I finally got a bra and panties as a gift
I was given a bra and panties as a gift this week, definitely a first for me. To give everyone the back story, I have been dealing with one particular SA off and on over the last three years. For those of you that don't like back stories skip to the fifth paragraph below.
If you have read some of my earlier posts, this is the same SA who gave me my first bra fitting described in my Jan 2009 post 'Another bra fitting story'. I dealt with her a few times at the 'Secrets' store where she worked, and then I stopped going to that store for a couple of reasons. While I did have good experiences shopping there they were a little expensive for my taste plus they didn't display most of their bras. They have some of their most expensive bras mounted on the walls as a kind of display or lingerie art, however for the most part the SA determines what size you need and from there she picks out the styles she thinks you might like and brings those bras to the change room for you to try on. Personally I like the other way of going about the process, which is to see on racks samples of everything the store carries and decide which ones I like on that basis. Once I've picked out the styles I like the SA can then determine whether the store carries that particular one in my size or not.
Because of these few issues I had with the store I started trying to find a new favorite lingerie store for myself. After searching for most of a year I finally found a store called 'Change of Scandinavia'. I'm sure I've mentioned them in one or two of my previous posts, however to summarize the chain they carry a good quality product that they make themselves, and their prices are quite reasonable. Twice a year they completely change over their entire product line, and give excellent discounts on the outgoing line. The one downside is if you find a bra you really like they will only actually carry it for less than a year before it disappears from their shelves. All things considered for me that is a small price to pay. Once I found this new favorite lingerie store of mine every few months I would stop by one or another of their different locations. During one of these visits I ran into the same SA mentioned above. It was late on a Friday night with no other customers in the store, so we started chatting. I of course remembered her given she was one of two SA's to ever fit me for a bra, however she also remembered me as it turns out I was the first guy she had ever assisted who was buying for himself (she had just started at the store the previous month). In the end we talked for half an hour or so and I found out after my first visit to 'Secrets' she had become something of the store's go to gal for men bra shopping for themselves. I also found out she had eventually become a manager at her old store, but had left because of creative differences with upper management. She told me she was just working at this current store until 'Change' opened their new location, at which point she would be working at the new location full time. Before I left the store that night we discussed this and that and found we had similar backgrounds in certain ways. Long story short we became friends of a sort, or at least very friendly acquaintances.
Once that new location did finally open, from that point on I made an effort to shop there as opposed to one of the chains other locations. I was fortunate enough to deal with her my first few visits, and we got to the point where she would call me when they got new styles in or put the old styles on sale. I really like some of the styles the chain produces (although I prefer the more sophisticated Fall lines as opposed to the more bubblegumy Spring lines). She would also always make sure the bras fit me properly, and try to talk me out of buying anything that didn't fit quite right. I was so happy with her excellent service that I ended up giving her a gift certificate last Christmas as a kind of thank you for going above and beyond her duties, and we continued to chat for ten or fifteen minutes (her duties with other customers permitting) during every visit.
Most recently this SA was saving a bra for me until it went on sale. I had tried the bra on at one point and decided that I liked it but didn't like it enough to pay full price. It was white, which apparently doesn't sell that well in these kinds of stores, so I told her I would wait until it went on sale and then if one in my size was still available I would buy it. It turns out she forgot to call me once the bra did go on sale, and felt guilty about that so bought the bra herself for me. She also recently ended up with a new pair of large black panties from her previous store that had been waiting for her to pick up for more than a year. It had to do with a customer return she had authorized as manager, and for whatever reason the panties ended up becoming hers. The problem was they wouldn't fit her or anyone else she knew, at which point she apparently thought of me. To wrap this up then, I show up at the store this week thinking I'm there to finally buy the white bra that I tried on months ago that is now 50% off regular price, and my favorite SA presents me both the white bra and the black panties as gifts. I or course thank her profusely and tell her she is wonderful (which she is). And just in case anyone is thinking it there is nothing between us beyond a slightly odd friendship. I'm happily married and I'm sure she's happy in whatever relationship she has at the moment.
Now that I've rambled on at length I wanted to ask who else here has been given a bra and/or panties as a gift? I did a search and found a few posts talking about it, but those were fairly old posts and I couldn't find any example of this topic coming up recently. Anyone else out there willing to share their story? You are also welcome to comment on my story of course, however I am well aware at how fortunate I am to be able to deal with such a great SA. I'm kind of glad the chain only changes product lines twice a year. Any more often and I would likely buy way too much stuff from them both because of their products and the great experience I have everytime I go. I also have to say I will be very sad if and when this SA decides to do something else for a living.
