For the last two years I’ve been suffering from Victorias-secretaphobia. I have been buying cheap bras in hopes of avoiding the PTS caused by a panty shopping encounter at Victoria’s’ Secret. When I graduated from high school 9 years ago I weighed a whopping 103 lbs. At 5’8″ I was a very skinny girl…my ribs and hip bones were clearly visible, and though I had no boobs I shopped religiously at Victorias Secret. Through the years I added some weight, inching, quite literally up to a healthy weight, then just slightly heavier, all the while stilling buying all my bras and panties at VS. Finally, I hit the average size of women in America, a 14, for my body just a bit beyond a healthy weight.

Having gone up 6 sizes in 7 years I was already not feeling great about my body when on a shopping trip for “foundation garmets” I found my self asking the associate at Victoria’s Secret if they had panties that I liked in an XL. As if it wasn’t hard enough to ask anorexia barbie for and extra large, she turned around and shouted back to Skipper (because she was utterly flat chested) who was working the register, do we have any extra large panties? Skipper sauntered up to the front of the store and explained to me very matter of factly “they don’t make those in an extra large” – ahhh…sting. She continued, “we don’t really have anything here in your size”…….gahhhhh she didn’t… “you might try Lane Bryant, they carry the bigger sizes” What? They didn’t make my size? Why didn’t she just tattoo WHALE on my forehead? Tears welled in my eyes and as I looked up I noticed people staring. Disoriented- I fled the store. Never to return….until today.

I didn’t return today miraculously a size two, I don’t have an amazing weight loss story for you. I’m still a 14 but I returned to the bra store today with something I should never have lost, confidence in myself and an appreciation for my body the way it is.

4 of 5 women are unhappy with their bodies and that’s always been me. Even as a size 2 I hated something about my body. So what changed? As silly as it sounds, I started watching Carson Kressley’s show on Lifetime “How to Look Good Naked“. Carson takes real women of all shapes and sizes and says you don’t need to diet, or have surgery, or hide under baggy clothes, you are beautiful. He teaches women the basics of dressing for their shape, including foundation garments.

According to Susan Nethero (a.k.a. the bra whisper) wearing the right size bra can make you look 10 lbs. lighter. A proper fitting “foundation garment” changes the way clothes fit you as well as the way you carry yourself, and is also important in good breast health. You can check out Susan’s website for some amazing tips on finding the right bra for you and solving specific fit issues.

Today, for the first time in 2 years, I walked into Victorias Secret and had a bra fitting. Go figure…I was one of the 85% of women who are wearing the wrong size bra. Here’s the best part, after all that time, they DO carry my size in both bras and panties. And when I tried them on it was like Carson was standing there with me saying “see”. I could have cried all over again, not because I needed a bigger size than I was wearing, but because feeling sexy as a size 14 didn’t have to be as hard as I was making it for myself. I still have a long way to go, but I will say the girls are looking damn good. Ladies, if you got if flaunt it!

Ha ha this post will kill any male readership that I have!