going shopping

[Absaroka]

Well next week I am going to Zoe and Company for my custom bra fitting, which they say will take half an hour. They were quite reassuring about how they have crossdressers all the time there. (Their words) I haven't really done anything like this before, just tried things on myself at Walmart and a couple of times had someone measure me. Any thoughts on what sort of questions to ask or what to expect? Last time I knew anyone who was doing this it was my daughter when my wife took her to finally get a real bra.

Absaroka

[Kimberly Kael]

I haven't ever done a fitting so I can't really answer your question - but I am curious about your experience. Please take the time to share with us once you've been!

Offhand suggestions?

If you have more than one pair of breast forms you might want advice about fitting for multiple breast sizes. That's obviously a unique quirk for CDs but it's one of our few clear advantages. Do I go with athletic or voluptuous? Perky nipple or subtle nub? So many choices!

[Absaroka]

Well the fitting did not take place as they do not have the SAs who do fittings working on Wednesdays. Apparently it's a big deal and the allow up to an hour per fitting. I was passing through on my way to visit my Aunt and wasn't about to reschedule visiting her just to accomodate a bra fitting.

However I did go to the store. I really want to give them their propers, they were very pleasant and helpful. The woman in charge was named Michelle Pendola (she gave me her card). I tried on several things and then decided that since they were so pleasant and helpful that I really wanted to buy something to respond to their efforts. I bought a Rago waist cincher which I have to say is far more comfortable than just about any other shape wear I've worn. Probably good for a sore back also.

I chatted with Michelle for a while about a variety of things. They were playing a download of an old Traffic concert which was very good and we discussed that. I told her I really appreciated how matter of fact they were about suggesting I try stuff on. They acted like a man buying lingerie for himself was a total non event but at the same time made me feel like an important customer. I asked do they get many men there and she said yes they get a lot of crossdressers there. I commented that they also sell masectomy stuff and she said yes they try to schedule folks getting post masectomy fittings for different times than they schedule men for fittings since this is a traumatic time for a woman and they want her too to be comfortable.

We talked a bit more and I made the comment that she probably knows far more crossdressers than most cds do and laughed and said that she would think this is true. I asked do many men ever talk to her about why they do this and she said no it doesn't come up but that her impression is that many men just find the clothes more comfortable. We talked about that a bit, how sometimes a skirt is just more comfortable than pants but on the other hand in July and August men have a big advantage in not needing a bra and they both smiled a touch jealously of this.

It was very nice to talk about this casually with someone face to face and I told them this.

So I guess I am mostly posting to spread the world. According to their advertisements women throughout New England make pilgrimages to their stores in Rhode Island and New Hampshire, for everything from bridal wear to surgical clothing to fetishwear. We might as well join them.

Absaroka

[Amelie-Laveau]

I'm glad that you had someone to chat with Am,, sounds like you had an interesting time.

But a half hour for a bra fitting,, why? Did they have to go to California to get a tape neasure?

I can't help you about any info about bra fitting, just like a make over, i never had these things done to me. I just buy my bras at the local dollar store and hope they fit, sometimes I can make sewing adjustments to make them fit better.

[Jadeanne]

I'm trying to recall all of the details of the long time ago that my wife went for a bra fitting at a dept store that has long since changed hands and is now closed. This was while my CDing urge was dormant.

It seemed to me like it took a very long time.

I remember she bought several bras (at least 3), as I recall, all of them Playtex.

It wasn't that long after that she said that she didn't really like them that well.

It might have been at that time bra fittings were given by people trained by specific brand manufacturers so if it had been a Playtex fitting, my wife would have been offered ONLY Playtex bras to try.

I think that manufacturers base their designs on a specific breast shape and spacing. My wife did not find the Playtex ones comfortable.

She eventually did find some different brands that she liked better. She gave me the ones she didn't like when my urge started again.

I agree that we CDs have it easier once we get our the band size right. It's easy enough for us to adjust our forms to the bra's breast spacing.

[Anita]

Hi Absaroka--
That sounded like a good day, being able to talk to someone openly about all of this. My conversations with the clerks in clothing stores have always been pleasant, when I think back on it. I'm nearly always in a good mood when I'm shopping for girl stuff, and they pick up on this.

My "fitting session" was done in a hurry. I had been putting off the decision to buy clothes, because I knew that once I did, I was committed to going out. So in a whirlwind of shopping, I went out and bought almost everything in one day. ( I already had a wig, and one skirt!)

The clerk at Sears was an older black woman, and she was not happy at having to measure me. But she did, and I bought a 40C and a 42C, in about five minutes.

Amelie-Laveau wrote:

But a half hour for a bra fitting,, why? Did they have to go to California to get a tape neasure?

See, it really helps if you're already in California.

I know that I wasn't eager to push the envelope and ask to try them on. It was my first time in a regular store--I'd bought the other stuff at a boutique that specialized in CDs and drag queens. I knew she wasn't going to be comfortable with me trying them on, either.

Since then, I have not had to deal with clerks when buying bras. I needed that initial measurement, and who was I going to ask to do it? My business partner? My best friend? His wife? No, there's some things you have to figure out on your own.

[Absaroka]

Amelie I suspect that they take that long for a couple of reasons. One is that they cater to women who are not happy with regular dept stores. The other is that actually they don't have bra's on display. They keep them all hanging in clusters from the ceiling like grapes or bananas and I suspect they keep having you try them on till you buy something. It's also a place where women go for bridal lingerie and masectomy bras and other "special occaisions"

Beside for the ladies who really are size 54JJ I suppose it takes longer to get the tape measure all the way around their body.

I have enough bras anyway. I think I mostly liked the idea of chatting pleasantly with the sales people, plus I like my waist nipper-it actually does seem to help my back.

Absaroka