Shopping frustrations

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to go shopping for a few things this weekend, which I did. It was probably the worst shopping experience of my life.

First, the bras. It proved to be nearly impossible to find a wireless bra in my size! I don't know why, but the band/cup size I wanted was only available in a few styles, and most of those gave me severe torpedo boobs.

You could put someone's eye out with those things! I did finally find two bras that more or less fit. I say "more or less" because the bands are a bit on the snug side, but they weren't dreadfully uncomfortable and I figured that I could always buy a bra extender if the bands don't stretch enough. That said, they're stunningly unattractive and made me feel like an 85-year-old grandma. I actually cried a few tears of frustration in the changing room - blame the pregnancy hormones if you want, but I already feel so fat and unsexy that the ugly, frumpy bras just pushed me over the edge.

Next problem: a couple maternity shirts. Nothing fancy, just a few basic tops I can wear to work. Shouldn't be too hard, right? There aren't any dedicated maternity wear stores in my little town, but there are four department stores - two in my town, and two more in the next town over. One of them had no maternity section whatsoever. None. Nada. Nothing. Two of them had maternity sections that were one rack of clothes. I mean that literally: one double-sided rack at each store, about six feet long and four feet high, filled with 3/4 leggings and tank tops. Shockingly, at the last store (Target), there were two racks of clothes. Now, I have a question for whoever is the buyer for Target in Australia: what is up with the horizontal stripes on every maternity shirt you have in stock??? Look, I'm a chubby girl. And I'm pregnant. The LAST thing I want are stripes that make me look even wider than I already am, m'kay?

For the record, I think Jessica Simpson has a rockin' bod, so if she can't pull off these stripes, then *I* definitely can't.

Eventually I just bought two loose fitting regular shirts that are a size larger than what I currently wear - they're not stretchy enough to make it through the entire pregnancy, but they'll do for now. This strategy won't last forever though, because moving up a size means I'm at the top of the clothing range carried in regular Australian stores (size 18, which is about a size 14/16 in the USA). I could go to plus sizes, since we do have one plus-sized store in my town, but most of the stuff there is unflattering and tent-like (fashionable plus-size wear is still on the scarce side here, which is ironic considering that Australia actually has a higher rate of obesity per capita than the USA).

I'm just so frustrated right now! Is there anyone from Australia out there? If you don't live in a major city, can you tell me where you shop? I've looked online, but most of the maternity stores are ridiculously pricey (I don't want to pay $90 for a basic stretchy top - I'm cheap like that). I can buy from Australia's eBay, but I'm not very good at judging how something will look on me from a photo on a model, and their return policies are often less than friendly. Heeeeelllllp!