What To Expect When You Stop Wearing A Bra

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braless era

Source: Roy JAMES Shakespeare / Getty

I am a part-time bra-wearer. That’s right—just part time. May aim is to only wear a bra when I absolutely have to, like for exercising, or times the AC may be blasting and my top will be thin. But, my default setting is to not reach for a bra when I get dressed. It’s really quite liberating. One of the very reasons I stay in sweats and big t-shirts for most of the day is the fact that putting on a bra is so damn tedious. You have to put the back in the front at first so you can see what you’re doing with those clasps, then you must put your arms through each strap, then you have to adjust the tightness of said straps because it never stays in place, and move that under-arm boob around so it isn’t spilling out over the sides. What a nuisance. I just reached a point when I realized I was wearing bras more for other people than myself, and I don’t want to anymore. If you do decide to go bra-less, there are some things you should prepare for—good and bad.

Never run late

Give yourself plenty of time to get everywhere because you don’t want to catch yourself running to catch a bus, or running from your parking spot to the venue or…just running at all. Because you don’t have a bra on and running bra-less hurts.

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Peeing in a romper is a whole new thing

If you’re a woman then you know that in order to pee in a romper, you must remove the entire romper. The first time you do this (especially if you do it at a best friend’s house with the bathroom door wide open) you’ll find yourself sitting topless on the toilet.

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Beware of leaning

Suddenly traditionally high-neck tops are nearly deep plunging ones. If you simply kneel down to pet a dog, anyone who did not kneel down can look right down your top and see it all. I learned this the hard way. Twice.

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It’s one less thing to hand wash

You have to hand-wash your bras if you don’t want to completely destroy them. Of course, if you’re anything like me you just…avoided that for as long as possible and walked around in yellowing bras. Now all of that frustration is over.

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Some tops no longer work

Certain very restricting tops, like those that are silk or polyester, just won’t work anymore. They constrict your breasts, pressing them down until you look flat. It was fine when you wore a push-up bra with these to combat the issue. But now it’s just you and your real tissue. Forgive the rhyming.

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People may think you forgot

Several well-meaning friends or colleagues may lean over and whisper, “Um, I think you forgot something,” motioning down to your headlights. When you tell them you skipped the bra on purpose, everyone will blush a little.

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People may call you a hippy

Some close-minded individuals will immediately assume that you also practice witchcraft, use ocean stones to heal ailments, and sage your apartment once a week to remove bad energy. Let them think it. They’re — because you might. just grumpy because they are wearing bras.

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No more sliding straps

Long gone will be the days of constantly adjusting the straps that slide off of your shoulders. Even the “non-slip” straps have a way of finding their way down to our elbows.

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No more stabbing underwire

Men will never understand the horror of having your underwire bust through the cloth of your bra fabric and stab you in the breast. The item that is literally meant to support you betrays you by stabbing you…well…not in the back. Worse. In the boob!

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It’s not for the big-busted

Unfortunately, if you are blessed with large breasts then you know that you are also cursed with back issues. Going bra-less isn’t a great idea for the big-busted.

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Keep one around for spontaneous dancing

In addition to running, dancing is another thing you don’t want to do bra-less. If you like to pull some particularly rambunctious moves on the dance floor, you don’t need your ta-ta’s flying from side to side. Keep a bralette in your purse for times like these.

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They may become perkier

Going braless may actually make your chest muscles stronger. Wearing a bra trains our chest muscles to just not put in the work, which is actually how bras can make boobs saggier. Skipping the bra can make your boobs naturally perkier.

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You’ll have better circulation

Bras tend to constrict blood flow to our chest. The only way they don’t is if you wear a loose bra but we all know how annoying a loose bra is. Going bra-less may improve circulation.

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You’ll save money

We all know that a good bra can cost around $50, if not more. It’s one of the many things we spend too much on. Such a shame to spend so much money on something that nobody (besides our intimate partners) really sees. Now you can save that money.

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Your mom and grandma won’t like it

When I visit my mother, she won’t let me leave her house without a bra on. And when I went bra-less in front of my grandmother, she pulled my mother aside to ask if I was having some sort of psychotic breakdown.

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