Girding my loins

I am about to embark on a quest fraught with peril. One that may take all of my strength and endurance. One that may push me to the brink of hard-won emotional stability. One that will potentially reduce me to tears.

I am going to The Mall.

I am going for Shirts. This is usually easier than the Quest for Pants which, like the quest for the Grail, usually ends in failure and makes good fodder for a Monty Python movie. The Quest for Shirts often goes well because I chicken out and buy knits. Today, however, I am looking for that mythical creature, the Button-Down Shirt that Fits My Waist But Still Buttons Over My Bust.

Evidently, in the fashion world, tops are designed for B cup breasts. My breasts are most decidedly not B cups. I'm not sure they were ever B cups. In my memory, I went directly from having no breasts at all to having C cup breasts. I am now a D cup. I was in denial of this fact for a long time, continuing to buy C cup bras. I have now accepted the truth and embraced my D cupness even though it makes it a little more difficult to buy bras.

My difficulty in finding off-the-rack shirts that fit me properly is one reason why I would like to be able to sew my own clothes. However, I am confounded by the fact that the sewing pattern industry takes its cues from the fashion industry and only offers patterns in B cup size. I have heard of this magical procedure known as The Full Bust Adjustment one can make to patterns but I am unschooled in this knowledge and online tutorials have not helped (I think they assume too much knowledge in how to construct garments).

So, off I go to find my Button-Down Shirt that Fits My Waist But Still Buttons Over My Bust. Have no fear, if I find myself in a precarious state, I will seek Sanctuary in The Land of Sweet Comfort.*

*Better known as the Godiva Chocolates store.