Unfiltered

Title: The Bra Hunting Nightmare Slug: the-bra-hunting-nightmare Mood: Gripe Full corrected text: Do you have any idea how frustrating it can be to buy a bra after not buying a new one in ten years? If you're a guy, then probably not. If you're a woman who likes to shop, then also probably not. If, on the other hand, you fit my criteria, then welcome to my world. I do my best to buy quality when possible, so I had several bras that lasted me for ten years or more. Those poor old bras wore and wore, and held up very well. They were, however, showing their ages. They were frayed and tattered. That, coupled with the fact that I've lost some weight recently, prompted me to decide that I needed some new bras. Oh, you sweet, deluded woman. You knew not what you let yourself in for. First, I had to have a size to order. My ten-year-old ones no longer showed the sizes on the tags from being washed so many times over the years. The tags are completely devoid of any printing at all. So, I did the usual measurements that I remembered having done last time I had a proper bra fitting. Then, I took those measurements to the web to convert them into an actual bra size. Wow! How things have changed in ten years. Those three simple measurements no longer held the mystical power of telling me my bra size. I now needed a dozen measurements, standing, bending over, lying down, oh my! Well, eventually, I obtained all of the requisite measurements and the resulting size. Scrap of paper in hand with my size scratched on it, I once again ventured onto the web, only to find that none of the bra brands or models I'd liked in the past were available any longer. Either they had gone out of business, were in the process of going out of business, or had changed their bras to the point they were no longer recognizable. What had been a comfortable bra with slight padding that helped support and shape the breasts was now a thin, flimsy scrap of fabric that wouldn't hold up to a gentle zephyr, much less support generous breasts in need of significant support. No wonder some of them are going out of business; the quality product they used to sell is now a flimsy, cheap shadow of its former self. Not worth the shipping cost, much less the outrageous price they charge for the product. Again, I don't mind paying for quality, but these are not quality products. Somewhere out there, the perfect bra exists. Probably. The search continues.