Photo by Kapil Tejwani on Scopio
It’s spring and I’m swapping clothes around, from winter to summer. The fall and spring stuff stays out year round. But I store out of season clothes in the basement in plastic storage tubs, as one does if you only have one closet and a chest of drawers. I have friends who don’t swap clothes between seasons but generally speaking they are friends who live alone and who have year round access to multiple closets.
Even with the swapping about, I’m still pinched for clothes space. So I looked about to see what I’m not wearing and came across a full drawer of bras. Prime clothing real estate taken up by fancy underwire things that I haven’t worn since the pandemic began. I moved them out and relegated them to a storage box on the bookcase.
What have I been wearing if not those bras? Sports bras mostly. But not even my most serious supportive sports bras. Instead I’m wearing the comfy, soft sports bras, the kind people market for yoga or possibly low impact activities. Frankly, I’m not sure if I’m going back to the serious, substantial ones.
I recognize that this is a privilege that follows from being a B cup and not a D or larger. I know some friends who are more comfortable wearing a serious bra. I’m just not one of them.
After a bit of searching for non sports bras that are still soft and comfortable, my newsfeed is full of ads for them. I’ll buy some maybe and report back. I feel it’s the underwear equivalent of Cate’s discussion of “hard shoes.”
I’m still in love with lots of my formal work clothes but never again will I wear a bra that pokes in my ribs.
How about you? What’s your “return to workplace”–whatever stage of that you’re in–bra life like?
