Now that summer is here, I got into an “argument” with a friend over this most serious of subjects. She thinks it is so embarrassing that she never wears tank tops with thin shoulder straps, because she hates to worry that a misbehaving bra strap might work its way out into the visible world.
I agree that in a formal setting it is inelegant. But when I’m relaxing, wearing jeans and a tank top it doesnt bother me. (Although I wear bras that dont have ugly metal hardware on the top of the shoulder straps.)
Visible brassiere straps are the epitome of tacky.
That being said, there was a secretary here who wore a brasier that had little satin roses on the straps. They were visible and it didn’t look half bad.
I think it’s decidedly tacky under any circumstances to have any undergarment showing, be it bra strap, thong, or boxers. In fact, back in the old days when I was a young 'un, a girl would die of embarrassment if her bra strap or slip was showing.
I’m constantly tucking my daughter’s wayward straps in, but she doesn’t seem to care. Yeah, it’s not a high crime or misdemeanor, but it still looks tacky to me.
I always wear spagettis strap tank tops of one variety or another with a button up shirt of one variety or another over them. I usually match my bra color generally to my shirt color. If I take off the button down, you can see the bra straps, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to wear a strapless every day just so that people can’t see that I’m wearing a bra.
I do agree on thongs though. It’s one thing if your pants slip while you’re diving for a frisbee or whatever, but it’s tacky if it shows every time you sit, or god forbid, when you’re standing.
I really like tank tops with the thin straps. But I almost always wear a bra under them. I figure that people would rather see my bra straps hiding out than my nipples showing through. I now wear a bra with clear straps when I know it’s going to be showing. Still tacky?
At work, or other business / formal occaisions – always tacky!
However, IMO anywhere else is fair game. I live in a very hot climate, and wear tank tops 2/3 of the year. I’m not about to go braless, and I’m not ::cough:: fortunate enough to need the assistance of a strapless, so I let 'em show (the straps, that is).
I don’t think it’s tacky at all, but then again maybe I’m just desensitized to fashion over-exposure. Hell, when I was in high school we’d actually wear sleeveless shirts so we could show our brastraps on purpose! It was part of the style, I guess.
YMMV, but I still think it’s a hell of a lot more decent than low-cut necklines. I’m sorry, but I really don’t need to see what the rest of anyone’s bra looks like.
I agree with the majority–it’s usually tacky. If it’s not very noticible, say, the bra strap slipped and it’s just a matter of tucking it back into place, or the straps are almost fully covered except for the tiniest, most miniscule bit of skin, that’s not a big deal, but if the shirt over top simply doesn’t cover the cut of the bra, then don’t wear it. A good way to hide it if the shirt and bra are cut similarly is to match up colors…a red bra is more noticible peeking out from under a black shirt than a black bra.
*that should be “bit of strap” up there, not “bit of skin.” (Unless, of course, your bra happens to be one of those Made From 100% Human Skin varieties, in which case, leave as is).
You know, when I was in highschool it was trendy to wear boxer shorts under one’s uniform skirt. It was also trendy to have one’s skirt short enough so the boxer shorts could be seen. We Catholic school girls were wild, lemmetellya!
I don’t think its a big deal. Women wear bra’s. Big deal. Get over it. Just because visible bra-straps are reaferming that notion doesn’t make them tacky.
I agree with XJETGIRLX. At work, at church, or at similar “events,” then VBS is as bad as VPL. My grandmother always said there was “a special place in hell” for the “brazen harlots” who left the house with any suggestion at all that she was wearing anything beneath her clothes. (She never did say how she felt about people who actually wore NOTHING under their clothes though …)
Otherwise, though, it’s up to one’s own better judgement. Personally, I try to make my bra straps as “invisible” as possible - match the bra color to clothes color, or wear a flesh tone - but if it shows once in a while, I just try to discreetly coax it back into place before anyone else notices. And call me a prude if you want, but I would NEVER parade around with a jogging bra for a “top.”
I don’t understand the sudden appearance of bra straps as “fashion accessories.” You may have noticed that some bars come with detachable straps that can be interchanged - you can have clear straps, straps with little rhinestones, straps with little red bows, etc. This is just weird to me. Why would you show off your bra straps like they are jewelry? Just get some earrings.
I have to modify my statement. In regular every-day such-and-such, bra straps are fine. At work, church, or anything involving obcene amounts of money (prom, black-tie affairs, the theatre…) bra straps are TACKY and I will beat you.
And clear straps. They’re plastic! They’re shiny! Who’re you kidding?!
I agree with XJETGIRLX also. It gets really hot and humid here during the summer, so it’s nice to wear tank tops. However, I HATE wearing strapless bras, and I don’t think bra-less is really an option for me. I try my best to match bra color with the shirt color, or I’ll use the clear straps I have.
Of course, for anything more than casual wear, I would not show my bra straps at all.
Sorry, I have to disagree. It has become acceptable* to wear spaghetti-strapped camisoles or tank tops with a matching or coordinating bras, as long as the straps are delicate and don’t have heavy hardware on them. So if someone is small, both in chest size and all over and young enough** to wear this, it’s fine.
If you, like me, need an Over-the-Shoulder-Bolder-Holder that rivals a bridge for engineering, strength and intricacy of construction, then that look is right out.
Under any other article of clothing, though, yes, it’s tacky. So no bra straps under sundresses, etc.
*It was about 5 or 6 years ago, but there was an article about it in either Marie Clare, Vogue or Cosmopolitan. I remember reading it, I just don’t remember where.
**I think if you have graduated college, you are pushing the upper limits of this caveat.
Whether it is bra straps, thongs, boxers, or briefs, I fall firmly in the “underwear shouldn’t show, that’s why it’s called underwear catagory” so I vote that it’s tacky.
I shudder just as quickly at the sight of a man with his boxers/briefs bunched at his waist while his pants hang on his hips as I do at the sight of a woman with her bra/bra straps/panties/thong showing.
