When Lauren and I declared 2014 the No Shopping Summer, we had a heated conversation about where exceptions lived. For instance, Lauren gets a new outfit for her 30th birthday – it would just be mean of me to deny her that, especially after she got a new outfit for MY 30th birthday! But aside from that, we decided any necessary clothing adjustments could be made using a tailor or a belt; since the point of the exercise is to work with what we have, there’s no reason we need to “replace” anything before September. Perhaps, we thought, we might realize with a little creativity there was no need to replace at all!

Except one clear outlier: underpants. First, enjoy this video:

Since we are not animals, we wear underpants. Well, most of us. As I’ve mentioned before, what you wear beneath your clothes is very important to how your clothes fit. Well, Petite Crew, I have a confession: despite singing the praise of properly fitting undergarments, despite specifically imploring you to go get professionally fitted, I’ve never gotten really, truly fitted myself. Quoth my gentleman friend, “How is that POSSIBLE?”

Ugh, I know. But no more, guys! No more! The topic of conversation came up around shapewear; the beautiful blush Ann Taylor shift fit perfectly in terms of sizing, but was not completely forgiving in terms of the midsection. I needed shapewear if I was going to make it work, and with three weddings this summer, I had to make it work. Lauren granted me the underwear exception, and I headed to Nordstrom on Saturday, where I met Stephani, a Certified Bra Fitter. I asked for a fitting out of curiosity, but didn’t really know what to expect. Well, let me tell you: she knew what she was doing. With the magic of her tape measure, I suddenly looked like I’d lost 20 pounds. Turns out all these years I’d been wearing a 34C, I was supposed to be wearing a 36D. Lesson learned! Stephani brought me five bras to try on, and I left with four (though my receipt shows five; I got one bra in two colors).

As for shapewear, she had a ton of great ideas, and I departed with the hilariously-named “Trust Your Thinstincts” shaper. Satin bodycon dress, you are MINE.

So, yeah: bras. Even if you’re a pretty seasoned fashionista, the likelihood that you can eyeball your bra size is pretty slim. Go get fitted. If you’re in DC, go see Stephani at Nordstrom in Montgomery Mall! Tell her Nora sent you, and will be coming back for more.