(no subject)

[geekchick]

Being a masochist, I went shopping for bathing suits today.

Well, okay, I went because I actually needed one since we're headed to the beach tomorrow and the suit I have is a size too small; I can squeeze into it if need be, but it's not what one might call overly flattering (other than the fact that it gives me pretty good cleavage). This is not a good time of year to be looking for a swimsuit; other than Nordstrom, everywhere I went had one half rack (heh heh, I said "rack") of bikinis in size 2 and maybe one or two one piece suits that that were either a size 10 or a size 24. Since I'm neither of those sizes, I'm out of luck. Tried Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Ross, Burlington, Sears, Macys, Macys (Fair Oaks has two of them, because one used to be Hechts), Nordstrom, and JC Penney, where I found a suit that was slightly too big but wearable for $5; sadly it looked way more than $5 of awful on me, so I passed.

My last, best hope, seeing as how they sell nothing but swimsuits and related crap, was Everything But Water. I took a look through a couple of racks, determined I wouldn't find anything there, and started to leave. The saleswoman was chatting with me and said that a lot of people come in and look at their prices and then leave, but these suits would last years, unlike the cheap stuff you buy at Target. I agree that these are higher quality and higher prices than Target, but that isn't why I was leaving. If I'd been less disheartened about the whole experience, I'd have done a little education. Look, lady, I know I'm not looking particularly put together today, but the problem here is not the price. I'm (reasonably) okay with spending that amount of money on a piece of clothing if it's going to last me more than a season. The problem is that you don't carry a damn thing that will fit me. I found one, count 'em one size 16 suit in the entire store. I need an 18 or a 20, depending on the suit. I would love to give you folks some of my not-insubstantial disposable income in exchange for that awesome hot pink number, but you and your buyers clearly don't want to take money from us fat chicks. Seriously, those bills in my wallet don't have cooties; you can't catch Teh Fat from handling them. Yeah, Betsey Johnson is never going to make anything I can wear, but surely there must be somebody out there who makes decent-quality suits that don't offend your designer sensibilities and come in sizes larger than a 12. Surely the complete lack of larger sizes in your inventory must be a matter of quality control and not that the idea of fat chicks in swimsuits offends your aesthetic sensibilities. Right? RIGHT?

I should've gotten over the lack of motivation last week and ordered something online, but I really prefer to try bathing suits on first because things that look super cute online rarely look as good when I actually put them on.

Ah well. In lieu of a $100 bathing suit, I got myself a $7 Hello Kitty purse on clearance. (That's the design, but my purse has a different shape.) Y'know, that probably makes me a lot happier than an overpriced piece of lycra would anyway. So there. *thbpbt*

Comments

[nixieq.livejournal.com]

oh god do i sympathize.

the lands end swimsuit line has some pretty decent styles, and they at least claim to cater to various sizes, although you'll still have the problem of not being able to try it on first. but hey, there's always the tank-top-and-shorts option for this weekend!

and i hope you guys have a lovely and relaxing trip!

[geekchick]

My hopes that the Sears Lands End shop would carry swimwear were dashed quickly, which was too bad. I think I might've known that fro looking at their website, but conveniently forgot. =) I've heard good things about their swimsuit quality and fit.

and i hope you guys have a lovely and relaxing trip!

Thanks! =) I've never been to Ocean City before, so it should be fun. Rehoboth, sadly, was full; there's apparently NASCAR in Dover this weekend and everyone's tacking on a beach trip or something.

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

You might try these folks: http://www.swimsuitsforall.com/default.asp (though it's not brick and mortar, which I do understand as a disadvantage). They have some very cute suits, and some still in stock.

BTW, I have also found Lands End to be VERY helpful in fitting over the phone. I had one gal walk me through the fitting process. At the time, I turned out to take a 12 LONG (this was some time ago). Since I'm only 5 ft 1.5 inches, this was QUITE a surprise. Apparently, all my height is in my torso. I particularly like their "tugless tanks", which really do stay on my butt better than average. And they DO have "extended sizes," so there's some hope there.

[ame-chan.livejournal.com]

I got a Speedo one piece at a sporting goods store two years ago and I adore it. It's got a built in bra, good coverage and I feel GOOD in it. It was expensive, but worth it.

I had a similar experience at Victoria's Secret the other day. Nothing in the store went over a L and there were mostly only S and M sizes on hte racks. I felt ignored and insulted and sad - some of the stuff was cute and I wanted it, but they obviously didn't want fat girls in their stuff.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

But is the Hello Kitty purse going to offer enough coverage, or are you going to that kind of beach? ;-) *gd&r*

Why aren't they more interested in your money?

[telnar.livejournal.com]

As someone who believes that that market forces rarely are both stupid an accidental, I was thinking about why they would do this.

It makes sense for a store with a small selection to only stock the most popular sizes (to avoid stocking products where the turnover will be slow enough that any reasonable selection in a size risks having a lot left over at the end of the season). That doesn't apply to a specialty store, though.

The only thing I can think of is that they (or the companies who design their products) are afraid of getting cooties from larger size customers (they probably call it "preserving their brand image" rather than "avoid cooties"). If that's what it is (and if their judgment is correct), then it really stinks that there are enough size 4s out there who would be less inclined to buy something just because they saw a size 18 version of it to make this a rational strategy.

[also-huey.livejournal.com]

it gives me pretty good cleavage

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[college-buddha.livejournal.com]

I approve wholeheartedly of fat chicks. I disapprove, to the point of being willing to boycott, stores that are so unfriendly to fat chicks.