Taffeta?

April 5, 2008

"What's the suit for?" the salesgirl asked as she rang me up.

"A wedding," I said, somewhat sheepishly.

"Oh," she said, in unison with the other salesgirl next to her, who suddenly perked up at the word wedding.

"Where's the wedding?" the second girl asked.

"In Brooklyn."

"Oh, too bad," said the first one, zipping my new suit into a garment bag. "You don't get to go anywhere exotic."

"You obviously haven't been to Brooklyn," I said, stuffing the receipt in my wallet.

"Good point. But you know what I mean."

"Yeah," I shrugged. "Oh well."

She handed the garment bag over the counter, I thanked her for her help and started to walk away.

"Who's getting married?" the second girl asked.

I'd been hoping to get out of the store before it occurred to either of them to ask.

"Not you, is it?"

"Yeah," I said, not quite fully facing them. "I am."

"Oh my god, congratulations."

The first girl reached into a bag behind the counter and pulled out a small bottle of Poland Spring water. "Here," she said, offering it to me. "It's the least we can do."

"Cheers," I said, putting the bottle in my coat pocket.

"Good luck," they said.

Meanwhile, Deborah was in Brooklyn shopping for a bra that would somehow work with the scooped neckline and nearly backless cut of the dress she planned to wear. In the rear of her friend's dress shop, a woman rents out a small section where she sells lingerie. Most of the bras were dull and matronly, with cups desperately padded with thick foam. The saleswoman was rather matronly, herself, a plus-size Jamaican woman dressed in slacks and a brown sweater. Deborah asked her if she carried anything that wasn't so heavily padded. The woman directed her to a rack of bras that looked exactly like every other bra in the store. Deborah looked them over, squeezed the pads, and asked again if the woman carried anything less padded, or perhaps with no padding at all. The woman asked what kind of dress Deborah was going to wear, and Deborah described it as best she could.

"Taffeta?" the woman said. "You have to wear a padded bra with a taffeta dress! You don't want to be looking all flat like the way you do right now."

Needless to say, Deborah's quest continues.