Loosen up Fashion World. I am tossing my bra!

As a young girl I couldn’t wait to wear a bra. Arriving at that point in life was considered to be a rite of passage. As my body changed my mother would often say that the time was coming for us to go shopping to purchase a “training bra”. I often wondered why it was called a “training bra”. What were the advertising gurus thinking of when they coined that term? What training is involved? Will it teach my breasts to stay up even when I don’t have the bra on?

The years went by and my “training bra” became obsolete. I transitioned into a myriad of bras. I had a strapless bra when I got married, since the dress had mesh sleeves which would have revealed the straps. Bras with no straps are a lot of work. The years have probably made them better, but in my day there was a lot of “slippage”! If you gyrated a lot while you were dancing, you could end up with it around your waist.

Underwire bras became all the rage since they were supposed to transport your breast upwards and keep them there. I used to wear them even though I felt as if needed oxygen after I took it off. After all it was all about the look. Bras began coming in all shapes to emulate celebrities choices. I remember Madonnas bras which were cone shaped. You had to push everything into this tight little space and pray that it would’t burst though its enclosure if you were over exerting yourself.

One of the more well know lingerie companies has produced and sold millions of bras that come in a variety of fabrics and ways to look sexy and hip. I remember one advertisement campaign which touted their bra as being a “miracle”. I am suspicious of any clothing that comes with a sales pitch that says it’s a miracle. I bought one and as soon as I took it off the “miracle” was over!

Aging has taught me many things and one of them is that I hate bras. I know it’s strong language and yes I wear them when I have to. Things do have a way of going south as you age so there are times when I need to keep everything in its place. However, I think I’m on to something because I read an article recently that said that many Millennials are choosing to go braless or to wear sports bras if they are not petite. Young women are “pushing back” from push ups. They have decided that comfort outweighs looking forward to being released from bra prison. I have often stated that if every woman took their bra off at the same time, the earth would shift on its axis. Now let’s move on to underpants that don’t send you to the emergency room.