Swimsuit Shopping (Subtitled "The curse of the Macy's giftcard")

Today is not the first time this season that I've attempted to acquire a new swimsuit, but today was a no-holes-barred, all out effort to find "the one." You may think that being a single digit size would make this a fun process, but alas it never is.



The first important thing to know in this story is my history with Macy's gift cards. I'm a Target kind of girl. When I want something really special, I upgrade to JC Penny or Mervyns. But for Christmas and birthday every year I seem to end up with a $50 Macy's gift card. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, but I wander into Macy's about once a month, get sticker shock from the tags, and walk out without even trying anything on. My clothing has to be nearly disposable because it will often get stained or snagged the first wearing...I work with kids!



I still have my gift card from Christmas and half-laughed/half died when I opened my thank you card from being the Team Mom and found another Macy's gift card. Now I have two...$100 to blow at Macy's. Thus begins my quest to kill two birds with one stone and find a bathing suit at Macy's.



I started last weekend with their big Memorial Day sale. The Macy's at Puente Hills doesn't carry swimsuits. What?!?! Don't people around here swim?



So, after a morning of bouncing on inflatables ("research" for a field trip this summer) with Justin and the Matthies, I mentioned that I was going to drag Justin to the Brea Mall since gas was so expensive and we were already half way there. Stephanie offered to keep Justin so I could go by myself (may God bless her for that!). When I finally found the swimwear department at Macy's, (next to the lingerie which I didn't quite appreciate until I started looking at the styles) and found that a full 2/3 of the department were string bikinis. And honestly by the sheer percentages it was higher than that because you can fit a lot more tiny suits on a rack than full size ones. I managed to find the ones that were more my taste and found one that was just lovely...it came in a 10, only a 10 because there was only one, but I picked it up anyway. Then I found a pink tankini that was one of a dozen on the rack...too bad all 12 of them were cup size D. Undeterred I picked one up to try on. You can sense my utter determination, I know. Finally I found a third and fourth, both turquoise that actually came in my size, and headed for the dressing room. I loved the first one but it was just too big. They checked other stores for me and they have it in my size...in Temecula, Sacramento, or Washington. The pink just didn't fit right either, although at the counter they sell foam inserts that permanently bond to the cups of your swimsuit for extra fullness...I just couldn't go there. Failure on the two turquoise too. I've learned that if the chest is shaped like two triangles it's neither flattering nor appropriate for my body.



It appears to me that in general (if you don't hit the racks the first week) the only suits they make in single digit sizes are teeny bikinis. Anything with coverage only comes in a 10 or larger. I was willing to pay $100, heck maybe even $110, for a st*p+d swimsuit and I still came home empty handed. I guess not completely empty handed...I still have those silly gift cards! SIGH!