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The Great Internet Bra Debate
How dirty is your bra?

Someone sent a letter to Dear Prudence asking if his girlfriend was normal because she's worn the same bra every day for two weeks. Prudie gives her usual inadequate and perplexing answer, starting with:

Perhaps your worries about hygiene arise from watching too much soft-core porn in which women get in the shower and soap their breasts for extended periods.

Reader comments range everywhere from ick:

I always wear a clean bra each day, just like I wear clean underwear EACH DAY. I've never heard of such a thing in my life as wearing the same clothes every day for weeks on end, especially not undergarments. And no, I'm not "filthy" rich. I grew up in a single wide trailer with extremely poor, hardworking parents, who taught me the value of SOAP and daily bathing.

to double standard!

Am I the only perosn who sees the endless gender-based double standard in society today? If this question was posed by a woman with a boyfriend who wore the same boxers for a week, the response would have centered around the boyfriend's level of evolution.

to several comments about how bras are expensive and wear out in the wash, bras don't get as dirty as undies, several comments asking how the guy knows she doesn't wash it, maybe she has several bras that look exactly the same, and there's even an informal poll asking how long people wear bras between washings. One of the best answers to the poll:

15 minutes. i have to take it off before me wife comes back

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	sionja 2009-08-29 05:32 am UTC (link)
	I throw mine in the regular wash (cold wash, tumble dry). But I also buy Cacique bras pretty much exclusively because they're a) well constructed and last me years even with the abuse I hurl at them and b) one of the only companies that make my size. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

frequentmouse
2009-08-29 05:10 pm UTC (link)

But I also buy Cacique bras pretty much exclusively

Oh, gawd, yes.

I'm reading this in bemusement- I'm allergic to my own sweat andcan only wear a bra once or I break out in welts; Cacique has a boneless style with a whole lot of engineered interior panels so I don't have to wear an underwire that love. I buy them off the clearance rack, mostly, which means I get a whole lot of weird stuff (one is turquoise, purple, charcoal grey and red stripes) but they're comfortable and machine washable.

When there's a twofer sale I break down and buy white or pale pink or peach to wear under pastel shirts. It's basically the only reason I keep a Lane Bryant card, because lately all their clothes are made of plastic and their jeans sizes are from Vulcan orsomething.

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inalasahl
2009-08-30 12:36 am UTC (link)

It's basically the only reason I keep a Lane Bryant card, because lately all their clothes are made of plastic and their jeans sizes are from Vulcan orsomething.
Seriously. They need to get new buyers or something. The place has really changed in the last few years. I went in there to find a last-minute dress for a semi-formal occasion. There were none that weren't completely bizarre (plastic, leather and denim) for the occasion. I *finally* spotted a normal-ish skirt (it was a normal fabric and a nice color, but it had ruffles), and asked the saleswoman what tops they had that went with it. She said they didn't have anything at all in the whole store that could be matched with it. Misunderstanding, I told her it didn't have to be a perfect match, a white top would do just fine. She told me they didn't have a white top, of any kind. My brain kind of broke, at that point.

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	frequentmouse 2009-08-30 01:17 am UTC (link)
	Weird stuff: silk summer dress with polyester slip lining, so it doesn't breathe. Added to that, in a store where the smallest bra size is a C, the dress was cut for an A or B cup. I did get a nifty stretch linen vest there on deep clearance, but I wouldn't have bought it full price: $69! (Reply to this)(Parent)

evilsqueakers
2009-08-30 02:43 am UTC (link)

It's basically the only reason I keep a Lane Bryant card, because lately all their clothes are made of plastic and their jeans sizes are from Vulcan orsomething.

I live in my jeans from LB and I can usually get about 1.5 years out of each pair. I get the Right Size thingy because it gives me the flared to not make my already large hips and stomach look less than scary. I just used their buy one, half off sale the other week. I enjoy their underwear, too...but I have enough I could open a store from their 5 for 25 sales.

And that's all I buy there. For my tops, I hit Torrid's graphic tees and the rest from Style & Co at Macy's. I like simple clothes. Or the men's section at Wally World. Cause I don't like looking as if the applique monster threw up all over my chest. I already DDDs. I don't need any "here they are" hints.

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frequentmouse
2009-08-30 08:39 pm UTC (link)

I hate having to try on a bunch of garments to find what fits best (plus: don't drive, totally fucked knee which interferes with my bus riding, shopping jammed into the few hours a month I have transportation) and the new LB jeans sizes pretty much require an initial try-on binge.

Oh, yeah: ~~The Bon's~~ Macy's clearance racks are my prime source of tops and my current crop of jeans are mostly from a special collection (Smith's) that was a Style&Co offshoot- I bought them for ca$6 apiece because they were oversized and crocked indigo like whoa and people returned them in hoards. My outer wardrobe is based on Gilda Radner's first principal of fashion (what doesn't itch) and the 75% off rack at Macy's.

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	pingin_tango 2009-08-31 01:59 am UTC (link)
	Love the 75% off rack. The Macy's in a near town has this little annex that is nothing but 75% off. My boyfriend stocked up for a trip and got $400 worth of clothes for just over $100. I picked up a nice shirt and a couple long sleeved guys shirts, only shirts that cover the base of my hands. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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