This morning, a new Century 21 opened in Downtown Brooklyn at 445 Albee Sq. It’s part of the fancy new City Point multiplex— and if you can get past City Point’s egregious use of the word “DoBro” to describe the neighborhood, then you’re actually going to like what’s there, because with the upcoming addition of a Trader Joe’s and an Alamo Drafthouse, Downtown BK is about to be your one-stop destination for groceries, entertainment… and bras.
That’s right, ladies. In addition to being a big box resource for all things cheap, Century 21 is an especial secret mecca for budget price designer bras, and by budget I mean $20 or less.
Obviously, if your bra size is anywhere from 32-36 in an A-D cup, then you can usually find something way cheap at a Target or Old Navy. But if like me you’ve been ruined by an experience where someone in a fancy bra store told you that you were a weird size you could never find in regular stores again (30DD, pour one out for me), then you’re condemned to be forever and always on the hunt for bras in your size that won’t a) make you feel like a granny or b) ruin your bank account.
Enter Century 21. You could go to the one in Bay Ridge if you live near there, but since there’s now another location for the more northerly bust-blessed Brooklynites, I feel especially obliged to shout it from the rooftops: BRAS! BUY YOUR BRAS AT CENTURY 21!
Once my size got “customized,” I’d end up buying specialty bras for $60-120, which also meant I was buying bras like, once every other year. Inevitably the underwire would pop out on one, and the straps would go from white to mucky grey on the other. But I didn’t care! I was saving money!
But once I visited the Century 21 in Bay Ridge, I finally found some glam 30DDs for $12, maybe $20. The priciest one I own is a French LOU bra — down from its 75 Euro price tag to a mere $39.99 USD. (Take that, powerful French women who go bra-less! I still envy you, but now I have your lingerie.)
Actual cute bras are available for under $10, whereas at a fancier spot like Brooklyn Fox, a good bra will run you anywhere from $80-120 (or more). Their online store should give you an idea.
Tomorrow is National No-Bra Day, coincidentally, and I know that many women prefer to go un-mired in underwire. I get that! Bras may one day be exposed as another hoax of a tool designed to up-sell women on man-made beauty standards — there’s some evidence of it already — and go the way of the tampon tax.
But until that day, I actually like having these weird chest beans cupped. And if #you’rewithme, then I’ll see you at the Downtown Brooklyn Century 21 this weekend, or any other day in the foreseeable future you feel like shopping.