Intimate Apparel

How does one go about leaving their bra at a Big 5 Sporting Goods store? It’s quite easy, really... It was time to replace the worn-out swim suit I use for lap swimming. I thought it would be an easy undertaking in the land of many swimming pools near Palm Springs, California, where we were going to spend the month of March. I would be wrong in that thought. There were plenty of resort wear shops selling nothing but resort wear style swimsuits. When I popped into one, the sales gal looked at me like I had swallowed a frog and said, “Oh, honey, this is a resort wear shop! You might want to look at one of those sport stores in the area.” Now, that may be fine and dandy, but what I have seen previously over the years at sporting goods stores is a very limited selection and not suitable for a serious lap swimmer.

On my first stop at a Dick’s Sporting Goods I found just what I expected to find - not what I was looking for. A few days later, I stopped at a Big 5 Sporting Goods. Low and behold they had a few suits worthy of trying on. I had worn a little summer dress I normally do not wear a bra with, but on this occasion, I thought it necessary to wear one. I tried on several suits that day and found one that fit, purchased it, and went home. As I was dressing the next day, I was unable to find my bra and began looking through my travel bags, on door knobs, hooks, and behind furniture. No, I don’t normally fling my bra around, but one never knows when searching somewhat desperately for an item. Then I got to thinking about the last time I wore it. Aha! I remembered taking it off at Big 5 and hanging it on the end of one of the swimsuit hangers. I was not happy about this revelation whatsoever, but, oh well, so it goes. 

When I got to thinking more about my lost bra and what the staff at the store might think when they found it, I thought it was the kind of funny story I should share with my sister so I called her. We both had a good laugh, but she wanted me to call the store. I told her they might think I walked off with one of their swim tops, and it just wasn't worth the hassle. But she was insistent, which got me wondering where my bra might have ended up.

I called Big 5, talked to Armando, he didn’t seem to think my story odd, he looked for said bra, and he took down my phone number in case they found it. A couple days later I was near Big 5, stopped in, walked to the swimsuits, looked on the inside of the racks, and noticed my navy-blue bra strap right away. I grabbed the hanger with the navy blue swimsuit and my navy blue bra still hanging from it then walked to the cashier. I held up the hanger and told her that I had left my bra here a few days ago when I purchased a swimsuit. A young man standing near her exclaimed, “Michelle, where did you find that?” I said, “Armando!? The cashier then needed to hear more of the story as Armando said, “That - is not - a bra. I was looking for a BRA! You know?” As he held his hands way out in front of his chest. I told him my husband had asked me if I had mentioned what the bra looked like. Other than it was navy-blue I had not said anything about there being no cups. Now, no cups versus cups makes my blue bra look like a two-piece swim top, and that was why I had stopped into the store. I walked out of Big 5 twirling my cup-less blue bra with a big smile on my face.

I tell this rather personal, but funny little story because I love not worrying about what other people may think about me, I love that something like this can happen and I can be so blasé about it that I can just walk right into a store, share a possibly embarrassing intimate apparel story with a young man, and leave the store twirling my bra. You know, sometimes, or should I say most times, we just need to get out of our own way and twirl that blue cup-less bra.

Michelle

Some bras photo courtesy of Almost Michelle