Purchase guilt

A few weeks ago, fed up with my bra situation, I found myself browsing the Bravissimo website.

And a few days later, after pressing the order button for two new bras, I felt an immediate rush of guilt. Like I had broken my rules. Except I hadn’t, because bras was something I explicitly said I would spend money on, if I had to.

So where did the guilt come from?

I think it was partly because I wasn’t convinced that I really had to spend that money. And because it was the first time that the question had come up. Also, I hadn’t necessarily gone for basics, I’d gone for things that were really quite lovely, and I was wondering if I’d found some kind of loophole that would leave me up to my ears in bras by the end of the year…

As it turns out, the bras were more necessary than I’d initially realised, because, when they finally arrived, they didn’t fit. Instead of just sending them back, or trying to guesstimate what the problem was and exchange for a different size, I decided to get myself to my local store and get them fitted properly. This is such an invaluable service, because properly fitting bras, especially once you get to the larger cup sizes, can make all the difference in the world to how you feel about yourself, and how the rest of your clothes fit.

Of the two bras that I bought one of them was of the kind that either works or doesn’t, and for me it didn’t, even once I was in the right size. And for the other, the recommendation is to go up a cup size, as it runs small. I then tried on a few more things for good measure, and managed to walk away with two bras that I was very happy with.

Now though, I’m faced with the issue that I actually probably need more bras – because two isn’t really enough. And I do find myself wondering (with a holiday looming in the next few weeks) where swimwear fits in with these rules. What on earth have I started?