Girls Only: My Bra Story

Hi girls, it's Maeve! If you read Green Algae and Bubble Gum Wars, you know I got my first bra not too long ago… and wow was that embarrassing! My mom wanted me to get something boring and white, but I wanted my first bra to be, you know, kinda special. If you haven’t gotten a bra yet, are you anxious or excited? I want to know!

Here's my story!

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A silky white wonderland stretched out in front of me. Two mannequins wearing beautiful lacy night gowns and curly blonde wigs welcomed shoppers to the lingerie department. I knew that bras came in different styles, but I had no idea there were quite so many. On past shopping trips I'd never paid much attention. Now, the aisles of bras seemed to go on forever. They had a bra for every color of the rainbow! I ran right over to a rack of bras in pomegranate pink.

"I found it, Mom," I called. "This is the one."

Mom shook her head. "No way, kiddo."

"But moooom …"

"Look, Maeve. I know you love pink. But that is not appropriate."

I opened my mouth to protest, but then realized Mom was probably right.

"Look. I’m going to go ask a sales lady what bras would be best for someone who’s still developing."

"Mom!" I groaned. I hate that word—developing. I'm a person, not a photograph.

"Can I help you, miss?" a very stylish sales lady tapped me on the shoulder. I'm Marlena. Let me guess. You're looking for a pretty bra, am I right?"

"Yes, that's exactly right!" I squeaked, feeling a little overwhelmed but also super excited. This Marlena woman looked like she knew what she was talking about when it came to lingerie.

"And practical," Ms. Kaplan added.

"Yes of course," Marlena purred. "Here we are." She directed my mom and I to a rack full of bras covered in lace and ribbons. Hanging all together like that, they looked like one big spider web. "The perfect bra for a high-fashion young lady like you. Chic, sophisticated, glamorous lace for miles…"

Mom looked shocked. "No. No. No. We’re looking for something less…um…sophisticated. I just don't think that's going to work," she said. "Don't you have anything…you know…white? Something a little more conservative?"

"White!" Marlena exclaimed. "I think my coworker, Connie, can help you with a sports bra, if you like."

Connie led us to a rack full of white sports bras…very plain white sports bras.

I cringed and looked up to see my mom making the exact same face. Wow, I thought. If these bras are too ugly for my mom, they must be seriously bad!

"It looks better on," Connie offered tonelessly.

"Um…thanks, Connie," Mom said politely. "But I think we'll take it from here and just look around."

Connie shrugged and said, "I'll be over there," and wandered off toward the register.

"I feel like Goldilocks, Mom!" I complained. "Those first bras were way too fancy…then that one Connie showed us was just… ugh." I shivered a little, thinking about the extreme ugliness of that bra. "Will I ever find one that's just right?"

Adapted from the original version.