Just a slightly busy day....

[selenay]

Before I report the Great London Shopping Trip, I should note that I'm slightly amused (and more than a bit amazed) to discover that the Newsletter Index has been added to del.iciou.us - and even more surprised to find that 24 people think it's a useful bookmarked. Related to this, four editors have contacted me to request a listing for their newsletters. Apparently word is getting around, which makes me feel very pleased for that little baby project. It's only been around for three months and already it's being used by a surprising number of people! The four newsletters will be added tomorrow and I'll announce it when they're done. Aw, my little baby is growing up!

So, the Great London Shopping Trip. It was a surprisingly successful trip. The parents came along and we met up with my sister. First stop was at Bravissimo. This little trip was definitely a girls only trip so Dad was sent to Maplins with instructions to meet us at a coffee shop later.


The major project was to get me fitted and find some new bras - something much prettier and girlier than the usual as-plain-as-M&S-has stuff. I hate being fitted because it's usually a pancake flat girl who hasn't the faintest idea about what to do with someone who actually has boobs. The fitter today? So not :-) I surprised myself by going down two bandsizes. This meant that I also had to go up two cup-sizes to accommodate, but I don't feel too bad because it means that I'm slimmer. I'm now an teeny 30 and can't quite believe it. The bras I found are absolutely lovely, not daft frills but really beautiful (and very me *g* - the purple one especially).

Bravissimo also sell some clothes and this is where I had the second surprise of the day. I decided that it would be nice to buy a new top or two and they had some gorgeous wrap-around tunic tops. Most of my every-day tops are starting to look rather ratty and I don't have anything even half decent for the conventions next month. So I looked for a 12 (12 UK, 10 US) in one of the tops, couldn't find one and decided to try the 14 instead just in case (14 UK, 12 US). The girl who had been fitting me threw up her hands in horror when I took it through to try and immediately downgraded to a 10 (8 US). We tried it and...er...it was too big :-) Now, they shape their tops to accommodate larger boobs so that you can have the size that fits your body rather than sizing up to fit monster boobs, but this was still a surprise. The fitter went out and got an 8 (6 US) and it actually fitted me perfectly in the body. Wow. The only slight problem is that it was an 8 to accommodate really, really curvy girls where I'm just really curvy and she didn't have a really curvy 8 in stock. But I have ordered it (and another thing) from the website in that size.

My god, I've fitted into a size 8 top today! I haven't fitted that size since I was eleven!

I've been thinking that I was getting fatter, not thinner, but apparently the fat has just redistributed a bit. Wow. And the properly fitting bras actually make my bust look smaller rather than larger, which is always nice. I'm, um, kind of not fat :-)))

Hopefully the new tops will arrive before the convention :-)


The coffee shop was very nice and I had a slice of chocolate and rose petal cake (yes, you read that right) to tide me over until lunch. Next stop was Fresh and Wild to pick up some goodies for my vegan father. We spent rather longer in there than intended because there was so much yummy stuff to choose from and he needed to take a really good look at all the fantastic tofu options :-)

Next up, the sales at Libery. Sis has been buying Christmas tree ornaments in there gradually over the last couple of years and it's occurred to me that I need to start doing the same so that I have my own collection for when I move to Canada and no longer live with my parent's and their ornaments. So I ransacked Liberty :-) And got a haul of around 12 absolutely beautiful baubles for £16. Bargain :-) Eclectic collection, but they actually all go together and I adore them all :-) I plan to repeat this next year and have a fabulous bauble collection when I emigrate.

At this point, we were all rather hungry so Sis took us to a vegan/vegetarian cafe called Mildred's that was fantastic. I had a carrot and sesame seed burger with sweet potato fries and basil (vegan) mayo. The burger was good but the fries were amazing. Really, really gorgeous. I'd quite happily go back and eat a plate of them on their own. I skipped dessert due to being rather full, but Da had a vegan chocolate and orange truffle cake with soya cream and looked like he had died and gone to heaven. It was really sweet :-)

Last stop of the day was James Smith and Sons to buy me a new walking stick. After careful deliberation and trying out, I went for the something very similar to the red maple wood derby, but with a dark brown wood that's got a lovely graining on the handle. They cut it down to my height and I got them to put a loop on to hang on my wrist - no more dropping my stick while attempting to pay for things in shops! I'm very happy with it :-) Just look for the red-headed girl with a beautiful walking stick at Peg 2 - it'll be me!

And then I was exhausted and came home. Someone very kindly gave up his seat to the cripple on the train (thank you sir, whereever you are) and I made it home to collapse quietly on my bed. It's probably been the most successful shopping trip I've had in ages and I have a feeling that I'll be going to London for shopping purposes more often :-)

Comments

[paranoidangel]

I think they've changed the sizes as well. I seem to be a size 8, since losing weight, probably due to not digesting my food, and size 8 is tiny, which is not me.

[selenay]

*g* I'm not entirely convinced that this is a 'real' size 8 - I'm pretty sure that I'll walk into Topshop next week and be unable to get into anything less than a 14. An 8 is really tiny and, although I'm not fat, I'm definitely not tiny :-)

[paranoidangel]

An 8 is really tiny and, although I'm not fat, I'm definitely not tiny :-)

Yeah. An 8 is pretty much turn round and you can't see them tiny.

I only just looked at this Bravissimo shop after reading other people's comments, I had no idea what they were or that they existed. And there's one in Oxford. I might have to have a look (and decide I refuse to pay that much :)).

There's a shop in Poole called Beales, who are good at bra fittings and have a nice range of sports bras, which is good for people like me for which the slightest hint of lace makes me itch. And according to their latest measurement, I'm only just about big enough for Bravissimo (although that seems to depend on what bra type you buy).

[selenay]

And there's one in Oxford. I might have to have a look (and decide I refuse to pay that much :)).

Take a look :-) They're very good and the bras are gorgeous - it's surprising how much difference a properly fitting bra makes! I concluded years ago that even if I skimp on other things, when you're my size it's going to require a more expensive bra to get the right support and to look OK and feel good. Sucks, but I've learned to live with it.

I'm only just about big enough for Bravissimo (although that seems to depend on what bra type you buy)

Hmmm. It's worth giving them a go - their fitting service is free even if you end up too small for their bras. I was expecting to only just be large enough for their bras, but I've turned out to be a rather different size to what I'd been buying. Which may explain why mine were gaping in weird places and cutting in at other points *sigh*

the slightest hint of lace makes me itch

For me, it depend son the type and location of the lace. I've had really lacey ones that had soft lace and were incredibly comfy and very plain ones with a tiny hint of lace edging that have been unwearable. That's why I've usually stuck with the plainest things I can find, but I wanted something slightly girlier for once. I seem to have found the non-itchy variety of lace this time and even one that's very girly and lovely with no lace :-)

[paranoidangel]

Bras are the most expensive clothing I own. The ones I have now were £25 each. They were quite recent, so I don't need any more yet.

For me, it depend son the type and location of the lace.

Seams get me, as well as lace. But then I'm happy with plain ones - no one's going to see them after all.

[nic]

I am so excited that you found clothes that fit well! I also suffer from the same problem, having to buy larger size clothes to accommodate my bust and I hate it!

[selenay]

It's one of the things that I've always hated about being big. Before I had a reduction several years ago, shopping was my definition of hell because all I could fit into were massive tents that made me look incredibly fat. I'm smaller now, but I'm still have a reasonably large bust and it's incredibly frustrating to have to make the choice between doing up the buttons or having ten inches extra at the waist on shirts.

I'm not going to be able to buy all my clothes from Bravissimo, but just having a couple of nice things from there would be nice. The rest of my clothes will just have to fit in the usual way *sigh*

[sazandra.livejournal.com]

First stop was at Bravissimo

It's a shop I keep telling myself I should visit in Oxford but I really detest traipsing around shops. Before SG-11 I did go shopping in Oxford, bought a couple of cardigans in Evans but I'd spent half the morning getting my eyes tested etc and after all that I only had the energy to do was get food shopping I needed then get the bus home.

I intend to go shopping in Oxford on 1st February, to get some food to take to P2, so maybe I'll wander into Evans and/or stray as far as Bravissimo then.

[selenay]

You really should try Bravissimo - they're absolutely lovely and really helpful. The girl helping me got the fitting done with minimum stress, asked me what kinds of bras I was thinking about and then brought in a massive pile of things in the right sizes to try on. No wandering the shelves for me - she brought it all into the cubicle and made sure things fitted right there :-) We weeded out all the "no need to try, erk that's terrible" bras immediately and then tried the rest, which was much more fun than I'd expected, until we had three bras that fit properly and are exactly the kind of thing that I was looking for.

I'd recommend them to anyone :-)

The weird bit was looking down at myself in one of the properly fitting bras and realising that I actually look smaller than I did in my old bras even though the cup size is technically higher. It's amazing how much difference that makes.

Hope you stray as far as Bravissimo :-) Be brave!

[sazandra.livejournal.com]

I haven't had a bra for so many years that, on the odd occasion when I've felt I want one, I have no idea what size and have soon given up. It really depends on how I feel on 1st February.