clothing rave

[cellio]

nsingman asked for a rant or rave (he didn't specify) about bras. Ok, I can do that. :-)

I don't know when bras -- as opposed to corsets -- were invented, but boy, I'd sure like to thank the person responsible! Corsets might be ok at doing the job (this is based on observation, not direct experience), but they look pretty uncomfortable, and just letting 'em hang loose would be horrible for someone my size. I tried that at Pennsic once (that being an environment where it wouldn't raise eyebrows), and I didn't get through one day. Swing swing swing whap whap whap bounce bounce bounce -- how does one manage to get through the day like that?! So I am delighted that a straightforward solution exists for under $10 per.

Which isn't to say that there aren't bad bras out there -- there sure are. Ones that pinch, or don't fasten tightly, or have straps that are too long for short people like me, or that itch, or whatever. The worst ones are the ones that try to be sexy but end up just being decorative. That might be fine for the AA-cups out there, but not for everyone. I believe it is possible to make something that is both functional and attractive, but forced to choose I'll go with function almost every time.

I have no problem with people who find bras restrictive and would rather go without. If that's what makes you happy -- or if you're small enough to be free of this particular burden -- then go for it! I, meanwhile, will revel in the joy of bodily protrusions that stay approximately where I put them until I'm ready to do something else with them. I didn't say bouncing is universally bad, after all -- I just want to control when it happens. :-)

Comments

[dagonell.livejournal.com]

"I don't know when bras -- as opposed to corsets -- were invented,"

As a student of information science, I pride myself on the ability to find nearly anything on the Internet. This wasn't hard. Google produces 789,000 hits for "history bra" The History of the Bra. Did they include any reference scene in The Aviator, I wonder? :D

I was waterbearing at Pennsic, when a female fighter yelled "Arrggghh!!" for no apparent reason. I asked her if she was okay. She replied, "I hate it when I just get into armor and my bra strap breaks!"

By the by, my personal rant about bras (literally speaking as an outsider! :D), glasses are referred to as "a pair of glasses", because there's 'two' in every one. Pants are referred to as "a pair of pants", because there's 'two' in every one. Why don't we refer to bras as "a pair of bras"? Aren't there 'two' in every one???

[sethg]

"Dr. A", a.k.a. Isaac Asimov, in The Sensuous Dirty Old Man (a book that helped me not get dates in high school), credits the "Bosom-Rehabilitation Associates".

pairs

[cellio]

The language is inconsistent. If you can talk about a pair of pants, why not a pair of shirts (excluding sleeveless)? And if you argue that the bulk of what pants cover is legs (which come in pairs) but the bulk of what a shirt covers is the torso (which doesn't), I'll counter with panties. :-) (I was going to counter with briefs, but decided not to invite the obvious comment.)

Re: pairs

[cahwyguy.livejournal.com]

Although, for parity, I will have to know (rummaging back through my Jr. High School memories) that wearing a 'strap is probably equally uncomforatable, if not more so, than the subject of this discussion.

Re: pairs

[cellio]

That would not surprise me in the least. If nothing else, people who wear bras tend to wear them all the time, so you tend to get used to the feel.

[aliza250.livejournal.com]

Pants, when first generally worn, were two separate items, one for each side. A "glass" is an old term for a lens, and a monocle is a single one.

A brassiere, on the other hand, is not a divisible item.