Beige or Bright?
When did so many of us we stop wearing things that make us happy? Never really a question that I thought about until the other week... My kids were on summer break, and my daughter Lucy who is 9 loves coming to the shop any chance she gets. Granted, she gets bored and wants to leave after an hour because it's all just 'businessy stuff' (as she calls it)...On this particular day, my mom brought her to the store so they could work on sorting out the donated bras for our Supportive Start program. Lucy loves all things fashion and design, so it was her lucky day when I told her that I had a buying appointment that afternoon to see Chantelle Spring/Summer 2016. As my sales rep Tanya pulled sample after sample out of her bag... Pinks, blues and purples, then beiges, black, stone & taupe's, I could see Lucy's face change from total excitement to 'what the hell is this?'
Left: Lucy & Tanya. Right: Neutral shades for Spring 2016
As she had never met Tanya before, she was a little shy at the beginning of our meeting, being very respectful and saying 'that's nice' to every piece we were shown, but you could tell what she really liked was the colorful ones. Closer to the end of the presentation, I was looking at a new basic seamless style in classic beige and she blurts out to me 'Why would anyone want such a boring bra when you have so many colors to choose from?' Tanya and I tried to explain to her that a lot of women want something versatile that will work under much of their wardrobe...she wasn't buying it. She wanted to know why adult women don't buy a colorful bra that makes them happy when they look at it?
For kids, so much of their decisions are based on what makes them happy... When did so many of us lose that on our way to adulthood and now we settle for something that is just practical & utilitarian? We used to have a customer named Pearl who was about 87 when she shopped with us, she had a zest for life like I'd never seen, and I always told her that I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. She never once bought a beige bra from us, she said that like was too short to wear beige...she always left the 'pretty titty' store (as she called us:) with something that made her feel happy like lavender or pink or aqua. When I started thinking about this, I posted a question on Facebook and we had a whopping 200 replies! The question was; Of your current bra collection, what do you have the most of, black, beige/ivory/white or colors? Overwhelmingly the response was beige, and the answer as to why...it's practical and versatile. While I am all for practicality & versatility, I think we all need a little more happiness in our lives and if having a royal blue bra on under your shirt brings you even just a little bit of happy, then I think it's worth it to throw practical out the window once in a while and start thinking like a kid! Get the one that really speaks to you...the one that every time you pull it out of the drawer, it's a joy to put on. Life is short, don't let practicality make you colorblind!
With so many enticing shades to pick from, why do so many of us get stuck in the BBR? (Beige Bra Rut) Pictured: PrimaDonna Alalia Full Cup Bra.
