Keep working on it, ND!

Aw Aims, I'm sorry. They suck!

ND: I've got a tape that might do the trick. Do you have a VCR?

I cried so much when shopping for my bridesmaid dress. Man, that sucked hard.

I bought mine in one hour--walked into David's Bridal and bought the first one I tried on, off the rack. I only had to take up the halter neck a teeny bit. Thank goodness for their size 16.

But yeah, the bridesmaid dress hunt is of the evil. Not good for the self esteem at all.

Kids are in bed, DH is at the gym. I should catch up on the last episode of Doctor Who and fold laundry.

Y'know what? I'm going to open up a shop that's not a set size of dresses. There's just going to be pictures, and women can come in, and we'll find them a wardrobe of the most flattering designs. Then, we'll pick colors and fabric types, and when she comes in to pick up her clothes only a little tailoring will be needed.

Before she tries them on, we'll inspect the detailing and stitching in bright light, so she can make sure everything is perfect. Then she'll get a little wine and relaxing music while candles are lit and soft lighting turned on.

Then, we bring on the cabana boys to shower them in adoration.

I will purchase all of my clothes there.

A VCR? I vaguely remember those.

You will be on our preferred customer list! In fact, we will set aside stuff that we see that screams Sexy Nora!

Dang, is there any clothes shopping experience that IS good for a woman's self-esteem? What with the horror-show lighting, the inconsistency of sizing across brands or even styles within the same brand, the inherent risk in buying anything without trying it on, the rapidly changing styles, and the fashions that don't flatter anyone except the big-boobed sticks we're apparently supposed to be, I could almost believe it's a vast conspiracy to keep women from ever feeling too good about themselves. And how grateful we feel when, after trying on 25 tops/skirts/suits/dresses, we finally find one that looks okay! How lucky we feel if we find something that miraculously looks good! Whereas a man can simply look for his measurements and be fairly well assured that what he's found will fit, whether he's athletic, overweight, skinny, tall, or short. It's a conspiracy against women, I tell you.

Can you tell I just spent nearly two hours in a clothing store trying on everything in my size and one size up and down, and came home with... nothing?

/rant