Make Plans Now For National No Bra Day

by Kevin Burton

   Ladies, you have a big, big day coming up Friday, I mean apart from the whole start-of-the-weekend thing. It’s National No Bra Day!

   I have been annoyed with local TV stations for doing stories about job fairs, the day of the job fair, leaving me no time to plan for and get to said fair. 

   But this good blogger citizen is giving you advance notice, two full days, to plan appropriately for National No Bra Day.

   According to data I have gathered from  overheard snippets in classrooms, waiting rooms and busses, to bits on Comedy Central, the bra is a real pain in the anatomy.

  I figure a day of freedom should be cause for celebration. Ladies, I am writing this post of course, to support you.

     And my first message is, it could be worse. Ever heard of a corset?

   World War I is seen as largely inconclusive by some historians, but it did do something important for half of humanity, according to historyfacts.com.

   “For nearly 400 years, women in Western Europe and North America were expected to wear corsets beneath their clothing — restrictive, binding bustiers that cinched at the waist and opened toward the chest to accentuate the natural curves of the body,” the website wrote.

   “This all changed around the First World War, when a shortage of metal, the dominant material in corsets, led to a redistribution of resources as well as a cultural shift. Steel went toward planes and tanks and other military equipment, and American women went to work in factories to contribute to the war effort.”

   “Hard labor, however, could not be performed in a corset — indeed almost nothing could be performed in a corset, barring sitting and standing. These women needed something breathable, loose and functional.”

   “Enter Caresse Crosby, a young debutant who, instead of wearing a corset, opted to sew together two handkerchiefs ahead of a social ball, debuting the first ‘modern bra’ on the dance floor. She patented the first-ever ‘backless brassiere,’ which she later sold to the Warner Brothers Corset Company.”

   “From there, the modern bra took off in a variety of styles and functionalities. In the postwar era, the bandeau bra — a cylindrical, cupless garment not unlike a modern bralette — was popular under slim-fitting 1920s dresses.

    Soon after, the cupped bra took shape with its infamous pointed cups and letter-based sizing. The variable styles allowed women the chance to express themselves and move their bodies freely, though the relief of taking off a bra at the end of the day is universal and timeless,” the website writes.

   The website also says that it is estimated that 80 percent of women are wearing the wrong bra size. The site didn’t say exactly who estimates this, but whoever it is, I’m not buying it.

    Also the website says, no one knows the exact origin of cup sizing.

   “Prior to the letter-based cup sizing system, bras were fashioned with flexible bands and cups to fit nearly any type of chest, with sizing options in “full,” “average,” and “small.” The origin of cup sizing — A, B, C, and up — is disputed, occurring sometime in the mid-1930s.

   Some historians credit William and Ida Rosenthal, the founders of Maidenform, while others credit S.H. Camp and Company for popularizing the system. The Warner Brothers Corset Company also claims to have used cup sizes since 1935. Though the precise origin remains unknown, the lettered sizing system is still the industry standard going on a century later.”

   I hope it’s not lost on you that the bra was described earlier in this post  as “breathable, loose and functional.” Perhaps that’s not the way you see it.

   No worries. You have every right to disagree, never more so than Friday, the day set aside to leave your bra at home.

   So it’s braless for comfort and maybe also, braless for a cause.

  National Day Calendar, where I found out about No Bra Day, says the day is observed to promote breast cancer awareness. It encourages women to “take charge of your health and make an appointment for a mammogram. Encourage others to do the same. Learn the best time and way to complete a self-breast exam.”