Having a baby messes with your body. This much is obvious. Or, at least, I thought that was an obvious thing. But here is a rather unfortunate story in which I impute expertise to a person who really does not have any.
When I was about 8 months pregnant, right before we left Champaign, I went to the local Victoria's Secret store to be measured for my bra size. It had become apparent to me that the items I had no longer fit me, but I was totally clueless as to what size I should be wearing. I thought that the employees at a store that sells bras would be able to help me with my quandry.
I arrived, unfortunately, during their semi-annual sale. So the store was absolutely swamped with people. I headed straight for the fitting rooms and let them know I was just there to be measured. I did not need a fitting room, I really just wanted to know my size. So they had a lady measure me. For those who are unfamiliar with this process, it does not involve the removal of any clothing, just a couple of passes with a tape measure.
I was measured in the middle of the dressing area, outside the dressing rooms but not on the store floor. That's fine. I have no problem with that. My measurements resulted in the salesperson measuring me announcing that I needed a 40D. While I would have preferred for her not to announce that out loud in a volume that everyone could hear, I wasn't super bothered by it. It's my size, and the volume of her voice won't affect the measurement.
What did bother me is that she followed up the announcement of my size with, "Is that even possible?"
Given that she had just done the measurements herself, and that I was in fact a real-life person and not some sort of weird apparition, yes. That is even possible. To indicate otherwise means you either don't know how to do your job, or have done it very poorly. That's not even touching on how rude that statement is.
"Is that even possible?" Did you seriously just ask that question? Out loud? At such a volume and in such a tone that people waiting in line turned to gawk?
Yes, my body is possible. I am a human being. We tend to come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and dispositions. Which should be common knowledge to anyone who has ever interacted with more than one other human being. To assert, or even to imply, otherwise is to wave a giant banner indicating that you have some deep and serious misunderstandings about the species of which you claim to be a part.
I didn't say anything to that poor salesperson that day. Really, what could I have said? Any comments I could have made would have been for my benefit, to make me feel better. There's nothing that I could have done, at least not in the time allotted before the store closed, to really educate her on all the issues with her statement. So I left. I haven't been back since.
Silver lining? I now feel absolutely no interest whatsoever in shopping at Victoria's Secret, which I'm sure will save me money in the long run. Target lingerie section for the win!
Take care, friends, and I'll write again soon.
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