Shopping hate

[juliet]

I have discovered a shopping experience even more unpleasant than bra-shopping (hitherto long-term #1 on my Most Hated Shopping list[0]): bikini shopping! It's a lot *like* bra shopping, but even more expensive, with less choice, and fewer sizing options. (And this is without getting onto the issue of bottoms: apparently I am the only person in the world who wants swimwear for which one does not need to aggressively dehair[1].)

(Everything was halter-neck, which I'm not keen on due to broadness of shoulders. Except one top in Zimmerman, which a) didn't fit, and b) cost $100.)

So I gave up and will stick with existing top, which I still dislike, but which I don't have to spend an extra $50 on disliking. Instead, I bought a pair of Converse, in the hope that they might be a better solution for going out dancing than my current options of hiking boots or hiking sandals. I now have 5 pairs of shoes in this country, which seems a bit like overkill, even if that does include bike sandals and the Emergency $5 Thongs.

[0] Which is extensive, because | basically loathe all types of in-person shopping and at least some types of online shopping. uon wins some kind of special prize for being about the only person I know who can make the whole thing bearable; dogrando is no better than I am so we just infect each other with the hate & give up even faster.
[1] Not entirely true: Speedo do boy-cut bottoms, but it was really a top I was after, so didn't bother.

Comments

[plumsbitch.livejournal.com]

Dunno if this is a findable thing, but a mate pointed me at an excellent cossie, which was in a sports shop with an 'aqua aerobics' dept, so something much more like swimmable/breathable gym wear - with shorts-style legs etc, than 'prancing about with yr brazillian' beachwear?

[juliet]

Might try that - thanks!

[webcowgirl.livejournal.com]

I have been buying all of my swimsuits at Lands End for about 10 years. They do sizing right!

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

I have never bought a bikini in my life, and I haven't bought a bra in about 15 years. I am pretty sure I would loathe these things with an utter passion if I did, though. I'll stick with a one piece + cycling shirts, and saggy tits, thanks. The trade-off is worth it, and I htink your post just confirms that.

Could you alter another skimpy top into something bikini-suitable? A friend of mine cut up a tight t-shirt for this purpose, but she was reasonably small-breasted, so i don't know if this would work for you. It does seem like a cheaper option though, if you're not fussed about matching top and bottoms.

[juliet]

Bra shopping is vile but I now have a Method which takes about 1 hr every 1-2 yrs. Viz: go to Debenhams, collect one in my size (& a couple of things a size out, to cover all bases) of everything that I can stand to look at, try it all on at once, buy whatever fits, and I'm done till the next time they wear out. Now that I know what strike rate to expect (about 1 in 4), I can tolerate the horror.

I would not wish to go bra-free on a regular basis, tho don't always bother when at home. I run around too much; things would get painful. Also, yeah, am a little too vain :-)

A T-shirt is unlikely to stay put on me in surf, I fear (when I'm actually on a board I wear a wetsuit, but sea + swimming = surf & sometimes quite excitingly vigorous surf, e.g. today! The which-way-is-up-again? experience is invigorating enough without also worrying that I'm going to end up flashing the beach by accident :-) )

[i-ate-my-crusts.livejournal.com]

Your bra-shopping approach is mine, too. Replace Debenhams with David Jones...

[slightlyfoxed.livejournal.com]

Bah. Tankinis were popular a few years back, with little shorts and crop tops, but - alack! Fool that I was - I didn't but one, because thought it was a permanent move towards a more covering cut, rather than a temporary trend, after which the hemlines would disapear back up yer gusset.

Boo, hiss, and glad you got some nice dancing shoes.

[juliet]

A crop top type thing, that would be great. Bah!

There is much alarmingly tiny beachwear on display at Bondi.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I also hate bikini shopping. Tried a few in Melbourne and gave up very quickly, and concluded that my tankini purchased from Debenhams (similar to as described by slightlyfoxed) a few years ago will just have to suffice for ever more.

I think my mum has had the same (lurid purple and yellow) swimming costume for about 30 years, but she doesn't swim very often!

[ladyjulian.livejournal.com]

I tried bikini shopping once, in 1999, and thinking about the ordeal still sends me into a vortex of self-loathing, shop-hatred and retail-horror which I'm unlikely ever to get over.

The shop assistant made me try on a shorts-style bikini that looked knitted.

*shudder*

[brightybot.livejournal.com]

Not much help to you but Bravissimo in Oxford is fab. They fit you and fetch you bras that are likely to fit into the changing room. And then in the future if you want the same one again you can order it over the phone.

[juliet]

I have heard many good things of Bravissimo in London, as well - put off slightly by what I understand to be highish prices :-/ (Plus these days I *can* successfully fit myself, I just find the whole business irritating, also I resent the cost a bit, bah.)

I may well visit them when I get home, though!