clothing question- help!

Relax, and good luck. Remember to have fun--that's the most important part! What have you been training in? If it's your first tri, you really don't need to put out a lot of money for gear. For example, you could wear a swimsuit and then put some cheap bike shorts on over it (and a shirt if you like) to do the rest of the tri.

If you have some cash to blow, then sure, why not buy tri clothing? I'd recommend a tri top (snug) and tri shorts rather than a one-piece suit, mainly because if you don't want to continue tri, you can still use the pieces to work out in, whereas wearing a onesie around looks kind of weird.

If the water is reasonably warm, you don't need a wetsuit. If you want one, you can rent one at a place like wetsuitrentals.com (there's a link off the BT homepage and you get a discount). Buying them is terribly expensive and if you don't wind up liking triathlon, you're kind of screwed.

If there's a triathlon store near you, definitely go and try some clothes on. If there isn't, you can get tri clothing right here on BT (gear).

If you're wanting to look for the best deal, though, here are some sites to try:

www.swimoutlet.com

www.sierratradingpost.com

www.sportsbasement.com