Unedited
Here’s t he hone s t t r ut h: No m at t er what se a son it i s, I a l mos t ne ver we a r a bra. A nd I’m
not alone. Have you read the headlines lately? “Kendall Jenner Goes Braless for Lunch
With Sisters”; “Rihanna Is Freeing Her Nipples in a Major Way”; or this gem: “Jennifer
Lawrence Went Braless and the Internet Is Losing Its Mind!” In real news, there’s actual
data on this trend: Bra sales have slipped 3 percent, according to the NPD Group.
Why not wear a bra? For me it’s not because I am trying to be sexy or show off a piercing
or even to make a political statement—although I’m here for all that too. I do it because
it makes me feel more comfortable and, well, less conventionally feminine. (I was always
a bit of a tomboy.) When I don’t wear a bra, the boyish feel somehow balances the mini-
skirts, slip-on dresses, and heels now also in rotation in my wardrobe.
But I’m petite, and (like most of those celebs) haven’t yet gone through the boob-altering
effects of pregnancy, so I recognize this may be an easy stand for me to take. I hit up a few
of my different-shapes-and-ages homegirls to see what they think of the trend. “Braless in
public?!” said Meredith Salk, 29, a Chicago interior designer who surgically went from a
34E to a 34C. Even with smaller breasts, she said, “I can’t leave the house without a bra.”
Others told me they skip a bra only sparingly. “I took my girls for a whirl last Saturday, and
at first it felt sexy and freeing,” said Jessie Goldberg, 29, a communications strategist in
New York City. “Then I felt like people were staring, and I thought, Oh, I must look saggy.”
As for my family? They had feelings. “K at ie , a re you cra z y? Bra s shou ld be wor n,” sa id my
cousin Julie Nicole, 45, an event planner and size 36C. “Otherwise it’s just sloppy.”
Sorry, Julie—I guess this is my own quiet form of fashion feminism. Mostly, I don’t
believe in obeying gender rules and traditions just to make other people feel comfort-
able. I care about my own comfort, and I’m most comfortable braless. —Kate Branch’10s
’60s
’70s
’20s
Diana Ross’s glittery take
on seventies bra rejectionThe bralette.
Almost no bra!Feminists and fashionistas
like Twiggy hang free.Power bras,
meant to be
seen. Not much
bralessness.A dark era for bra
shunners: super-
enhanced bustlinesOur corset-’4 0 s –’ 5 0 s
2016
how we
got here
You could call the current
trend “third-wave bralessness.”
Here’s a bit of backstory.Braless
Nation
From J.Law to Riri,
celebs free the nip.free foresisters,
the flappers48 glamour.com’80s–’90s