Shapewear

I went into Target today to buy a black bra.

You see, I ordered a dress from eShakti a couple of weeks ago and it arrived two days ago. Oh Em Gee, but it fits well and looks great. A little on the matronly side, but I'll be 47 soon and have three kids; I'm a little on the matronly side.

Me. Husband's closet. Light saber.

What I needed, though, was a black bra, so that if/when the straps did a little peekaboo at the the front corners, they wouldn't be so noticeable. Since one of my three bras had an underwire escapage incident recently and another is losing its elasticity, it was past time for new foundation-wear.

By the way, oh you people with breasts: if your bra size is so rare no one ever stocks it (say, for example, large rib cage, not so large ta-tas), you can go a size down in the number and a size up in the cup. The cup is relative to the strap, not an absolute number. The elastic will be on the tight side at first, but seriously, it usually relaxes quickly (sometimes far too quickly). No one told me this in the first 35 years of me wearing bras, so I wanted to toss it out for those of you who are hard to fit.

So I'm trying on bras.

I don't know about you, but I'm fairly happy with my body. I walk a few miles several times a week. I try to limit my bad eating. I am trying to lose weight mostly because I've been gaining quickly lately and am now above my officially-sanctioned BMI. It took me my whole life to not criticize my body and I don't want to start again now.

But one thing I don't do is look at myself in the mirror when I'm naked, even just half-naked.

And now I'm trying on bras with slightly too-tight bra straps in front of a full-length mirror.

NOT A GOOD PLAN.

I finally found a black one and a grey one (the latter on clearance) that were fairly comfortable and which didn't seem to create too much of an under-arm roll. Then I went back into the lingerie department and found some shapewear shorts.

Because I might not lose much weight before RWA conference this summer (and frankly, if I lose much, my dress won't fit right!), but I'm not going to be bulgy at the Rita ceremony.

Someone come talk me down off the ledge now, please.



(And on an unrelated note: go forth and pre-order my second romance novel, The Honorable Officer. Road trip across the breadth of 17th century France to escape kidnapping assassins.

While you're eagerly waiting for April 6th, you can read the first in the series, The Indispensable Wife, in which Dom and Aurore have to get their land and their relationship back together after all sorts of disasters. )