BOOBS.

Made you look!

But, actually, boobs really are the topic of today's Fashion Friday column.  If you're opposed to the discussion of sweater puppies, you best be on your way.  (Otherwise, please know that this discussion will be safe-for-work.)

Sweater puppies.
photo via videobash

I developed pretty young, which wasn't necessarily fun for me, since it meant I'd have yet another measurement nudging me out of the girls' clothes department.  I even remember overhearing another girl in my sixth-grade class say - pejoratively - that "if Heidi cut off her boobs, they'd make two holes in the floor."  Later in life, having a sizable rack might've been something I would appreciate... but at the time, I felt nothing but shame.

Sizable rack.
photo via WallDesigns

As I gained weight, my breasts ended up looking not-so-large in comparison to the rest of me.  In college, a couple of crude guys in acting class were talking about our classmates' assets - whose were big, and who were lacking.  I remember piping up that they'd forgotten mine... to which one of them replied "well, you're big so your tits don't count."  Thanks, sport. You stay classy!

That is one beautiful tit.
Image via DailyMail

I eventually came to appreciate my body, and have felt partial to my breasts ever since.  Until... well... until now.

Exercise and healthy eating has done all kinds of wonderful things for me.  It has also... well... it has also wreaked all kinds of havoc upon my breasts.  What was buoyant now sinks.  And I thought I was stuck with this for life.

What I didn't realize was that as my clothing size changed, so did my bra size.  Why wouldn't I have thought of this?  I don't know, but man, until as recently as a month ago, I was still wearing some of the bras I was wearing last year.

That all changed when my friend Alexa, the lovely Curvy Nerd, dragged me to Intimacy, a lingerie store in Culver City.

"It's amazing," she said, "it changed my life."

"You're crazy," I said, "but I love an adventure."  So the two of us, and my visiting friend Rena, headed over to the store.

When we arrived at the storefront, I became anxious.  Hanging in the window were a large array of beautiful, delicate... tiny... bras.  I have boobs that are neither delicate nor tiny, and in the past, there had to be a very large amount of structure (wire, foam, armor...) to support me.  But Alexa assured me that they had bras for all sizes.

I met with my sizing specialist, who explained that they sized ladies visually, without a measuring tape.  She took one look at my boobs and then left.  Which seemed embarrassing, but then she came back with an armful of bras, which she helped me shimmy into.

It turns out that the bra band I thought I should be wearing was TEN INCHES LARGER than the bra band I needed to be wearing.  And that when I'm wearing the right-sized bra - and one that's well-made - there's no drooping, and I can actually wear delicate lace.  Who knew?

To demonstrate the difference between the bra I was wearing, and the bra I purchased at Intimacy, I took some photos this morning, while wearing a light jersey tank from Lane Bryant.

Old and droopy on the left. New and perky on the right.
Tom noticed that I was smiling much more in the better bra.

  

Again, old on left, new on right.

  

So... if you're feeling a little droopy these days, by all means head out to a bra sizing with specialists.  There are Intimacy stores in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, San Diego, Scottsdale, and Washington D.C. 

And if you're not near an Intimacy store, I highly recommend seeking out a bra specialty store (not, like, a Lane Bryant or a Victoria's Secret, but a real specialty store.)  Wearing the right bra can mean the difference between good posture and bad posture... or confidence and embarrassment.

I'm off for now, but I'll be back next week with more fun and joyful ways to take care of you and I.  Until then, I hope you'll keep doing good things for you!