The Disobedient Bra Strap
Hey friends,
Went on a two-week vacation, a cruise on the eastern Mediterranean with shore excursions. Something I’ve never done before. Looking out onto the vast, seemingly endless sea from my balcony reinforced the reality that we have control over nothing and it’s best to just go with it whatever the it is.
That said, I’ve stopped trying to control my bra strap.
Yup.
Prior to this trip, I toiled under the assumption that a woman must not show her bra strap. I don’t know where I acquired this fashion mis-information. From my mother? From a magazine? From Filene’s Charm School?
I can’t tell you how many countless hours I spent wrestling with my bra strap and a safety pin, trying to get it to conform, to obey, to stay hidden under my shirt. The strap wanted to be seen and heard, which is probably why it repulsed the pin, slipping away from my fingers. In the process, I frequently got jabbed, drew blood, exhibited frustration. I even changed shirts. Ugh.
My aha moment?
On the trip when I saw hordes of women from other countries proudly showing their bra straps. I turned to Jimmy and said, “Why have I been hiding my bra strap?” He said, “I don’t know. Men love to see bra straps. It makes them fantasize about the rest of the bra.”
For the rest of the sea adventure, I let my bra strap loose. I let it be seen. I flaunted its disobedience. I thought of ways to decorate it.
Bra strap jewelry? Bra strap scarfs? Bra strap artwork?
And the 30 minutes I no longer spend trying to “pin” the straps down, gives me more time to work on soul-enhancing activities, like my essays, paintings and book.
Will some US fashionistas label my bra strap exposure anti-de rigueur?
I’m sure.
But I don’t care. I feel free.
Any of you liberate any thoughts, patterns or ideas lately?
Thx, G.
p.s. plz consider my upcoming on-line writing adventures at Story Circle. You can attend the writing adventure from anywhere in the world wearing anything you want!
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G – you are my hero. Thank you for liberating me. I wear tank tops all the time. Recently, I used some crazy “Hollywood” tape to stick my shirt to my bra. Maybe I should just purchase more decorative bras and flash away. 🙂
Hey Angie,
I’m a fellow tank top wearer as well. Talk about a bra hiding challenge. Sometimes it takes two pins on each side and still some of it managed to “get out from under the tank.”
Too funny about the tape. I never got that creative with the hiding. Did you end up with adhesive goo all over your bra?
Yes, let’s flash. I’m serious about a line of bras with beautiful straps.
Now, that I’ve got more time maybe I will decorate one of my bra straps.
All great companies start with a problem.
Will check out Lou’s column! Thx.
G.
Well, this may be the wrong topic for me to chime in on, but, was wondering where you had been the last two weeks. The lovely Miss Teresa and I are also heading off to the Eastern Med next May for a cruise and I’ll be encouraging her to go with nothing but tank tops and liberated bra straps. In fact, just tape the strap on the tank top and forget that whole bra wearing thing.
This approach has about as much chance of happening as our crashing into an iceburg outside of Venice. The Lovely Miss TK is always a bit on the modest side in the public sphere so I will need some tips from the Tank Top Troupe on how to loosen her up.
Hi Lou,
It’s the perfect topic for men to chime into! My husband helped with my fashion liberation. Yes, bras can be so confining! Should we burn them again? Even the Victoria Secret push-up ones?
Our trip took us from Rome to Santorini to Athens to Istanbul to Ephesus to Mykonos to Salerno on the Amalfi Coast.
I’d never been to Turkey or the Island of Capri before. Both were gorgeous!
You and the lovely miss TK will enjoy your trip. Just steer clear of the Purell dispensors on the ship …
Many thanks for leaving such a disobedient post. G.
G.
Hi Julie,
It’s the “era” we were raised in. When we were younger, it was unthinkable to let your bra strap show. “How embarrassing!” 🙂 If you’ve only just come across the liberated bra strap in another country, then you have not been around any teenage girls the last few years. I have a 15 year old daughter, so I see it all the time and it’s taken me a while to get used to it. Teens today purposely buy the most colorful bras that they can find so that they can show off their bra straps!! They think it’s just great! From time to time I still find myself fixing my bra straps, but I’m trying not to worry about it so much anymore. We can learn from our children sometimes!
Hey Liz,
I’m not around teenage girls so I didn’t realize that even here the straps have been set free! So, it is our puritanical era.
Neat idea to look for some colorful bras!
Thx, G.
I like bra straps, personally.
Twain said something to the effect of, ‘Fashion is the human invention so horrible that we have to reinvent it every six months.’ Fashion conventions tend to be ludicrous. Ignoring bra straps for the sake of comfort (and not causing one’s self to bleed) seems like a great idea.
Michael,
Great MT quote. He said so many fabulous things.
That fashion one really strikes a chord with me. I could never wear high-heeled shoes. It hurt my feet. Just looking at the steepness of them looks painful. Some women have mangled, arthritic toes because of it.
Not that far from footbinding.
Thx, G.
Ooh! What a refreshing post, Julie! Actually, I *do* have a similar story to share. Something that I’ve become comfortable with here in Peru is going out with a bikini with my belly hanging out. =P There are just so many ladies here at the beach with pot bellies (maybe it’s the alcohol?) that it suddenly feels normal. I’ve become way less self-conscious about it! =) And it’s definitely freeing to not have to worry too much about how I look at the beach! =)
As an aside, I love that image you shared at the beginning of your post of an endless horizon. Being on ships and looking out into the ocean makes *me* feel like I have endless possibilities in front of me. =)
Lovely post, Julie! =)
Hi Samantha,
Thanks for tweeting the post!
Letting your belly just be at the beach sounds freeing! Nothing harder than trying to pull our bellies in. If we eat, they cannot be flat? At least not for a few hours.
I remember reading awhile back that Christie Brinkley said something like now that she was over 40, she had stopped trying to suck her gut in.
We’re so image focused when most folks would rather not be since the images we focus on are not found in 99% of the population.
Thanks! G.
That’s a pretty funny “aha” moment you had there. I had my aha moment when I was shopping at this foreign grocery market and caught sight of decorative bra straps. Of course I bought it just for the heck of it and find that it gives an extra little spice to my outfits! It almost doesn’t even look like a bra strap.
Hi Diana,
Too funny about the decorative bra straps at the grocery store. The possibilities to “jazz” them up are endless! Thx.
G.