Know what apparently still stinks? Swimsuit shopping.
I went out tonight looking for a swimsuit that fits. Nothing fancy...just a one-piece I can use to swim laps at the Y. The old ladies don't care if I have something adorable on. It was supposed to be step one toward the goal of doing a triathlon or biathlon or some such thing.
Things that were unhelpful in this effort:
- I am still figuring out what size I am at this particular moment. I ended up bringing 3 different sizes into the dressing room, the first (and most ambitious) of which caused me to gasp audibly and then laugh in a horrified manner upon looking in the mirror.
- My extreme cheapness. If I wanted to pay $50 for a swimsuit I could probably find one. Apparently that's about what people pay, and then some. I, on the other hand, would prefer to pay, say, $15. This propensity leads me to shopping venues that do not help my cause.
- I'm no longer 16. (In fact, I'm turning 40 soon...have you heard?) I need more help from a swimsuit than I used to. I can't think of any way to elaborate more on this without crossing lines of delicacy.
- Swimsuit shopping is inherently torturous and is used by Satan to taunt and demoralize all women.
OK, cheerfulness restored. I'll try again. Thanks for the pep talk!
UPDATE: As of Sunday night I now have a ridiculous number of swimsuits in my shopping cart on the Lands' End site. I like their stuff, but I have no clue what will fit or flatter, so I just threw it all in there. They'd ship for free, and I could return the rejects to Sears, but I'm loath to actually put the initial charge on my card. Yikes, yikes, yikes. We'll see whether I can get up the nerve.
Most suits will cost me about $50 ON CLEARANCE. I do like Lands End--Isn't there a Sears near you? They have a LE section and you could try them on. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteI, unfortunately, have also paid that much for a swimsuit. I justify paying that much (or even a little more) if I know that it's quality and will last several years...
ReplyDeleteAnd yes- swimsuit shopping is indeed torturous! I pray a lot before I go!
yikes, has it really been since Feb that I checked your blog? Sheesh. I was thinking this post was brand new, and (insecurity coming forth) I checked the date b/c I didn't want to comment immediately after you posted--i mean, how would that make me look? like I'm twiddling my thumbs all day, ignoring my kids, just waiting for someone to post something new for me to read? (which is actually really far from the truth, but how would it be perceived?!? ridiculous inner-thoughts of a woman here...)
ReplyDeleteANYWAY, since it has been in fact so long, you have probably shipped your Land's End swimsuits by now, and may not want to hear of the bargain I got on the most appropriate-yet-cute swimsuit I've seen in a long time. But in case you do: I found it at Target. It was a one-piece, dark color, high top, actual bra, not too high on the sides, and there were several in every size (b/c apparently most women don't actually want to cover their bodies while wearing a swimsuit, so these were left over). They WERE on clearance. $24. AND, I printed a coupon from Target's website: 20% off any Merona brand item. Brought it down to $20. Yeah, ba-by. Wonder if the Target near you also has an excess?
p.s. I've also found some good quality clearance swimsuits made for bodies who have birthed children at NewportNewsCatalog.com
p.p.s. Amen to your point number 4.