I avoid swimsuit and bra shopping at all costs.
It’s not a confidence thing and it’s not a body thing. It’s that the idea of trying on thirty swimsuits and driving home with nothing makes me want to turn the car around before I’ve even parked. Summer doesn’t care about any of that though. At some point you need a new suit, and if you’re anything like me, your bras have been hanging on by a thread for longer than you’d care to admit. There’s a boutique in Armonk called @liliesandlacearmonk that I’ve walked past for months. Every time I’d tell myself I should go in, and every time I’d talk myself right back out of it. Everything looks good on the hanger. We both know that’s usually where the story ends. Last week I finally went in. I’m not being dramatic when I say it was the easiest shopping trip of my life. The owner, Allison, said hello the second I walked in and asked what I was after. She took one look, pulled a few suits off the racks, and handed me four to try. All four fit. I kept waiting for the one that wouldn’t work and it never showed up. Everything held me in where I wanted and skimmed right past where I didn’t, and every single one was comfortable too. Then we got to bras. She measured me with a real tape measure, and I couldn’t tell you the last time anyone had done that. For years I’ve been ordering bras online and saying a little prayer before I hit ‘pay with Apple Pay.’ Allison walked me through something I’d never really thought about. Most of us need different bras for different necklines. Something for a V-neck, something for a crew, a good T-shirt bra, one with more coverage. Obvious the second she said it. Here’s the part I keep thinking about. The right bra isn’t the prettiest one on the shelf. It’s the one that does its job, and it changes the way everything else you own fits and feels. I walked in braced for two frustrating hours. I left in under forty-five minutes with four swimsuits, four bras, and no real idea why I’d waited so long. If you need bras or swimwear Allison is your girl. PS-the photo of this white caftan does not do it justice, so pretty in person, linen and lace.