A Matter of Support

I did a little bit of shopping this weekend…. Though I’ve admittedly been on a budget as of late due to my spontaneous vacation booking, I ran out of deodorant, contact solution, makeup, and toothpaste all in the same week so a trip to the store for some necessities was in order. (ok I might have picked up a few un essential items as well). 

As I browsed through the aisles I was drawn towards all the spring clothes and bright colors, that is until I walked past the intimates section. I recently had a wardrobe malfunction at work that involved a dress I had never worn before, the lack of a flattering strapless bra, and a coffee urn who may have gotten a little bit of a show… needless to say, I do not want to repeat said experience, so as I browsed through Target I figured it would be in my best interest to invest in a new strapless bra.

Can someone please explain to me why all of the normal-ish looking strapless bras, that had the appropriate support, shape, and dare-I-say padding, are hot pink, orange, colbalt blue & turquoise? I am into bright colors… in cardigans, summer dresses, tee shirts, toe-nail polish, and lipstick, but I have to draw the line at strapless bras. I multi-task all day long, so is it really too much to ask for my strapless bra to look good underneath ALL of my clothes, and not just my brightly colored halter tops? Granted, if I was really serious about finding a strapless bra that looked amazing under clothes as well as by itself I probably shouldn’t have been shopping at Target, but I still cannot fathom why if you are going to the trouble of making a bra, you would not make it available in at least black. Ok, so you are going for the fun flirty look, maybe beige isn’t ideal, but why not black?

Personally I have a bias again strapless bras, or maybe just a bias against gravity.  My less then well endowed body type requires all the lifting power it can get…So strapless isn’t my choice for everyday; however, there are some situations that require a strapless bra, so I was rather peeved when the style I wanted only came in insanely bright colors.

This then got me thinking to the women who do wear these neon-colored strapless bras…. Do they even exist? I completely understand the desire for fun/flirty/sexy lingerie… But why can’t the fun flirty/sexy stuff also come in practical colors? This might just be my tight budget mind at work, but I want a bra that is invisible under clothes, AND has a wow factor by itself. I want the best of both worlds, I want to have my cake and eat it too and I can tell you right now that a turquoise bra with yellow stars (seriously, what could you wear that under?) is not going to satisfy the invisible/ wow factor ratio.

It’s a total double standard I know, because believe me I have plenty of unpractical under-garments, but when it comes to strapless bras I need them to be functioning more so than flirty… Though I would prefer them to be both, I’ll settle for the “no-nonsense black option that when worn alone looks a little matronly” over the “cute cut, great support, makes you look amazing, hot pink, will be seen under everything you own” option… Sigh, another compromise for fashion.

Though a well made, Victoria’s Secret, multi-functioning, cute, sexy, invisible under clothes strapless bra is on my long term shopping list....