Lingerie Shop Along: My List

Let's recap the online Lingerie Shop Along. So far, perhaps you've:

• Defined, for yourself, the meaning of "lingerie basics"
• Culled your lingerie drawers to determine which basics need replacing / stocking
• Determined the sites that suit your needs and stock our styles
• Bookmarked some faves, with nary a thought for practicality (step 1 of the purchase process)

Just so happens that I've done this too. See, while I have a very well stocked lingerie drawer, in general, I've discovered a few things lately:

• Due to hormonal changes (I suspect), my breasts have changed shape and size, slightly. Like most women, I have breasts of nominally different sizes (well disguised by good lingerie). In case you're unaware, one has to choose bra sizes to fit the larger breast. And, while I was between sizes before, leaning towards the smaller of two cup sizes, now I'm leaning towards the larger. My back circumference is unchanged. 

• I know all of this because I measure my under bust (ribcage just below the breasts), upper chest (circumference of the torso above the breasts) and full bust (right over nipples, wearing a bra) on a crazily regular basis.

• All of my lingerie is in very good shape but that doesn't mean it all fits optimally. I've taken the bras that don't fit, for one reason or another, and the matching undies, and moved them to my "later" drawer. FYI, I was also able to reclaim some of the items in my "later" drawer because those bras now fit. Like every woman on the planet, I'm a regular person who experiences small and occasional fluctuations in size and dimension. I don't judge, though I do pay attention. And, apparently, this has been happening for a decade, because that's how long I've been stocking the "later" drawer and calling on it when I do a refresh.

• A brief note about bra wear: Yeah, I have a lot of bras (though not as many as you would think). Admittedly, I have more bras in regular rotation right now than I did when I wrote that post... I can't remember ever "wearing out" a bra - other than the seamless beige ones that I wear into the ground. I treat them with love, natch, and I have enough to rotate them so that I never wear the same one 2 days in a row (a must to preserve the elastic). I also make sure only to buy bras with bands that are snug on the loosest hook so that, as those bands stretch (they all do), I won't find myself needing to repurchase due to looseness which spells the death of support. But the real reason I haven't worn out some of my 10 year old, most beloved bras is that they're super, freakin' well-made. I have one bra I've worn once a week for 10 years, no joke, and it's still fitting fantastically. So disabuse yourself of the notion that you're wasting your money when you spend on the good stuff.

• I'm simply finished with a few items. Strangely, they're the newer rather than the older ones. I've done a bit of experimenting with brands in the last couple of years and the quality of some of the bras I bought (the lower end brands) just doesn't appeal to me. It's hard to wear the less perfect (IMO - it's simply a matter of my perspective) when the more perfect is sitting right next to it. And the less pricey bras tend to fit more shallowly.

• This week I determined that I need: 

1. A replacement seamless beige bra (the same one I've worn in various similar sizes for a decade)
2. A replacement for one of my fave bras that is too large in the back (I have 2 pairs of undies that I can't wear as a result and the whole set is insanely sexy)
3. Extra undies to go with 2 bras I love and wear, but that I can't wear as often as I otherwise would because I've only got one pair of undies for each
4. A cami with a built in bra - an actual bra, not a whacky elastic shelf that does fuck all except compress your boobs, regardless of their size
5. A soft cup, unwired "wear around the house bra". Everyone's writing about them and I've bought the hype. Something tells me this is a scam, but these boobs aren't getting any perkier.
6. A special new set - a very specific one by Freya that just came out and that I've been waiting on tenterhooks to purchase for months

Yup, that's 4 bras (1 Fantasie, 2 Freya), three pairs of undies (2 Freya, 1 Miss Mandalay) and a camisole (Panache).

Wanna take bets on how much that's gonna cost me?