Not gonna lie, I enjoy clothes shopping. Full price? What's that? Sale racks are my jam. I'm good at stalking them and uncovering great buys. Back in June
*(yep, drafted this awhile ago, and here it is. I just organized/cooked for 2 tailgates, 2 weekends back-to-back and hosted 4 of Tank's friends for a few days last week and drove home from ND this morning with Mini - exhausted doesn't cover it. I love this post and I hope you will too),
I challenged Curly to remove the clothes that no longer fit her. *I JUST REREAD THAT SENTENCE AND IT MADE ME LAUGH SO I AM LEAVING IT ALONE, but I feel an explanation is due:
REMOVE THE CLOTHES FROM HER CLOSET THAT NO LONGER FIT. I DIDN'T DEMAND THAT SHE STRIP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE KITCHEN.
I explained that we were about to go away with my family and I hoped she might wear something that wasn't related to working out for the special occasion portion of the weekend. Turns out she really didn't own much that fit her or that fell in the 'oh, that looks cute' family. How can this be?
Did I just hear an excuse to shop? The girls and I hit Von Maur, my favorite department store. Both girls tried things on. Mini enjoys shopping and she and I have had many good times, long chats while shopping at Von Maur. Curly would rather not shop. What will I do when Mini goes away to college? Clearly, I'll be dragging Curly to Von Maur in order to convert her into a seasoned shopper.
Both girls tried on a ton of things. There were so many cute tops, it was hard to choose. Mini didn't wear a normal bra. Maybe she wore a sports bra? So she opted to try on most things without a bra. It was, um, in a word, distracting. She was getting frustrated with me, because I was struggling to look past the 'incomplete' or ban-the-bra-60's look, if you will.
Rest assured, I took no photos, but the girls sensed my discomfort and began preying on me. Mini tossed the word NIPPLE out a few ba-zillion times and enjoyed watching me cringe. She then labelled NIPPLE as a trigger word for me, opting to say it repeatedly. Hey now, I nursed my babies, I can say nipple AND areola. SEE? Between bouts of verbalizing my apparent trigger word loudly, we were cackling. I was hoping no one was in the neighboring changing rooms.
Morale of the story: I think Curly now sees that shopping can be fun, if not scarring. The next day between Reg's basketball games, I ran over to return the things we'd decided weren't needed. I realized then that we'd completely missed the sale rack of shorts. Not to worry, I rectified that in a heartbeat.
 |
| We were just reminiscing in Wisconsin with my family that 8 years ago when we first visited, my niece who was about 3 at the time (2.5 years younger than Curly) leaned over the balcony of he room and asked Mini: "WHERE'S CUTE CURLY?" Well, here she is. Check out this cute NEW outfit modeled by a headless 'Cute Curly'. |
*Basketball has been A LOT this summer as both youngest kids are playing travel ball, but the fact that their high school league games are far from home, but SO near Von Maur has been a comfort to me, maybe not my bank account though. I feel the universe was speaking to me by arranging the games so near my fav place to shop.
Mini and I enjoyed a more spacious try-on session with Curly in my master bedroom later that night. Mini and I, admonished the novice Curly on the regular with her claims of I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT WILL MATCH THIS . . . experts chimed in with: YES YOU DO, THAT'LL MATCH WHITE, OR NAVY, OR TAN, REMEMBER ALL THE NEW TOPS WE JUST GOT YOU?
And, Curly: I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THESE, to which Mini and I were like, YEAH, BECAUSE THEY ARE SO INCREDIBLY CUTE - MAKES PERFECT SENSE . . . insert eye roll.
Just as when you give a mouse a cookie, the mouse will need milk, when you buy teen girls new tops, they will need new bralettes.
I ran into Marshalls solo a few days later and bought almost every bralette that they had in the girls' sizes, and a few for me. It was like Christmas morning. We had yet another try-on session in my master bedroom the day before we left for Wisconsin with my family (details on this weekend are coming, not to worry). Then I sent Mini to return the excess.
This topless changing session was a hoot. There were some almost-heated discussions about who would get to keep which one. I scored an amazing bralette from Gilly Hicks that has a lacey back and goes great with a dress I own. Mini is hoping that we sort of share it.
Translation, if I let it out of my sight, I will never see it again.
 |
| Gilly Hicks bralette - this is the lacey back. I mean, obviously NOT the front. |
At one point, Mini sauntered down the hallway to the girls' room to grab a shirt to see if a specific bralette would work with it.
Me: MINI, ED IS WORKING ON HIS INTERNSHIP IN THE BASEMENT.
Mini: OH.MY.GOSH. I TOTALLY FORGOT. I THOUGHT WE WERE THE ONLY ONES HOME.
Giggle, giggle.
 |
| I get no money for endorsing this bra, but if there is a cuter name for a bra, I haven't heard it. Also, for those who like underwire, or require it, the bra-llelujah comes that way too. Say the name with me, it's fun. |
Our greatest discovery was the bra-llelujah by Spanx. Holy Toledo. So comfortable. I bought one in an XS on clearance for $8. Curly snagged it. I've been hounding that bra in other sizes ever since. Von Maur has it on sale for $38. Hmm. A far cry from $8. I will continue to stalk it to see if gets marked down further. Perhaps a certain someone needs to stop complaining about not having time to write and admit to the REAL problem afoot.
Oh, that reminds me of my favorite sale shoe purchase that I have yet to share. Stay tuned.
Are you a shopper or a dropper? Do you buy and try on at home, or risk embarrassing dressing room situations with teenagers/family members, or have you overheard weird neighboring dressing room conversations?
16 comments:
That shopping trip sounds so fun and that outfit is adorable. I love that bra-llelujah! Perhaps I need one too (I wonder if they sell them here!)
I am with you - I love a good sale! It's so exciting to get something that's marked down so heavily!
I love how much fun you and the girls had shopping. I hate to shop but love a good sale. I enjoy haunting a local high end thrift store and scoring excellent deals (like a gorgeous Calvin Klein sundress I wore to a wedding —$38!). I just looked up that bra -it’s on amazon Canada for over $100-yikes!
I'm trying to decide if I would ever say Hallelujah about a bra. I've said it plenty of times whilst wrenching one off, but mostly I'm a reluctant bra wearer and am always trying to see if I can just get away with wearing a cami.
It's great that you and your daughters can successfully shop together and have fun during and after.
Like you, I am not a big spender on things if I don't have to be. I like prowling around Marshall's when I'm in the mood. I'd rather not spend a lot on clothes.
I like that name for the bra-llelujah too. I think it should set the trend for naming of bras in the future. Clever sells. Von Maur closed around here. I found some good deals in them, and suddenly I'm a little nostalgic for them.
I, too, appreciate a comfy bra. E and I wear sports bras as if we were sponsored to do so. Actually, I like Amazon for bras. I haven't been in a Von Maur in years because they don't have one up here. However, they are a very nice store.
I actually have one or two of those Bra-llelujah bras with the underwire. Had no idea they came wire free. I'll have to look for those - since the pandemic began I have refused to wear an underwire bra. But, if I HAD to wear an underwire, it isn't too shabby.
I love shopping with Eve too, and her friends - we generally amuse or terrify fellow shoppers. She regularly sends me pics from university of her wearing shirts or jackets (or both) that she's stolen from me, which is somehow flattering and annoying at the same time.
Nicole - I have been steering clear of clothes shopping, for one thing - time, and for the other, I need nothing and need to save my funds. Mini is home for hte week and she needed winter clothes, so off we went. Um, we did some damage. We even found a pair of jeans for her - a near impossible task with her height. That shopping trip in June followed by the bra try on session in my room was so much fun. Oh, how I love a deal.
Pat - I used to shop at a very nice thrift shop when the kids were really little. I STILL have a velour ski shirt (I don't ski) with a bedazzled quarter zip that I bought used. It is soft and cozy and it still looks great. That shop moved elsewhere, but I enjoyed shopping there.
Yikes, I should buy that bra for you here on sale and then ship it to Canada. ;)
Nance - I am laughing at you only hollering bra-lellujia when removing a bra. Good point. I discovered sort of by accident that I own a camit with a shelf bra that works for me. I didn't know I could get away with wearing that and avoiding a bra all together.
I do enjoy shopping with my girls, usually. Mini gets more into it, Curly usually focusing on when it's time to go home.
Mini needed new winter clothes and she's home on break right now. We went tonight and bought her some things. We struggled at first to find anything that she liked, and I told her that we could head to Marshalls if we didn't find anything. She prefer Zara for jeans, because of the long lenght. I cannot enter that store - it makes my head spin, so we were relieved to find another pair of jeans at Von Maur that work for her.
Ally - Yes, a name that implies comfy bra wearing days should be the new trend in bras. Sad that you had a Von Maur and now you don't. Our Von Maur will never close, because I think I keep them in business. They do ship for free though, so maybe you can look for things online. ;)
Kari - I have been shocked at how much I am enjoying these bralettes and the bra-lelullia one - pure comfort. Who knew? I feel restricted when I wear a sports bra at times when I am not working out, but if I had a soft one I might be more inclined to wear it all the time. Mini and I were at Von Maur this evening. She needed a new wardrobe for winter. Let's just say, Von Maur's inventory did not disappoint. We did some damage - all on sale, but it does add up.
Gigi - I've never worn underwire. I'm basically flat chested, so not really necessary. I can't imagine adding wire to that part of my wardrobe. I'm glad to hear that the pandemic freed you of your underwire. Silver lining, pun not intended - but look at that. Silver. Lining? Hmm. I hope you can find a bra-lelullia sans underwire to add to your collection.
Ali - Mini enjoys shopping with me, but she would NEVER allow me to hang out at a shopping mall with she and her friends. She is home all week on break and she and I just went to Von Maur for clothes for the fall. We were surprised at how much of what she chose reminded us of clothes from the 70s. My mom used to always say YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THAT WILL COME BACK IN STYLE. Ringing true.
When I find something that I like at the store, I hold it up to her and say OH, THIS IS CUTE. We used to agree, now she says: FOR ME, OR FOR YOU? She would no longer wear the things that I would choose for myself, aside from a long sleeve t-shirt.
Oh my goodness. I was giggling at your shopping excursion because it reminds me of ALL the shopping trips with my girls. We too, always had so much fun...trigger words be damned! 😳😜 Did anyone have a nip slip? 🤣
Thanks for making me imagine you demanding that your daughter remove all clothing that doesn't fit right there in your kitchen.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE bralettes. Marshalls and TJ max are great for those, but I just snagged some for myself at TARGET. (hold onto your wallet Mini!) Lately, I've been a buy-and-try at home as it's so much work taking clothes off and on. LOL. Who have I become?
Suz - You are popping up all over my blog. You are so sweet to play catch up with everything you have going on. You didn't need to do that, but I'm always glad to hear from you, of course.
Hee hee, there were some 'turn around' moments shouted at one another, I guess to prevent the nip slip.
Oh how I enjoy a good shopping trip with my girls. I feel like it does us much good - we chat, laugh, share stuff that might not have been shared. One of my fav shopping times remains the time we tried on bathing suits and one of the girls didn't bring underwear or something because she'd come right from a pool outing, and one girl made the other sister share her underwear when I was grabbing extra sizes. Then we went straight to Irish dancing private lesson and they were arguing in front of the teacher about who needed to give the underwear back.
Mini is home right now. We shopped Monday night at Von Maur, but I'm feeling like we should hit Marshalls once before she goes back. There is always a good deal lurking there.
Post a Comment