Boobs, I mean, Bras, and the eternal frustration

Whoa I meant 30 percent not 30 INFINITY which I cannot ever comprehend.

I will also wear a tank top w/a strapful bra, somehow I got the idea that any non-nude or white color is playful and therefore ok to show.
When I first started wearing tank tops, I was dealing with all these internalized ideas of being brought up a modest Mormon. I was 19 and hanging out with my usual dude gang, wearing a tank top and asked if I looked slutty. And they all looked at me like 'u mad' which is the right reaction, because if someone is driven to sin by the sight of a shoulder, that's on them, not me.

I really did feel I was doing something transgressive though.
Now I live in the desert and everyone wears shorty shorts and tiny tanks and flip flops and next to them I look quite covered up. I rarely wear anything shorter than my knees.

I'm so unappealingly pale (kinda blotchy, blueish in spots) that being uncovered too much feels like I'm burdening the ppl around me with something they'd rather not see, lol. plus my own hangups about being lol fat etc. lotta baggage, is the short answer.

bra is the least of my concerns haha

I need a bra big enough for all my baggage.

there it is

I worked for a woman back in the late 70s who 1) was in her 50s (my current age bracket) 2) had seriously damaged her skin with sun worship 3) especially her cleavage/chest 4) constantly wore strappy little bare-it-all sundresses and 5) leaned over in front of people a lot. So I am horribly scarred and always imagining myself as her and therefore resistant to showing off too much cleavage. I also have a thing about displaying my plump arms (persisting on thinking of them as plump and not saggy and dimpled) so always wear at least elbow length sleeves.

i have inevitable cleavage unless i dress like a nun so i wear bras that look like they're camisoles (i hope) underneath tanks. it's not like i wear skimpy tanks, but the bras always show. there's still cleavage. i hope that nobody cares/notices much.

i didn't wear sleeveless until my mid-20s or so because i was so afraid of having fat arms (i'm kind of annoyed at my younger self for that--it wasn't modesty, it was self-loathing).

then i was too heat-sensitive to care. my arms look like arms. i've got cleavage. i'd rather deal with that than be quite so dizzy in the heat.

i decided to wear the halter dress. which is like strapless but cheating a little :)

:)

ohgeez yeah if i let myself be annoyed with my younger self, i would be pretty annoyed and eye-rolly at her for a number of things, fashion and otherwise. but such is youth.

halters are the best of both worlds, and (usually) v flattering!

rrrrrrrrrrrrrobyn otm. I wish I could fly back to li'l Carl Agatha at a few crucial junctions and just whisper, "Don't worry, you're okay! You're okay now and you're going to be okay later, too!"

i occasionally need to tell my now-self these things too, of course...

Ha yeah. Good point.

so here is the dress i'm wearing (not compliments fishing, just stressing the importance of amateur-hour posed mirror shots, lol) - i don't wear a lot of dresses that are tight throughout the body, so this is outside the comfort realm for me, but i'm going to keep wearing it tonight, whatevs

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7497731114_d4c034f479.jpg

but see, that seems like a lot of skin imo even if in the opinion of others it is not

oh but it looks SO good on you! your face and expression is wonderful, and that is the real focal point of this photo imo.

omg it looks great! you look great! photo is great! all of it, great!

I know you're not looking for compliments but you look extremely fly.

Once I got used to be out and about in this dress, I began to feel fly as well! It is also v comfortable to ride a bike in, lol.
Thx for unsolicited complements btw ;)

I want to get a new strapless bra. I feel like the ones I have flatten me down too much. They had some on sale at Target this week but I didn't have time to try any on when I went today.

One of these days I am going to say fuck it and go walking in town in a sundress braless but until then it's strapless bras.

I wear capri leggings a lot under short dresses and skirt. Partly modesty, partly to avoid sweaty chafing thighs.

I have a couple pairs of slip shorts I like for the same reason. They're so old lady-ish and I'm just crazy about them.

Slip shorts! I have four! NO. Six! No five bc I threw one out bc I wore holes in it. I love them. They complete me in the summer.

I am going to investigate these.

Fly indeed. The halter was a v v good choice imo.

oh hay slip shorts! you know I never glanced at them. ladies, yall are some geniuses

Lovely! Some kind of halter neck is the only way I'll do 'strapless', pretty much.

Hello. I am here to talk to you about slip shorts aka split slips aka pettipants.

I don't care for nylon versions of this garment (hot weather + lady business + nylon = bad news), so my favorite is the Filament Silk Split Skirt Slip from Wintersilks. This is a little long, which suits me fine because I prefer longer skirts, but if that doesn't work with your wardrobe and you wear straight sizes, there is a shorter version. If you wear plus sizes, I also like the Above the Knee Shorties, which look like they would fit like bike shorts, but fit more like just above the knee, loose shorts. Miraculously, these do not ride up on me, although YMMV. The biggest drawback to these slips is that they require very delicate handling in the laundry, and they aren't a particularly durable garment. Two seasons, tops, with weekly wearing/washing.

I also have a couple paris of these very affordable pettipants from Amazon. They are actually a cotton-poly knit blend, but there's enough cotton to avoid any Lady Business Bad News. These are thicker than the silk kind, and work best under fuller skirts. They also lack the "slip" of the silk slips, so they are better under wovens since knits tend to cling. But they wear like iron and give you a lot of bang for your buck.

I don't have any of the offerings from Vermont Country Store, but they also have an all cotton woven slip and a 100% cotton trimmable knit slip. That second one seems like a good choice if you want cotton knit without any poly content. The main drawback for me is that they only come in white, and I'm a black-and-beige undergarment girl.

Skirts are nice and breezy in the summer, and I love the split slips because they prevent the dreaded chub rub while still letting air circulate. (Pro tip: skip the underpants for extra ventilation!)

Just to round things out, I also have a couple pairs of cotton/lycra bike shorts, which is the only way to go under pencil skirts or suit skirts (or Spanx but just looking at Spanx makes me want to pass out from the heat). I don't have a lot of luck with anti-chafing stuff like Body Glide or Monistat anti-chafing cream (it makes a good makeup primer, though), but out of all of those the toughest I've used is called Sportslick (presumably Sport Slick and not Sports Lick). That shit is meant to be sweated all over and if it's good enough for triathletes, it's good enough for my party thighs.

Fin.

I demand you have an infomercial!

You are my fairy thigh guardian.

rrrobyn you look like a million bucks in that dress

I would do an informercial if I could find a way to profit from my knowledge! Maybe I can get Sports Lick to private label a version of their product called "Party Thighs." Or dye a bunch of Vt. Country Store slips black and resell them for zillions on Etsy.

Speaking of Etsy, there's always bloomers.

Also speaking of Etsy, this guy looks a little like gr8080 - http://www.etsy.com/listing/100646307/vintage-sweater-navy-and-white-wool?ref=fp_treasury_9

lol he does

I can't see me and bloomers getting together

Bloomers! I was looking through the costume section of the Simplicity pattern catalog and wishing I could sew, so I could make some of the 18th and 19th century dresses.

And they had bloomers and other vintage undergarment patterns.

When did it become acceptable to wear regular bras under tube tops, strapless dresses, and backless dresses? I have been seeing it a lot this summer. I feel like such an old lady about this.

no, you are right, esp when there are many workable strapless bra options!

It's really tacky IMO.

AGREED

On the more casual side of things though I quite like the look of tops with large armholes where the bra/bralet/bandeau/bikini top/whatever underneath is visible (something like this).

I'm not in love with tank top + spaghetti tank top + what looks like at least 2 types of bra strap

looks like they're strapped up with horses bridles. I mean, I guess it has a sort of 80's Madonna charm HAY LOOK AT ALL MY STRAPS idk. Maybe i'm just too prone to IA to take it seriously

this doesn't bother me at all but i am kind of a slob

went to my fave french lingerie shop today for annual visit of necessity and prettiness!
bought three bras! (all non-padded, as is my wont)
one straight-up black seamless one from janine robin, which is v comfortable and looks good if plain
but the really pretty, yet still comfortable, ones are:
grey-green-blue lacy princesse tam tam (can't find a picture but it is really pretty)
black lacy + pinstripes chantelle - http://i.pgcdn.com/pi/90/24/65/902465751_260.jpg

i feel good about these fancy purchases.

ha that's the same chantelle i bought!

the official bra of ILS!

I need some pretty bras. Mine are all very plain and no nonsense. Sorta utilitarian, I guess.

For example I have this in two colors and another that is nearly its twin: http://www.vanityfairlingerie.com/portal/site/vflingerie/template.PAGE/product?javax.portlet.tpst=a24cb10408b5f81ad4214b1086008a0c&javax.portlet.prp_438eda30e045f81ad4214b1086008a0c_subCategoryId=898087&javax.portlet.prp_a24cb10408b5f81ad4214b1086008a0c_ajax=true&javax.portlet.prp_438eda30e045f81ad4214b1086008a0c_categoryId=898083&javax.portlet.prp_a24cb10408b5f81ad4214b1086008a0c_productId=149411058204700468511321863261389796470&t=Product+-+Body+Sleeks%3Csup%3E%26%23174%3B%3C%2Fsup%3E+Support+Full+Coverage+Contour+Underwire

Woah long ink. I love them but they aren't really pretty or fancy.