Sunday, September 7, 2008

Retail Therapy

Victoria's Secret is discriminating against women with small breasts.

I realized the other day that the majority of my bras are in what could only be described as deplorable condition, and so as part of this afternoon's retail therapy mission, I decided to head over to good ole' Vicky's and see what I could find.  At the first store I entered, I was disgruntled to find that not a single one of the bras I liked was available in my size--34A--and was more than a little puzzled that many styles didn't even have 34A drawers through which to browse.  I chalked this up to it being a small location and decided to head further uptown to the huge 2-level store in Herald Square.

I arrived and breathed a sigh of relief at the much larger selection and once again began to browse, only to encounter more of the same:  Not a single 34A in sight!  Those that I was able to find all contained about an inch of foam padding, and gone are the days of removable padding, oh no!  All of this stuff was permanently attached.  Finally, I found a saleswoman and asked, somewhat exasperated, where I might find a size 34A, non-padded bra.

There was ONE.  Gee, so much for selection!  At first the salesgirl thought there might be two, but no!  Lo and behold, Body By Victoria no longer comes in A cups.  Neither, for that matter, do well over two-thirds of the styles in the store!  I came home to browse the website and was elated that hooray!  My favourite style--the push-up without padding--had returned!  But... you guessed it.  No A cups.  Foiled again!

So what gives Vicky?  Girls with small tits are no longer allowed to have nice lingerie?  Girls with A cup boobs can't possibly be comfortable in their bodies and therefore we only sell them bras with ridiculous amounts of padding?

I've got to say, Ms. Victoria, I am deeply disappointed.  This is the first time my retail therapy has left me feeling the need to seek therapy!

And PS - one of your security guards stepped on my foot--right on top of my new tattoo!!  Nice to see we are hiring security guards who are vigilant and aware of their surroundings.

Fortunately Vicky's was the only aspect of my retail therapy trek that left me looking for a shrink.  I more or less signed over my firstborn to Sephora, which is not all that unusual.  I attempted to shop at H&M but it appears that two seasons of my adoring everything in the store have dried up my shopping karma--I wasn't tempted to try on a single article of clothing.  Sadly, the only store currently housing anything I would consider wearing is Urban Outfitters, and every time I walk into that store I feel a little piece of my soul shrivel up and die.  Which didn't stop me from spending a bunch of money, which is the only way to actually purchase anything in that overpriced haven of hipster cliches.  Still, I dare anyone to mock me in my rockin' 1920s style hat.  For real.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to eat my dinner and shop for lingerie from Frederick's of Hollywood.  At least they still make bras in my size!

6 comments:

Tina Poe said...

Hah, I have the same problem, it's discrimination!

B said...

that would bug the PISS outta me

meh

each of the two said...

Actually its not discrimination.
I worked there for almost 4 years and its a few factors.
1. the only way one will always has selection is if you are a 34 B-C or a 36 B-C, those are the most common sizes and so the stores stock those sizes and styles almost at 200% more volume than any other style. (I am a 34 D myself and the only way I have nice bras is I had selection before anyone else, the company only sent 1 34 D per color/brand with each shipment, seriously, I worked back room, if I hadnt im sure I would only be getting my bras in nude.)
2. its a catch 22, the company sends out loads of an "unusual" size and it never sells and sits in drawers for months OR, it sells the first day its in the store. So, to curb costs, the manufacturer only sends out loads of the sizes they KNOW will sell and sends tester amounts of the other sizes. Sucks I know.
3. Padding, unless you are massively endowed almost ALL of their bras are at least lightly lined for discression, and yes, the smaller cups do tend to having padding, because MOST (obvs not all) ladies will a smaller décolletages would like to enhance a bit. and again we are back to the fact that "unusual sizes" arnt stocked heavily.
4. the other side of the coin is, those fancy bras? the sexy naughty ones that are not for everyday wear? if you are my size or larger, you can't get one of those, they only manufacture them in sizes 32A, 32B, 34A, 34B, 34C, 36B and 36C.

Here the best way to get what you want.
- work there.
- ask the sales associates to call you when the exact item is available, have them set it aside,they can and will do it if you ask (or at least we did)
- (this is the most reliable) order online, you will always get what you want and I have had good service from them, even when i needed to return or exchange.
(plus I hate shopping in person so online is WAY better for me)

and please remember to wash or cursory soak your purchased undergarments in warm soapy water before wear, as there is a remote possibility of these items (or any clothing actually) to be caring something you dont want against your skin.

and hey, you have my jealousy as I can never go out and look hot in a halter sans bra, and you my dear lady probably rock it like a star!

the frog princess said...

1.) This wasn't simply a matter of the bras not being in stock. They actually DON'T MAKE 34A anymore in 75% of the bras in the catalog. I checked online, and the majority of styles are only available in B Cups or larger. It even says so on small signs in the store.

2.) Lightly padded (aka, lined) is fine. Nobody needs to see my nipples on a cold day. But if there is more foam in those cups than flesh, that's false advertising... and I'm nothing if not honest :)

3.) The fancy, "not for every day" bras were exactly what I was looking at (because I'll wear those every day, I love them!). No more A cups. Not without over an inch of foam.

While I appreciate your loyalty to your employer, the bottom line is: nothing is going to stop me from being annoyed that they've stopped making A cups. Call it what you will, but automatically assuming that girls with small boobs wish they were bigger is part of the reason we have so many body image issues in this country. This is simply retail perpetrating the myth that you can't (or worse, shouldn't) be happy with small boobs.

Z said...

I am with you on this one - a fellow small chested girl frustrated by the fact that, apparently, I am wrong with being OK with my small chest... GAH!

Unknown said...

ah, in those moments, i just love being a guy (in all the others too as a matter of fact, but we dont want you girls to all get sex change operations)