What Would You Do: the Bra Edition

I have a couple of drafts logged on here that I will probably never post. These entries were started over the last couple of weeks. Both of them are political in nature. But since the theme of both depressed me beyond even my political junkie threshold, I decided I would spare you my heavily footnoted self-righteous indignation. And instead, I will tell you about my latest purchase. My new bra.

I have been in dire need of a new bra for sometime now as I have only one that fits me comfortably. I'm one of those women who, if she gains or loses weight, she does so in her chest region. It's very vexing. I have numerous bras. I won't get into numbers or letters -- I'm a repressed New England Catholic, remember -- but lets just say that my stash of bras could be used to lift and separate about four or five different women of various endowments. I never get rid of any of them because, well, I can only stay away from the Ben and Jerry's for so long. Unfortunately, as the years go by, your...erm...shape starts to shift a bit, and what used to look good on me when I was 30, isn't exactly supporting me the same way. More vexation! So, after sifting through the polysynthetics, I came to the conclusion that I had to buy a new brassiere. Luckily for me, the economy sucks right now and Macy's is having a sale just about every week. This week is their annual bra and pantie sale. How fortuitous!

I traipsed out to Macy's after work last night, and even though it was a school night and even though it was dinner time, I was shocked at how dead the mall was. Seriously, you know the economy is in trouble when school kids aren't hanging out near the Sabarros trying to persuade the classmate behind the counter to give them free cups of water. But I digress. I went up the three floors to the lingerie department and went directly to the clearance section. I picked up a ugly purple bra, a lacy bra, a pretty green bra, and even an animal print bra. From there, I went to the massive Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale section and picked up a bra from nearly every single rack except Wonderbra because they seem to be prejudiced against girls like me. ("Why do you need a push-up bra?" Umm, because my boobs need to be pushed back up from my knees...?) With hands full, I went into the changing room and stripped.

First, will I ever look good in halogen lighting? No, right? I mean, let's just agree on that. But after about thirty minutes of trying on every single bra I brought into dressing room (and I'm thinking I brought in over 20; I was determined), I found exactly two -- both Warners -- that actually fit. All these bras were exactly the same number and same letter. But like jeans, just because you're a ten at GAP, doesn't mean that you're a ten at Lucky Brand. Sigh. The Warner bras were buy two, get one free. Both bras were about $30. But... while they fit comfortably across my back and over my shoulders, they didn't do anything for me. They were just, you know, bras! They didn't lift; they didn't hold in; they didn't give me any kind of shape. They were kinda cute, and I liked the little satin trim on one and the daisy motif on the other, but since I buy bras to actually support me (and currently am not mentioning my unmentionables to any gentlemen suitors), it would be a moot point to get a pretty one just for show. I bought a pretty bra once with the idea that this year! I would be flashy the lace...and then I didn't. So, live and learn.

Usually, I buy Wacoal. They cost about $60 a piece, but they are the Cadillacs of bras and almost never go on sale. So, here I was with the cost effective conundrum? Do I buy one Wacaol that I know fits my criteria of perfect fit and nice silhouette or do I get three so-so bras for the same money? What would you do?