The day a bra made me cry. Yes, really.
Only having the use of one arm really makes you re-evaluate the way you do things. Since my accident and the operation on my right wrist (my ‘write’ wrist) everything has changed.
I think back to my mother who had arthritis in her hands and feel a welling of guilt and regret that I just didn’t realise just how frustrating it can be not to be able to open the jar of marmalade if you fancy a piece of toast; how even stroking your dog can become a manoeuvre rather than an unconscious action. I have to think about everything I need to do in advance and plan for all eventualities. I can clearly remember one night when I figured a gin and tonic might hit the spot, congratulating myself on remembering to get the bottle top loosened, then realising I couldn’t pull the tab on the tonic!
Now my left elbow has pretty much healed I am far more independent. I can open my front door, I can close it and lock it – things that were impossible at the beginning. I still can’t cook – chopping is an impossibility – but I can just about wrangle a bowl of porridge!
One of the major challenges has been clothing. Zips and buttons and fasteners are out of the question. I have been living in easy to pull on trousers and I have never been so grateful for one company in particular – Asquith.
I used to be a hard-core Lululemon and Sweaty Betty fan, but over the last few years I’ve switched allegiance entirely. Why? Asquith have fabulous designs and they are created for real women, in bodies that come in all sizes. But, above all, I just love their deep respect for the environment. They are committed to working with fabrics that have limited social and environmental impact. Yes, that means they are more expensive, but they last and last and the designs are timeless.
Also they have just the best sales so, if you’re on a budget, watch out for those.
So, lately I’ve been living in their Divine pants and their Long Harem pants (I just love that voice recognition turned ‘harem pants’ into ‘whoring pants’ and then thought twice about it and changed it to ‘hurrying pants’!). They are blissfully soft – it’s like your clothes are giving you a caress.
A few of my favourite designs…
However my major problem has been how to do up my bra. I have trawled the High Street and there simply aren’t decent bras that can be put on using only one hand, particularly if you have H cup boobs. Then I had a brainwave – sports bras. Nope, I couldn’t find any which were both large enough and comfortable enough for wearing all day. Enter the Balance bra top. It’s made with Bambor, a combination of bamboo and organic cotton. It’s so soft and yet provides enough support to see me through the day. It sounds daft but I actually cried when I managed to wriggle into it. Okay, so there’s a bit of a case of mono-boob going on but I’m in no position to be fussy!
So, thank you, thank you, thank you, Asquith!
btw, this is NOT a sponsored or paid for post