Okay, I admit I have mixed emotions on this one, so maybe y’all can help me sort this thing out here in IMHO…
Coming back from Germany I noticed that one of the flight attendants on the plane had on a white blouse and when she turned her back, one could see the her white brasierre(sp).
I was trying to decide whether this should be a turn-on or completely unproffesional. She was a very nice-looking 50-ish and very friendly, but still…
So since I am having trouble making up my own mind, I’ll let y’all make it up for me.
You mean visible thru the fabric of the blouse? Ummm, if that’s the case, what’s the big deal? Unless her skin is paper white, the contrast between that and her undergarments will be apparent. Or are you suggesting that perhaps she should wear an additional undergarment? Or not remove her jacket?
I guess I don’t get it. It’s not like she was wearing a bra with purple cabbage roses on it or neon cammo under white - and even if she did, so what? I’ve seen far worse assaults on taste and fashion sensibilities…
I think there is a much deeper issue here. Something involving your mother or a favored teacher or a former girlfriend… or perhaps you want to wear a bra under a thin white blouse?? Interesting… very interesting…
Incidentally, I’m not a shrink, nor do I play one on TV. I am, however, a certified smartass. Really. My certificate is right here on the wall. Honest!!
But to answer your original question, I have no idea whether you should be turned on or not.
You’re a certified something, don’t know if smartass really fits or not. Or maybe you just got up on the wrong side of your life this morning? Whatever the case, I asked a simple question and this is the best you can do? An attack on my character? Put your head in the toilet and give it a good flush, fairychatmom.
If there’s a floral pattern on the bra, and you can also tell that the pattern doesn’t match the pattern on the panties, that’s definitely revealing too much.
I’ve seen that. Granted, not in a professional setting, but still.
They call them “camisoles.” Traditionally worn between the foundational undergarments and the lighter outergarments. Given the fairly utilitarian dress of most flight attendants, I’m surprised she was showing that much.
Quasi, no disrespect, but this poor woman’s job is tough enough without worrying whether her bra is visible through the backside of her blouse. And I would lay down serious money she doesn’t want to “turn on” anyone.
Every day, flight attendants have to deal with all manner of surliness, snideness, impatience, and actual physical threats to their safety.
Nor should a woman feel compelled to wear a camisole just because a man has turned the setting on his X-ray vision to “11.”
That’s the risk you run when you wear white blouses. I’d say that someone wearing a white bra under a white blouse rates pretty low on the offensive meter, particularly if that blouse was issued by the airline.
Hmmm … maybe that was the effect the company was going for.
IMHO – We dress in a particular way to make a statement about ourselves. If someone dresses in a manner to that is eye catching, and my eyes get caught, and it’s OK; then I have no problem with whatever is shown. If it’s NOT ok to notice then it should NOT be worn/shown/ etc… With the current climate for sexual harassment in the work place, I suggest a more conservative approach.
I do not agree with tsunamisurfer concept of x-ray vision. Everyone has a pretty good idea of what will show through; if you don’t want someone to notice, don’t wear something noticeable.
It’s pretty tough to find a bra that is 100% guaranteed not to show through a thin white shirt. As Kayeby said, it was probably a uniform shirt and she had no control over how thin it was.
Maybe she put on the bra, looked at her front in the mirror, and didn’t realize that it would show through in the back. Maybe she didn’t realize her bra showed through until she got to work. Maybe she’s fashion-clueless and wasn’t thinking about it at all.
Even if you have managed to find a bra that exactly matches your skin tone (and then you don’t do something foolish like going to the beach and getting a tan), the outline of your bra will still be apparent if you’re wearing a light-weight shirt and it’s pulled tight across the back. Is it meant to be a turn-on? No. Is it unprofessional? No. Believe it or not, women do not choose their foundation garments with the express and exclusive purpose of turning men on. You gotta wear one, and it’s going to show through under some circumstances no matter what. It’s not all a plot to turn men on.
Sometimes all your nice bras are in the wash. Sometimes the size of your breasts suddenly changes and your bras don’t fit, and you go out to buy new ones and there’s just nothing acceptible on the rack in your size and you’ll get back to the store as soon as you can and until then you have to make do. Sometimes you just don’t really give a crap if somebody can see the outline of your bra in the back, as long as your boobs are properly restrained and your nips aren’t on public display.
A white bra under a white shirt just doesn’t scream “I’m trying to be sexy” to me.
Jesus Christ, People! Re-read the goddam post, willya? I never once said that the “visible bra” was meant to “turn me on” deliberately! You are putting the emphasis on the wrong subject (the woman)! I only asked if you thought it was okay!
I also admitted to having mixed emotions about it. Read that as not knowing exactly how to react! Yeah, she was attractive, but the bottom line is: Was she professionally dressed?
Bottom line remains: Is it appropriate dress or not? I’m a male and I notice females. I noticed no other female whose bra showed. Was I “turned on” by it? Maybe. But then again, I had mixed emotions about it, this being the reason for the original post.
So, if I’m getting your drift, Quasi, what you’re really saying is that not only did she really turn you on, but you also think she was hitting on you in a very indirect way and you’re therefore hoping we will provide you a clever pickup line to seal the deal. Correct?
I personally think that if the bra was obviously visible, she should have been wearing a slip or camisole or whatever you call that thing women wear to hide their bra when wearing thin shirts. But I can see why this would be a problem for FAs with limited luggage space.
But hey, just be glad we’re not back in the “Coffee, Tea, or Me” 1960s. I remember my Dad going on and on about an airline he flew, where the stewardesses all wore identical uniforms, and the airline had them change to DIFFERENT identical uniforms halfway through the flight. I guess it was some sort of entertainment for the passengers.
No, this does not need to be a Pit thread. :rolleyes: C’mon you guys. Sheesh.
< ahem >
To address the OP:
I got my sweet lil Mommy butt flamed a year ago for posting my Summertime pet peeve–bra straps showing Pit thread. I was informed in no uncertain terms that I was an old-fashioned fuddy-duddy, a stick-in-the-mud, a dinosaur, an outdated relic of the Eisenhower Administration, and other terms too delicate to repeat here in MPSIMS.
And in the intervening year, after many (many many many) conversations on JUST THIS SUBJECT with The Cat Who Walks Alone, who is now 17 and who for the last 6 years has felt more than qualified to make her own underwear decisions, I have come to the conclusion that:
It’s evidently OHHH-KAAYY to have your bra straps showing in public. I thus infer that it’s also evidently okay to have a bra, whether white or colored, showing under a white blouse.
So, to answer your question, Quasi, no, the flight attendant probably wasn’t trying to attract any male attention, she was just wearing “clothes as worn in the first part of the 21st century”.
And for you people who are reading too much into the OP, I have just one word:
I didn’t want to speak for FairyChatMom, but it was pretty clear to me that she was just ribbing Quasimodem. tsunamisurfer’s last post also seemed light-hearted. If I’m wrong, then forgive me, and, hey, give Quasi a break, 'cause he’s just asking an honest question and it’s obvious he’s agitated (for whatever reason).
In the OP you asked : “I was trying to decide whether this should be a turn-on . . .”
We’re answering that it was probably not intended to be a turn-on. As to whether it should be, well, that’s where the ribbing (as I percieve it) came in.
It’s just a bra. Almost every woman on the plane was wearing one. Lots of women even wear white bras under white shirts, and lots of times it shows through a little bit. From a fashion point of view, it’s lamentable, but I’ve seen it too often in schoolteachers, old ladies at church, and other bastions of moral uprightness to think that there’s anything lascivious about it.
The only thing sexy about the back straps of a plain ol’ white bra is the implication that up front, it’s got titties in it. Nothing wrong with being mildly aroused by it, of course, but it’s kind of silly to imply that it’s unprofessional to allow such a display of ribald feminity to assault the innocent eyeballs of passengers. If she was some old bag (cringes, waiting for luggage joke) would you have even thought twice about it?
I think Quasi needs to chill - people like FairyChatMom were making light-hearted remarks about his OP - which is not exactly a deadly-serious subject anyway - and he’s all assed up about it. Geez!
Re: the white bra visible through a white blouse, most lightweight white blouses - silk, polyester, even cotton - are too thin to completely conceal even a skin-toned bra. Just a hazard of wearing a white blouse. Now, I don’t see why glimpsing a bra through a blouse is any more offensive than seeing a camisole through a blouse, or why a camisole is more appropriate in a professional setting. Both cover your boobs, right? So what’s the big deal?
Thanks, Podkayne and Gundy - I was trying to figure out what exactly I said that came across as serious. I was trying to figure out if an apology was in order or not…
It’s a uniform shirt. Believe it or not, the Army and Air Force both issue female uniform blouses that are basically see-through. Why? Probably because they’re cheap. You are not allowed to wear a shirt underneath them. Ah, but how would anyone know what you’re wearing underneath them? Because they’re see-through! You can’t win. Fortunately, in the Army we almost always wear our BDU’s. Those babies are opaque!
