, I'd most likely sleep naked.
Any sensible shoes at all. High heels will make me fall over, sandals are not allowed in labs (for good reason) and everything flat-heeled on sale at the moment has no arch support and no ankle support and will not do for a job where I'll be on my feet all day. In the end I bought the faithful old Ecco black laceups, which are very good shoes but they also cost £60 (eep!)
Any trousers whatsoever which remotely fit. I think it's a combination of rather low waisted styles continuing to be in fashion, and the fact that the stable point for my weight appears to be drifting lower these days. I am not intentionally losing weight, but it's happening anyway, and it's sure as eggs not disappearing from my hips and bottom. So even more than usual, I have a smaller waist and bigger hips than the makers of women's clothes seem to expect (I'm also short, which doesn't help). But it's annoying to find lots of rather lovely trousers and have to discard them all because they are absolutely unwearable (not just vaguely wrong, but completely unwearable due to the cut). I think when the cold weather comes I'm going to go in for leggings under skirts; it seems to be my only option.
Anyway, the promised boobies. I did the Bravissimo thing, as recommended by a number of well-endowed friends. It was an interesting experience; their idea is that instead of measuring you with a tape-measure, the assisant watches you trying bras on and adjusts the size until you get something that fits perfectly. Which is probably a good idea, given the vagaries of clothes manufacturers generally! And it wasn't too intrusive; the assistant was very matter-of-fact about it, which I very much approve of. She offered to go out of the room while I changed bras, so even if you were shy you wouldn't have to do deal with a stranger seeing you topless; I'm not shy, and her obviously sensible attitude meant I didn't care.
I came out as 32E, in line with the Bravissimo theory that most women need to go down in back size and up in cup size to get a good fit. But 32E is really into Barbie doll territory! I can cope with the idea of being an E-cup, but how can there only be 32 inches around my chest?! Anyway, I bought this bra in the end. It's functional rather than wonderful, but I am impressed with how well it fits. Oh, and it's slightly more expensive than I would normally pay for a basic M&S bra, but not ridiculously so. And they didn't pressure me into buying anything, which I was worried about with all that personal attention.
Bravissimo has a good range, including sexy, plain, colourful, feminine, something for almost every taste. And this was reflected by their clientele, which did seem to include women of all ages and dress styles (I'm assuming people's tastes in bras vaguely reflects their tastes in outer clothes, but of course one never knows!) The trouble is that what I want in a bra is that it should be made mostly out of cotton (synthetics against my skin are sweaty and horrible), and that it should not have a horrible piece of wire under my breasts. And in any lingerie shop those preferences restrict my choices a bit. The assistant said that underwired styles are lot less uncomfortable if they fit properly, and she did demonstrate this principle, but I still prefer elastic rather than wire.
The other thing that's interesting about Bravissimo is the area where you wait to be assigned to a fitter. It's nice, with comfy chairs and a generally pleasant ambience. But the table has a stack of men's magazines! Obviously they have a lot of customers who drag bored boyfriends along and make them wait while they're being fitted. And they're carefully chosen men's magazines too, hobby mags and Men's Health and so on, rather than lad mags. I can imagine that women waiting for bra fitting would feel very uncomfortable if there were a stack of Nuts and Loaded in the waiting area! Interesting anthropological observation, though.
Anyway, that shopping trip took about 7 hours, which is time I can't really afford and is an extremely annoying way to waste a whole day. Also, I feel as if I'm sickening for something, something vaguely tonsilitis shaped. Which I really don't need when I'm about to move to Sweden! I really hope I'm wrong.
Things I bought: Swedish dictionary and one of those teach yourself language courses, which I actually needed. But Swedish dictionaries are hard to find, and the one I did get is rather expensive and not very good. A bunch of light jumpers and cardigans and things, including a little denim jacket which I'm rather taken with. I would have been happy to do without them altogether, but since I don't want to quarrel with Mum and Granny, at least I bought them in extreme end of season sales, so I got a lot of clothes for relatively little money.
Things I failed to find: pyjamas which do the basic job of keeping me warm in bed. Everything for sale at the moment is ridiculously skimpy, and I don't have a moral problem with semi-indecent pyjamas, I have a practical one. Supposedly "sexy" pyjamas fail in their primary job of keeping me warm, and they don't do any good either because if there were anyone around to care what I look like in bed, I'd most likely sleep naked.
Any sensible shoes at all. High heels will make me fall over, sandals are not allowed in labs (for good reason) and everything flat-heeled on sale at the moment has no arch support and no ankle support and will not do for a job where I'll be on my feet all day. In the end I bought the faithful old Ecco black laceups, which are very good shoes but they also cost £60 (eep!)
Any trousers whatsoever which remotely fit. I think it's a combination of rather low waisted styles continuing to be in fashion, and the fact that the stable point for my weight appears to be drifting lower these days. I am not intentionally losing weight, but it's happening anyway, and it's sure as eggs not disappearing from my hips and bottom. So even more than usual, I have a smaller waist and bigger hips than the makers of women's clothes seem to expect (I'm also short, which doesn't help). But it's annoying to find lots of rather lovely trousers and have to discard them all because they are absolutely unwearable (not just vaguely wrong, but completely unwearable due to the cut). I think when the cold weather comes I'm going to go in for leggings under skirts; it seems to be my only option.
Anyway, the promised boobies. I did the Bravissimo thing, as recommended by a number of well-endowed friends. It was an interesting experience; their idea is that instead of measuring you with a tape-measure, the assisant watches you trying bras on and adjusts the size until you get something that fits perfectly. Which is probably a good idea, given the vagaries of clothes manufacturers generally! And it wasn't too intrusive; the assistant was very matter-of-fact about it, which I very much approve of. She offered to go out of the room while I changed bras, so even if you were shy you wouldn't have to do deal with a stranger seeing you topless; I'm not shy, and her obviously sensible attitude meant I didn't care.
I came out as 32E, in line with the Bravissimo theory that most women need to go down in back size and up in cup size to get a good fit. But 32E is really into Barbie doll territory! I can cope with the idea of being an E-cup, but how can there only be 32 inches around my chest?! Anyway, I bought this bra in the end. It's functional rather than wonderful, but I am impressed with how well it fits. Oh, and it's slightly more expensive than I would normally pay for a basic M&S bra, but not ridiculously so. And they didn't pressure me into buying anything, which I was worried about with all that personal attention.
Bravissimo has a good range, including sexy, plain, colourful, feminine, something for almost every taste. And this was reflected by their clientele, which did seem to include women of all ages and dress styles (I'm assuming people's tastes in bras vaguely reflects their tastes in outer clothes, but of course one never knows!) The trouble is that what I want in a bra is that it should be made mostly out of cotton (synthetics against my skin are sweaty and horrible), and that it should not have a horrible piece of wire under my breasts. And in any lingerie shop those preferences restrict my choices a bit. The assistant said that underwired styles are lot less uncomfortable if they fit properly, and she did demonstrate this principle, but I still prefer elastic rather than wire.
The other thing that's interesting about Bravissimo is the area where you wait to be assigned to a fitter. It's nice, with comfy chairs and a generally pleasant ambience. But the table has a stack of men's magazines! Obviously they have a lot of customers who drag bored boyfriends along and make them wait while they're being fitted. And they're carefully chosen men's magazines too, hobby mags and Men's Health and so on, rather than lad mags. I can imagine that women waiting for bra fitting would feel very uncomfortable if there were a stack of Nuts and Loaded in the waiting area! Interesting anthropological observation, though.
Anyway, that shopping trip took about 7 hours, which is time I can't really afford and is an extremely annoying way to waste a whole day. Also, I feel as if I'm sickening for something, something vaguely tonsilitis shaped. Which I really don't need when I'm about to move to Sweden! I really hope I'm wrong.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 10:04 am (UTC)Shoes. pah. Shops full of pointy high-heeled tottermakers. Why do women let themselves be suckered into silly-looking things that damage feet and hurt to walk in? Next they'll be injecting poison into their lips to make them look like pigs' bottoms.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 10:39 am (UTC)Many women claim that (within reason, at least) pointy high heels can be comfortable. I think the secret is probably to learn a different gait, which of course high heels are intended to encourage. Myself, I won't wear uncomfortable clothes for the sake of vanity, but I'm not sure that's a particularly virtuous principle on my part. It's more that I'm lazy, and I tell myself I'm fairly plain anyway so there's no point putting effort (or money or pain) into my appearance.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 12:16 pm (UTC)From the picture, that looks like a jolly nice bra. I'm sorry you had to spend seven hours shopping, though. Is it worth buying an extra bra now so that you won't have to go back again for years and years? Come to that, is it worth getting an extra pair of Eccos? My Mum has a couple of decades' worth of Eccos sitting in her wardrobe; a smart pair, a slightly less smart pair, an everyday pair, a scruffy pair, and a painting pair. They move down the hierarchy every few years (although now she's entered a stage of frivolous dressing and unprecedented mobility, so she'll probably be buying high heels before very long, she had her ears pierced already).
I think the men's section is where you want to be for pyjamas. Apparently men don't need to look sexy in bed (thinks: patriarchy much? this is not fair).
Apparently men don't need to look sexy in bed (thinks: patriarchy much? this is not fair).
Date: 2006-04-25 12:58 pm (UTC)Though I don't know if you should say that men *don't* need to look sexy. More, they *can't*. What would you think men would wear for that? AFAIK there's no practical garment that would be any more salacious than a normal T-shirt and shorts that shows off whatever physique is there. Society has arbitrarily decided that interesting clothes has more effect on a woman's attractiveness than a man's and eg. strength more effect on a man's than a woman's :(
Re: Apparently men don't need to look sexy in bed (thinks: patriarchy much? this is not fair).
Date: 2006-04-25 01:00 pm (UTC)Re: Apparently men don't need to look sexy in bed (thinks: patriarchy much? this is not fair).
Date: 2006-04-25 01:05 pm (UTC)[1] Whether I ever wear silk is not relevent :)
Re: Apparently men don't need to look sexy in bed (thinks: patriarchy much? this is not fair).
Date: 2006-04-25 01:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 04:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 04:19 pm (UTC)Re: Apparently men don't need to look sexy in bed (thinks: patriarchy much? this is not fair).
Date: 2006-04-25 01:50 pm (UTC)There's many styles that could be implemented with pyjamas that could be somewhat sexier than currently are available, but I've not seen anything like that.
Do many people wear pyjamas, anyway?
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 04:16 pm (UTC)Maybe, but there are quite a few women, admittedly a minority, but a few, who do wear heels in the lab and stand up in them all day, so it must be possible. And that is the main purpose I have in mind when buying shoes, so...
It's definitely not bad (I got the white version); it's feminine without being fussy, which is about what I want. And very, very comfortable. When I went to Bravissimo I was rather hoping for something a bit less neutral and inoffensive, though. But all the really funky / sexy options were underwired in the end.
I have a few basic M&S bras, and was only planning to splash out on one expensive one for the moment. I did find this in M&S though (in black). And that suits me very well indeed, so I have scored two pretty new bras this week.
I haven't got the extra weight to take a second pair of shoes, I think. I'm saving every spare kilo for bookies! Plus, Ecco shoes are so scary expensive. Past experience says they do last a bit longer than cheaper shoes, which is some consolation.
That sounds like a really good scheme. I just feel weird owning more than one smart and one comfortable pair of shoes at a time.
Delighted to hear it, on both counts!
Very possibly it is. I wish I'd thought of that yesterday!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-25 04:51 pm (UTC)It is possible. There was an advert once, showing a model running after her pet dog, over cobbles, wearing at least 2 inch high heels! Respect.
It just needs good balance and poise. I wouldn't know because I've never tried, but I think the main problem isn't necessarily running, but stopping and changing direction without falling over..
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 08:35 am (UTC)There's nothing I can't do in heels. It's all in the training....
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-26 12:22 pm (UTC)