Where my girls at?

Picture it: New Jersey, 2006. A young lawyer sits in a dreary office, conversing collegially with a collegaue over the office's instant messaging system. "What are you doing this weekend?" the colleague asks. "Oh, busty as usual." she replies, typing absentmindedly. Umm, NO. That would be "BUSY as usual." Oops. That's an easy way to get called into HR. Thankfully, my error was quickly remedied and the misunderstanding was cleared up.

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What do my terrible typing skills have to do with wedding planning? Well, "the girls" are a very important component of a bride's wedding day ensemble. The dress, gorgeous as it may be, can only sit on the foundation you provide, and the right garments are key. Today, we'll talk about the top half.

I've seen a few blog posts about the various bra options available - strapless, longline strapless, convertible, corset, and the good old strapless-and-spanx combo. I won't bore you with that. However, I haven't seen many bloggers address the most important aspect of this whole underthing debacle- getting the right size for your girls.

As many that have come before me, I meandered into Victoria's Secret in high school, had them measure me and proceeded to wear the same size bra for the next decade, occasionally adjusting up or down slightly in band size to account for weight gain or loss. Epic Fail. Not to badmouth Vickie's, but their measurement techniques aren't exactly on the cutting edge. Recent research (read: my Googling) has indicated that there is no universally accepted bra-measuring technique.

A few weeks ago, a lingerie obsessed friend convinced me to visit a specialty shop for a bra fitting. Apparently, specialty shops will fit you with several types of bras (everyday, special occasion, sports bras) and will even alter your bras and swimsuits. And, who couldn't use a little help with the almighty bathing suit?

While the experience of disrobing in front of a total stranger wasn't exactly what sprung to mind when I agreed to brunch that morning, it was eye-opening. It turns out that I've been wearing a band 2 or 3 sizes too big, and I've been wearing it entirely too high on my back. This is why my straps are always falling down and I can't seem to shake that little pouch of "back fat" under my shoulder blade no matter how much I work out. Imagine that - my bra was making me look fat! Finally, I could blame something other than my poor eating habits! See how it was totally worth letting some random chick take off my bra?

I walked out feeling feminine, confident, and slightly broke. While the bras were not cheap, they weren't much more than the more popular bras peddled by our old friend Vickie. The sticker shock subsided once I remembered that I'd paid about $50 for the stretched out, poorly-sized bra hanging limply behind me during my fitting.

One side effect I didn't anticipate was that the right bra vastly improved my posture. I'm certainly not the first bride with such concerns, and I figured the road to better posture would be paved by my trainer and possibly some yoga classes (I'll be blogging about that, too). I was pleasantly surprised at the effect of having everything on the upper body sitting where it was supposed to be. I am walking taller (an amazing feat for someone my height) and I think I look slimmer overall. Score!

So, fess up. Have you been wearing the same bra size since high school?