SAGa of the Sports Bra

My "Big Sister" Mel has been on me quite a while to join a gym.  I was a member of Ballys for MANY years, but I hadn't gone in over a decade.  I can't say it helped much.  When I lived in Baltimore, I even attended aerobic classes for a while.  My two coworkers and I were the only males (well I appeared to be one) in the class, and received many evil eyes.

Back then, my workout clothes were shorts or sweatpants and an old t-shirt.   Pretty simple and easy.

Plus Plus Sized

Things are VERY different now.

So, at Mel's insistence, and my own need to drop a LOT of weight, I joined the local Planet Fitness.  I haven't gone yet.  The several feet of snow outside are quite a deterrent.

But there was another small hurdle.  Since the last time I'd been to a gym, I have changed a bit.  The most obvious changes hang on my chest.  Breasts.  And just a t-shirt will no longer do in public.

I needed a Sports Bra.

Simple enough, right?

Well, I'd never worn one before.  And had no idea what to look for in a sports bra.  I figured something to hold the Girls in place and hopefully make them look good in the process.  So I did what any reasonable girl would: I asked my friends on Facialbook about it.  Both facialbooks (one is my old "male" FB, which is family and old friends for the most part) had a lot of suggestions.

I was given ideas on what to look for, as well as where to shop.  The suggestions came from women of many different body types from skinny to voluptuous.  As I am rather stout and my girls are big, I needed a lot of support.

So, with all that in mind, I went shopping after work on Thursday night.  I went to the huge King of Prussia Mall, which is near the bookstore.  I figured I'd just bounce around there, looking for the bra.

I parked on the back side of the mall, near where my Fridays used to be.  From there, I walked into a very large sporting goods store.  Yes, it was a big Dick's.  I figured I couldn't go wrong with a big Dick's, right?

I have trained many salespeople in my day, and rule number one is always to acknowledge the customer.  Make her happy.  The customer comes first, right Dick's?  Wrong.  I was in there for twenty minutes, and, while I saw many employees, none offered to help me.  That's right, Dick's blew me off.

And besides, the largest sports bra I could find was (L).  I'm (XXL).  I guess this Dick's only likes skinnier girls.

And so, I Strapped on my courage, and walked off into the mall.  The first stop was a total Bust.

My second stop was Lane Bryant.  They cater to big girls like me.  The salesperson who greeted me was a very pleasant college girl who was at least an inch taller than me and was very beautiful.  She showed me their sports bras and I even tried a couple on. I looked around the store a bit, and also spoke to the other salesperson there.  Both were really nice and good at their jobs- giving me lots of Support.  But, alas, they didn't have my size in stock, so rather than Plunge into a bra that didn't fit, I decided to check another place.

My next stop was Victorias Secret.  I knew that the largest they had in stock was a 38 (I'm a 40), but I figured, the bra had to be tight anyway, so why not?

So I went in and was greeted rather quickly by a skinny gorgeous young woman.  I told her what I wanted, and she insisted I get a fitting... despite the fact that the very last time I'd walked into this store, I'd had one.  Ok, whatever.

So she took me to the fitting rooms, and I was introduced to a Bra Stylist.  She measured me and went to get some sports bras to try.  Now, I was wearing a dress, having just come from work, so when I tried these on, I was just in bra and panties.  And, um, I hadn't shaved my upper legs.  And I was wearing Grannies.  So the person came to check on me and I was frightfully embarrassed.  So much so that I'd begun to sweat.  Ick.  And the one bra had a broken zipper.

So the next couple of bras were brought in by another girl, this one a gorgeous blonde.  She smirked a bit.  And a third group was brought by yet another person.  By then, I'd had enough.  I found one I liked (38 DDD).  I have to say though, I really thought the girls must've been laughing at me, and that's why they kept sending new ones in: "hey you have to see THIS!"  If nothing else, I definitely felt judged.  I felt like a total boob.

But as the bra I selected fit well, and I thought looked great, I bought one.

Supportive

After all, it was getting late, so I was getting in just Under the Wire.

I thought about my trip as I walked in the mall back to my car.  the salespeople at Lane Bryant had been so friendly that I wanted to buy SOMETHING there.  A teddy caught my eye earlier, so I decided to price it.  It was a fiery red with black trim, and they had my size.  And it was on sale!  I guess you could say it was a Demi-Annual sale.  Anyway, I went to the counter and bought it.  Yes, I was Hooked.  I spoke to the same two wonderful salespeople.  We started talking, and I told them where I worked.  they both started gushing- they both LOVE the bookstore and had wanted to work there.  Really?  Wow- they were both so good at what they did that I told them I'd put a word in for them.  (I haven't done it yet.  See: "Several Feet of Snow," above.)

I then went back to my car.  Tonight was my roomie and bestie Linda's turn to make dinner, so I headed back to the apartment.

The next night, SEPa was hit by a blizzard.  And I've been inside since.

So, I now have a sports bra, AND a teddy.  I'm running out of excuses as to why I can't go to the gym.  Aside from the snow outside.  A little later, I'll excavate my car from the mountain of snow in which it is entombed.  (Linda is outside shoveling out hers, and we only have one shovel.)

Oh, did I take any snow pictures during the blizzard?  Or of the teddy?

Of course!  I decided to get all dolled up and take many pictures.  Linda and I even made a video.

Baby, it's cold outside!

So here I am, snowed in on a Sunday.  I'm supposed to work tomorrow morning, so, as I said earlier, I have to go shovel out my car.

All in all, I had an interesting time shopping.  I wouldn't call it the Breast shopping experience I'd ever had, but I learned a bit and met some nice people.  All in all, an Uplifting experience!

Work appropriate?

PS:  Yes, I'm aware that as I lose weight, my boobs will get smaller.  So I may need to do this all over again someday.  But I'm not Deflated by that thought.  No, I'll just have a Cup (or two) of courage and go out again!