Your bra should not make you look like this!

Warning, boys: this is one post for the girls only. So if you insist on reading it, please resist the temptation to write a smart-alecky comment.


I am risking some ire from others by saying this, but I just have to say it: I totally abhor this!

Rolls of back fat oozing over and under bra straps. The thing is, it's not limited to just fat women. I've seen it on skinny and average-sized women. I've seen it on young girls, old women, and (otherwise) smart-looking corporate types in their prime. Really, sometimes I get very tempted to go up to these women and tell them, "Lady, your bra's too tight. Please loosen it or change it."

Because that's all it is: a bra that's too tight.

There are lots of websites that have tutorials on measuring yourself correctly, choosing the right bra, even tutorials on how to wear them properly. I especially like O, The Oprah Magazine's "Bra Intervention" article because of the before and after bra makeover pictures. It's a three-part article with more pictures than text, and with four related articles. All very easy reads. Back fat rolls are just one problem (but my particular pet peeve because it's relatively easy to address)—there's the hardly-there problem and the cup-overfloweth problem. All are tackled in the article.

Seeing red

It took three years, but I finally found my perfect pair of red jeans. Slim-fit, low-rise, not-bright-red from Mango. Bought during the post-Christmas sale too, so I got it at 50% off. Love.

Two dozen pairs of stockings

Don't you just hate it when you have a whole bunch of knee-high stockings and you can't find a pair whose colors match exactly? Used to happen a lot to me until I figured out a way to keep my stockings' colors even throughout their lifetime.

Instead of washing each pair as they're used, I have two sets of a dozen pairs. Each dozen has to be of the same color. After using a pair, I place them on a stool in my room (I really should be neater and keep them in a little plastic pail or basket) until I use up all the pairs in one set. Only then do I wash them altogether. That way, the color of the set remains consistent for each piece. And while that one set is drying, I begin using the second dozen.

This way, you can grab any two pieces and they're sure to match. And it doesn't matter if one piece gets a run, because its pair will match the rest of the set anyway. When one set is down to a few pieces, then I go out and buy another dozen.