#YouDoNew - Going Braless

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the concept of bras. I've been seeing more bralessness in the past few months, and have heard the resulting comments from friends and family members. Comments ranging from lusty insights from dudes to catty remarks from women. These events prompted me to think more about an item of clothing that I've taken for granted as necessary since I was about twelve.

For some reason braless women are perceived by some as immodest. Their skin is covered, but moving too much and not shaped "right" when breasts are left to their own devices under a shirt or dress. It's kind of bizarre.

This idea of immodesty is so ingrained in our culture that I've never even questioned the need to wear a bra in public, regardless of the fact that my favourite part of the day is coming home to take it off. I'm so used to wearing a bra that even though I recognize that absurdity of it being necessary, the idea of not wearing it makes me uncomfortable,

So this week I decided to challenge myself to go braless more often in public and social situations.

I started off easy, walking the dog in structured dresses, eventually working my way up to grocery store visits in tunics. Admittedly, these aren't any great feats, but for only a week, and considering my level of discomfort with the project, I'm going to consider it successful.

It took a bit for me to get used to how my body looks in my usual clothes without a bra, I'm used to that look in lounge wear, but jeans and tshirts was an adjustment. I found that some some cuts and fabrics were more flattering with the braless look than others, and that some provide their own level of support, This experimentation has helped me to determine which outfits not only look the best without a bra, but are the most comfortable. The most unexpected outcome of this experiment though was the effect it had on my posture. Without artificial lift, it's easier for my entire upper body to look frumpy, so this week I often found myself more conscious of the set of my back and shoulders. While unexpected, this newfound focus on and appreciation for posture can only be a good thing, and is itself incentive enough to continue my free-boob trend.

All in all, this is something I plan to continue. I'm not sure that I'd ever be willing to go braless to my waitressing job or to a photoshoot, but perhaps I can persuade myself to take a night out with friends without boob support.