Hi everyone. I’ve been lurking on these boards for at least two years now, and I’ve always seen the obligatory “Ask the …” threads and wished that I, the college dropout, would eventually come up with some area of expertise where I myself could feel useful to humanity.
And so, I present to you, Ask The Underwear Sales Girl. I think it’ll leave a nice legacy, as far as first posts go.
I work for the largest/most recognized chain of lingerie stores in the US. Yep, it’s almost definitely the one that you’re thinking of right now. So, ask away.
Ladies, questions about bras you’ve always been afraid to ask? Not all the stores hire nice, helpful, friendly salesgirls such as myself. I’ve encountered some snotty ones in my travels, so I can see how some people might have some deep, burning question, but be intimidated to ask. Well, this is your forum now. Speak up. No matter how mundane I’m sure I know the answer.
Wondering about specific bras you’ve seen in our commercials? I know I’d want to know why they were commercial-worthy. Go ahead, ask.
Men, confused between the difference in thong/v-string/brazilian/tanga/brief and all the other assorted cuts and styles of undergarments? Ask away. Your buddies will think you’re much more studly if you know your panties, trust me.
Are different regions given different sizes in the stores? In the Detroit area, I never find anything above, say, a D cup; are there no bras with larger cup sizes at Vicky’s? And what about us small ribcaged, big boobed women? Why are we ignored, dammit (especially with the amount of boob implants done each year*)?
Oops, nevermind. Right there in the latest pic thread.
Back to the OP, how often do guys come in to shop for their women? I have a pretty good understanding of what the Lady Mung likes to wear under her scrubs and I’d like to surprise her with something nice from a lingerie department without feeling like a perv. How understanding are the salespeople in a lingerie department (assuming, of course, that I know what sizes/styles to ask for)?
Haven’t seen it yet, but I think it might make the rounds through my store next time I’m in.
Not since I’ve worked there, no. Plus there’s the whole “one person to a fitting room” rule. We check feet under the doors diligently. I’m sure if I saw feet and knees at the same time, my jiggling the key in the lock (making it seem as if someone were about to open the door) would put the kebbash on their um, activities.
You’re correct in that assumption, but wrong about the size distribution. In the stores, anything above a D is considered worth it’s weight in gold. There are maybe 6 or 7 DD bras (Total!) in our store at any given time. For quite awhile, DDs didnt even exist in our store. Customers complained and we started getting more in, thankfully. Trust me, I know the pain. I measure a 32c, not so big, but the size itself was discontinued a few years ago. Discontinued! How do you discontinue the size of someone’s anatomy? :eek:
My best suggestion would be to look on the website, they have sizes there that we don’t carry in the store.
Guys come in all the time. As long as you have a general idea of what you want, we’re pretty good at finding just the right item. And we understand that you’ll probably feel like a deer frozen in headlights (perhaps a bad pun to use when relating to a store selling bras?), so at least in my store, we try to act friendly and lessen your nervousness. This stuff is second nature to us, I can determine a girls bra size most times by looking at her. We’re totally comfortable with what we sell and we’ve seen or heard it all, so don’t worry about making us blush because you’re afraid to ask where we keep the crotchless panties.
Well, depending on how chesty you are, an IPEX could be the best thing that ever happened to you. There’s actually a few years of technological development behind the idea and we have a patent pending on it. Basically, it’s made to feel like a completely unlined bra, for comfort purposes. The special part is this teeny foam circular pad right in the center of each cup, basically to keep you from having your brights on. The material feels almost like a mix between lycra, and really expensive silk. The straps are gradually widened to prevent dig into your shoulders, the underwire is double-covered with a floating seam so you don’t feel any poking or digging, and the whole thing is almost 100% seamless. Especially for women who are older and/or are experiencing a bit of sag and just want support and a natural shape without sacrificing comfort, the IPEX is the messiah of undergarments, trust me.
What I want to ask is why the big sizes are down on the bottom racks and the teensy sizes up at the top. Isn’t a 34A likely to be 5’ tall, compared to a 38-40 band size who is likely to be taller? I can either look at bras at eye level, which are approximately the size that would firmly secure a packet of airline peanuts to a large chemistry textbook, or get down on my creaky knees to search the bottom-most racks only to discover that there isn’t anything over a D-cup anyway.
Every time I go bra-shopping, no matter what store, it’s always me and my sisters-in-boobage wandering the aisles forlornly, looking through B- and C-cups, squealing when we find the lonely DD and get to choose whether we want black or sex-toy peach. The small-chested women zip in, grab their pink and turquoise and black-lace-embroidered pushup cutout snapfront lacedown thingymabobblers and are out for half the prices.
It’s un-freaking-fair, I tell you.
Corrvin
who was badly beaten by the cleavage fairy and still a bit resentful
I just wanted to mosey along and say that you write better than any lingerie salesperson I have ever met. So my question is: do you get a lot of customers say to you, “Wow! Your English is so good!! Why are you working at Victoria’s Secret as a salesgirl?”
Well, sorry, notsosmart, but you have helped me: I now know I don’t ever need to waste my time in a Vicky’s Secret again.
I’m a 38G right now, and the smallest I’ve ever been after I finished puberty was a 34F. It sounds like even the website wouldn’t carry anything remotely appropriate for me.
What do you think about this? Does the order to set up the mannequins come from a higher power in a different city, or is it up to each individual store? And do you feel that VS crosses the line into pornography?
When happening upon the last mega bra and underwear sale at VS, I excitedly pushed past the masses to find my bra size (36D or 36DD) and was horrified that the only bras available in D or DD were PADDED PUSH UPS. Please to be asking why bramakers are making push-up padded bras for girls who already own enough equipment in this department? I made some out loud snide comment and walked out in a huff, stomping over a pile of 34B non-underwire bras on my way out.
Sincerely,
Big Boobie Woman wanting a bra that’s not padded or equipped with 4" straps.
