After lunch today, mom and I walked by a bra shop in a Chinese mall. She said,
"That's where your sister-in-law buys her bras. Bro's wife. She's been shopping there for five years. She was here just the other day and bought three bras."
"You shop for underwear with Bro's wife?"
"We happened to be here so she went in."
"Hey, 50% off. I could use a new bra." So we went in.
Immediately, a saleslady came up to me. In a flurry of Chinese, Chinglish and English, we had the following exchange.
"All the underwire bras are in this section. Choose one from here," said the saleslady.
"No, I don't like underwire."
"What? You should wear underwire. Given your size, you need underwire otherwise you're just wasting your money."
"My size?"
Another saleslady perked up and said, "Let her try on a 40."
"No, I'm 36, 38."
"Your bra doesn't fit you. Look how you droop your shoulders and back to accommodate your heavy bust."
"Well, I..."
"I bet your shoulders and back hurt."
"Yes, but..."
"You have stoopy shoulders. Bet your bra strap falls off all the time."
"True, I..."
"Try this on. It will lift your shoulders and straighten your back. You'll get better posture."
"But..."
"Don't talk. Try it on. And try this on, and this, and this. You should be careful to take care of your posture while you are still young. You must be approaching 40."
"More like 50..."
"Really? You will have problems with your back if you don't already," the saleslady poked and pinched me. "Have you ever given birth?"
"Yes."
"Wa. Not bad at all then. You are pretty firm for someone who's given birth. Just try these on, then talk. You'll feel the difference. I've been selling bras for over 20 years. Trust me, I know what works."
"But it's size 40."
"40D."
"I'm not a 40D."
"You have a broad back. Buy the bra that fits and not the size you wish you were."
So I tried a blue bra on. Amazingly, it fit and was comfortable. I could feel it hold me in place without being tight. I put my t-shirt over it.
"See, look how much straighter you stand already," said the saleslady.
There was my bosom, stacked skyhigh like I had a boob job.
"No, no. It looks totally unnatural," I said.
"No, when you walked in, you looked unnatural, all bent and stooped over, looking 10 years older than you are. Try this one and this," she waved two pieces of things at me.
So I tried on a black bra and a... I don't know...a corset, a backbrace? It's a vest like thing that has many hooks in the front. I put my t-shirt over these.
"Wa. Look how pulled back your shoulders are and how straight your back is. Now practise elevating your head from your shoulders to lengthen your neck."
Was she kidding? Was she in my pilates class last night? That's exactly what we did. But the incredible thing was that my shoulders and back stopped hurting right there. When I took the bra and body thing off, I wished I could put them back on.
"You wear these everyday for six months and your posture will improve. You need to make sure you don't turn into an old lady with a hump on your back."
No, I sure don't want that to happen.
"And these are 50% off right now. You get two bras and the body pieces for $115, no tax."
Wow. What a deal. So I bought them. They were formidable salesladies.
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6 comments:
Not a bad deal. Waif bought 2 bras for around $100. That saleslady does know what she's talking about.
She certainly convinced me. But still, I find sales people in Chinatown very aggressive. They badger you and point out your ignorance till you buy. It's quite a sales technique.
You go with the Waif to buy bras?
We do a lot together. She's useless on her own when it comes to buying clothes of any kind.
My two best buddies decide that on my 45th birthday they should buy me some bras (as I've preferred to be braless since I was 16) They took me to a "bra bar" which was so chique that there were no price tags. The attendant measuered me, produced those which she thought would fit and than proceeded to tell me how to bend over, lift up, do up ,and stand straight. After several fittings -( thank goodness I was once a nudist!) I left the shop with two purchased by my friends, and two purchesed by me. (at a shocking expense!!) I still have them, wear them to work but think that perhaps I could have done just as well fitting myself at Wal-Mart at a fraction of the cost. I do still believe, however, that takeing off the underwire, constraining straps , heat induced undergarment is better for my phsychi, and sends me down memory lane into the 60's and 70's when no one cared- including an employer.
Do you need to be lifted and separated in your current work?
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