So many times, I look at Fashion Week photos and roll my eyes. Working for a site that isn’t about following trends but about making your own style and finding what works for you, I can’t help but have a deep-seeded hatred for trends that make little-to-no sense. Case in point: the Bra Over T-shirt trend.
I remember first seeing it on Leandra Medine, aka Man Repeller, and rolling my eyes. It was silly-looking, bordering on entering “fashion” territory. You know the exact trends and ridiculousness that Zoolander mocks perfectly. The unwearable things that fashion people get photographed for wearing all the time and make plebs like us chortle at our computer screens.
The first time this trend came to fruition in my recent memory was the Maison Martin Margiela 2006 show, which also catapulted body suits out of the ’90s weirdness and into the 2000s trendiness. It was Cher’s gym clothes, but high fashion.
I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that Maison shouldn’t be dictating trends (ahem, camel-toe boots), but for some reason, this ridiculous-looking style became a thing.
Leandra Medine tried it out (as a joke), Maison took their weird bodysuits to us lowly customers and added them in as part of the capsule collection for H&M, and then it was everywhere. Prada did it on the runway in 2013, Dries Van Noten and Alberta Ferretti did it for Spring 2016, and then this fall runway, Milly made it a thing. And then, PopSugar wrote about trying it out.
See, I hate this trend for more than just the fact that it looks ridiculous. Fashion Week trends have never really been all that accessible for women with what we deem as “normal” looking, but in the fashion world, women are seen as not valuable consumers. Fashion Week is basically saying, “Not a size 6 and a size 00?” This is not for you.
But what we could do, was take inspiration. The problem with tacking this trend onto things like culottes, lace-up details, and off-the-shoulder dresses, the bra-over-top trend is literally impossible for the average American woman.
According to a survey done in 2013, the average size of an American woman’s breasts is 34DD. You think those women are walking around with their bras basically serving as fashion pieces rather than functional ones? Hell no.
As this runway trend trickles down to street style, which will inevitably make its way to average consumers, I think it’s something even I, with a B cup, will stay away from. My bra drawer may be filled with longline bras and bralettes that make me feel comfortable under chunky sweaters or loose blouses. They will be staying just that: underwear.
(Photos: Getty)
