It gets a little quiet around these parts during the week at this time of year. Sure, Martin Luther King weekend brought a lot of skiers and shoppers to town, but outside of that, this month of January can be a bit slow in Manchester. It’s a good time to come to the shop if you think you might need some extra time and attention. Like these women (and a man!) that all came last week. I haven’t been able to get this Van Morrison song out of my head…
When it’s not always raining there’ll be days like this
When there’s no one complaining there’ll be days like this
When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me there’ll be days like this
When you don’t need to worry there’ll be days like this
When no one’s in a hurry there’ll be days like this
When you don’t get betrayed by that old Judas kiss
Oh my mama told me there’ll be days like this
First customer of the day on one of those days was a 2 week old baby and her mother. That little girl might just have been the youngest ever at the shop. Her Mom drove from about an hour away to get a nursing bra. With no one else in the shop, they had my full attention. It was precious time – I wish they could have stayed all day, but actually it probably took them all day just to make the round trip to the bra shop.
When you don’t need an answer there’ll be days like this
When you don’t meet a chancer there’ll be days like this
When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit
Then I must remember there’ll be days like this
A gentleman came in who looked familiar because he and his wife (I might be making an assumption on the wife thing here…) had been in a couple days prior and were looking at things that were, well, kinda sexy. There was one item that the woman really really liked, but at $60 she said it wasn’t in the budget. He bought a gift certificate for guess what…$60 on the nose. “Is there tax?” he asked in an offer to round up the amount. There isn’t, of course…no tax on clothing in Vermont. And we all are aware that lingerie is clothing, right?
When everyone is up front and they’re not playing tricks
When you don’t have no freeloaders out to get their kicks
When it’s nobody’s business the way that you want to live
I just have to remember there’ll be days like this
One woman came in that has lost one hundred pounds in the last year. ONE HUNDRED. I know! I always ask women how they lose weight and most usually it’s some sort of combination of… I started going to the gym, I started watching what I eat, I stopped drinking, etc… – you know all those ways that women actually lose weight…? This woman told me she got a job that demands physical activity – she gets in shape doing it and it pays well to boot. Anyway, she’s been eyeing that Marlies Dekkers bra that we promote a lot on Instagram and Facebook. It was time for her to “get that bra.” She asked if she could wear it out, and she handed me her old bra to throw away. “Get rid of this, will you?”
When no one steps on my dreams there’ll be days like this
When people understand what I mean there’ll be days like this
When you ring out the changes of how everything is
Well my mama told me there’ll be days like this
Speaking of inspiration and losing weight, we sell more sports bras in January than we do in any other month. A customer that has been coming to the shop regularly since the day we opened came in to get another one of the sports bras that work for her. I don’t how many pounds ago it was when we first saw her, but she started running and she’s lost weight and feels a lot better about herself because of it. I can see it in her whole spirit. She has at least one marathon under her belt now and has decided to train for another. “I probably would not have kept running if it wasn’t for this sports bra,” she told me. It was one of those really quiet days where I was wondering why the heck I thought opening a bra shop in Manchester, Vermont was a good idea. Both our eyes welled up a little. Sometimes people can say so little and it means so much.
Oh my mama told me
There’ll be days like this
Oh my mama told me
There’ll be days like this
Oh my mama told me
There’ll be days like this
Oh my mama told me
There’ll be days like this
These quiet days of January have proved to be quite refreshing. Days like this… with singular and unexpected moments of hope, faith, and joy have brought me through the uncomfortable silences of the month. If you’ve been kind of thinking you might be in the mood to shop for a bra, these quiet days in January can help bring a calm to the whole thing. Who knows, maybe there’s even more to it all.
Maybe your body has changed, or maybe you want it to. Maybe it is just time for a new bra. Maybe you have a girlfriend that could use a friend to join her on a bra shopping ladies day. Maybe you could just use some inspiration and nothing else seems to be doing the trick. Seeing you would be good for me too. It can get quiet this time of year.
Anyway, we take phone orders and can ship you another bra or nightgown just like the one you love already. And we have a winter sleepwear clearance going on. It’s a sale, so sizes and styles aren’t robust, but you could score on a deal and call it a day. And we have that seating area if you just need a quiet place to come and be surrounded by beautiful things.
Grateful for all the days. Especially days like this. Thank you.
xo – Joy
Van Morrison performing “Days Like This”
PS: Special props to the three women that tried to come to the shop on the three days we were closed for inventory back in early January. You came back another day. Wow. Wow. THANK YOU.
