Fashion
Maura Higgins and Charli XCX look brilliant going braless – but take it from my 34D boobs, it all goes south from here
WRITER and mum-of-two Mel Fallowfield, 52, feels she’s paying the price for ditching her bra in her youth.
As celebs embrace the braless look, Mel reveals how those who wear a bra suffer less with sagging later on in life.
The Mega AgencyCharli XCX accepted five awards at the Brits in a daring sheer black dress – and no bra[/caption]
GettyLove Island star Maura Higgins also wore this sheer black dress with embroidered flowers covering her nipples to the event[/caption]
GettyRapper Megan Thee Stallion posed in this daring green number at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party[/caption]
GettyOlivia Wilde also went braless at the Oscars bash[/caption]
Mel Fallowfield says ‘I used to ditch my bra at the drop of a hat’Olivia West
This year the Brits were apparently inundated with complaints after Charli XCX took to the stage to accept her five awards – including album of the year – in a daring sheer black dress and no bra, so you could catch a glimpse of her nipples.
She spoke out, saying, “I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples. I feel like we’re in the era of ‘free the nipple’ though, right?”
I’m certainly no swooning Victorian maiden and see no problem with the 32-year-old singing sensation baring the flesh.
I have no idea why the sight of a nipple is deemed offensive, it’s just a body part. Men think nothing of whipping off their sweaty T-shirts and exposing their bare chests as soon as there’s a glimpse of sunshine.
Charli XCX looked stunning.
As did all the other women who’ve been flashing their braless boobs on the red carpet recently, from Love Island and I’m A Celebrity star Maura Higgins, 34, who wore a sheer black dress and no bra, with embroidered flowers covering her nipples, to the Brits, to actress Julia Fox, 35, and rapper Megan Thee Stallion, 30, at the Vanity Fair Oscars‘ after party.
And it’s refreshing that they feel confident enough to do it.
I flinched in horror for an entirely different reason. Having spent years forgoing my bra during my 20s and 30s, I now feel I’m paying the price. My once perky boobs have headed south.
While age and gravity have played their part in that – I can’t help but feel my cavalier attitude towards supporting them hasn’t helped.
I miss the way they used to be.
I used to ditch my bra at the drop of a hat – despite having 34D boobs.
They were pretty firm back then and I often wore dresses with bootlace straps, halter necks and backless dresses, and didn’t like my bra being visible under them.
I also loved strapless dresses but could never get to grips with a strapless bra – the one time I wore one I spent the whole night worrying it was going to slip down and make me look as though I had four boobs, like a cow’s udder!
There were other reasons too. Bras aren’t the most comfortable of garments – the feeling of relief when you take them off at night is nearly as good as undoing the button on your jeans after a particularly gluttonous meal.
And I hate wearing something that you feel you ought to wear because of the expectations of society – there’s a reason women ditched their bras during the women’s lib movement in the 70s, it was a symbol of protesting against the patriarchy.
But they are undoubtedly useful and give much needed support, helping to stop back and breast pain.
I used to ditch my bra at the drop of a hat – despite having 34D boobs
Women have been wearing them since ancient times – there are wall paintings depicting women in bras in Sicily from the fourth century AD.
Most historians credit the bra as we know it to a 1910 invention by Mary Phelps Jacob, who was then just 19 years old. She’d apparently purchased a sheer gown for a ball but couldn’t find a corset that didn’t show under the dress.
Inspired by necessity, she fashioned two silk handkerchiefs together with a ribbon.
After friends and acquaintances asked her to create similar versions for them, she realised she had a hit. She patented her design in 1914.
Last laugh
And now I’m grateful that she did invent it. There’s no way I could go without one these days. I virtually need scaffolding to keep them in place or they’d be tickling my knee caps.
The good news is that thus far my nipples are still pointing in the right direction, but research tells me that when sagging gets really bad they’ll point towards the floor – so that’s something not to look forward to!
GettyCiara looked sensational in a braless look on the red carpet[/caption]
GettyJulia Fox also ditched her bra – and just about everything else – in this sheer number[/caption]
In clothes they’re still passable and my husband’s made no complaint, but I certainly wouldn’t get away with wearing a sheer dress and no bra.
It’s a shame because I’ve always loved my boobs, they’ve got me out of all sorts of scrapes, even getting me let off a speeding fine when I was stopped by a copper while wearing a particularly low-cut top. They make me feel feminine and desirable.
Even a brush with breast cancer eight years ago only made me hate them briefly. I remember begging my surgeon to give me a double mastectomy in the hope it would mean I couldn’t get breast cancer again.
She told me I needed to think about it and sure enough, once my treatment was over, I was very glad to still have them.
If I’m completely honest I used to feel a bit smug about my large but perfectly rounded and perky boobs. My flat chested friends admitted to being envious.
Now they’re having the last laugh though with their boobs still neatly exactly where they always were – one friend even joked she only needed a plaster to keep them in place – lucky girl.
Though scientists are divided on whether or not wearing a good supportive bra makes a difference to sagging – I’m positive from my experience that it does.
There is of course the exception to the rule and I’d like to applaud 59-year-old Liz Hurley for having boobs that defy gravity
And a quick straw poll of my fuller breasted friends backs it up – the ones that wore a bra all the time are definitely suffering less.
Professor Joanne Wakefield-Scurr, a biomechanics expert who runs the website thebraprofessor.com, agrees.
She says that going without a bra can put too much pressure on the ligaments and skin and cause them to irreversibly sag and terrifyingly adds: “We have recorded breast skin stretching to more than double its original length if not properly supported.”
She explains: “We have no muscles in the breast, any natural support relies on skin and ligament structure – you’ve basically got a sack of skin, supporting on average a kilo and half of weight with both breasts combined.
“It’s quite heavy and what’s different about your breast is that with other parts of your body if you stress them, they get stronger – for example your muscles.
“But with your breasts if you keep stretching the skin, it gets thinner and weaker and leads to premature sagging.
“Sadly it’s all about prevention not cure – you can’t de-sag your breasts. And wearing a well-fitting bra will help.”
So while I applaud these women for going without their bra, I hope they listen to my cautionary tale and reserve the braless look for very special occasions.
There is of course the exception to the rule and I’d like to applaud 59-year-old Liz Hurley for having boobs that defy gravity.
She’s one of the first people I remember to sport the braless look in ‘that dress’ – the gold safety pin Versace number she wore back in 1994 when she accompanied Hugh Grant to the premier of Four Weddings and a Funeral.
The dress made her a household name and she continues to be one now.
Recent pictures of her in a bikini illustrate that her ample assets are as perfect as ever.
Liz, if you’re reading this, please can you tell me how you’ve managed it… though I have a sinking feeling it would be too little too late…
@elizabethhurleybeachLiz Hurley’s boobs defy gravity and at age 59 are as perfect as ever[/caption]
WRITER and mum-of-two Mel Fallowfield, 52, feels she’s paying the price for ditching her bra in her youth.
As celebs embrace the braless look, Mel reveals how those who wear a bra suffer less with sagging later on in life.
The Mega AgencyCharli XCX accepted five awards at the Brits in a daring sheer black dress – and no bra[/caption]
GettyLove Island star Maura Higgins also wore this sheer black dress with embroidered flowers covering her nipples to the event[/caption]
GettyRapper Megan Thee Stallion posed in this daring green number at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party[/caption]
GettyOlivia Wilde also went braless at the Oscars bash[/caption]
Mel Fallowfield says ‘I used to ditch my bra at the drop of a hat’Olivia West
This year the Brits were apparently inundated with complaints after Charli XCX took to the stage to accept her five awards – including album of the year – in a daring sheer black dress and no bra, so you could catch a glimpse of her nipples.
She spoke out, saying, “I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples. I feel like we’re in the era of ‘free the nipple’ though, right?”
I’m certainly no swooning Victorian maiden and see no problem with the 32-year-old singing sensation baring the flesh.
I have no idea why the sight of a nipple is deemed offensive, it’s just a body part. Men think nothing of whipping off their sweaty T-shirts and exposing their bare chests as soon as there’s a glimpse of sunshine.
Charli XCX looked stunning.
As did all the other women who’ve been flashing their braless boobs on the red carpet recently, from Love Island and I’m A Celebrity star Maura Higgins, 34, who wore a sheer black dress and no bra, with embroidered flowers covering her nipples, to the Brits, to actress Julia Fox, 35, and rapper Megan Thee Stallion, 30, at the Vanity Fair Oscars‘ after party.
And it’s refreshing that they feel confident enough to do it.
I flinched in horror for an entirely different reason. Having spent years forgoing my bra during my 20s and 30s, I now feel I’m paying the price. My once perky boobs have headed south.
While age and gravity have played their part in that – I can’t help but feel my cavalier attitude towards supporting them hasn’t helped.
I miss the way they used to be.
I used to ditch my bra at the drop of a hat – despite having 34D boobs.
They were pretty firm back then and I often wore dresses with bootlace straps, halter necks and backless dresses, and didn’t like my bra being visible under them.
I also loved strapless dresses but could never get to grips with a strapless bra – the one time I wore one I spent the whole night worrying it was going to slip down and make me look as though I had four boobs, like a cow’s udder!
There were other reasons too. Bras aren’t the most comfortable of garments – the feeling of relief when you take them off at night is nearly as good as undoing the button on your jeans after a particularly gluttonous meal.
And I hate wearing something that you feel you ought to wear because of the expectations of society – there’s a reason women ditched their bras during the women’s lib movement in the 70s, it was a symbol of protesting against the patriarchy.
But they are undoubtedly useful and give much needed support, helping to stop back and breast pain.
I used to ditch my bra at the drop of a hat – despite having 34D boobs
Women have been wearing them since ancient times – there are wall paintings depicting women in bras in Sicily from the fourth century AD.
Most historians credit the bra as we know it to a 1910 invention by Mary Phelps Jacob, who was then just 19 years old. She’d apparently purchased a sheer gown for a ball but couldn’t find a corset that didn’t show under the dress.
Inspired by necessity, she fashioned two silk handkerchiefs together with a ribbon.
After friends and acquaintances asked her to create similar versions for them, she realised she had a hit. She patented her design in 1914.
Last laugh
And now I’m grateful that she did invent it. There’s no way I could go without one these days. I virtually need scaffolding to keep them in place or they’d be tickling my knee caps.
The good news is that thus far my nipples are still pointing in the right direction, but research tells me that when sagging gets really bad they’ll point towards the floor – so that’s something not to look forward to!
GettyCiara looked sensational in a braless look on the red carpet[/caption]
GettyJulia Fox also ditched her bra – and just about everything else – in this sheer number[/caption]
In clothes they’re still passable and my husband’s made no complaint, but I certainly wouldn’t get away with wearing a sheer dress and no bra.
It’s a shame because I’ve always loved my boobs, they’ve got me out of all sorts of scrapes, even getting me let off a speeding fine when I was stopped by a copper while wearing a particularly low-cut top. They make me feel feminine and desirable.
Even a brush with breast cancer eight years ago only made me hate them briefly. I remember begging my surgeon to give me a double mastectomy in the hope it would mean I couldn’t get breast cancer again.
She told me I needed to think about it and sure enough, once my treatment was over, I was very glad to still have them.
If I’m completely honest I used to feel a bit smug about my large but perfectly rounded and perky boobs. My flat chested friends admitted to being envious.
Now they’re having the last laugh though with their boobs still neatly exactly where they always were – one friend even joked she only needed a plaster to keep them in place – lucky girl.
Though scientists are divided on whether or not wearing a good supportive bra makes a difference to sagging – I’m positive from my experience that it does.
There is of course the exception to the rule and I’d like to applaud 59-year-old Liz Hurley for having boobs that defy gravity
And a quick straw poll of my fuller breasted friends backs it up – the ones that wore a bra all the time are definitely suffering less.
Professor Joanne Wakefield-Scurr, a biomechanics expert who runs the website thebraprofessor.com, agrees.
She says that going without a bra can put too much pressure on the ligaments and skin and cause them to irreversibly sag and terrifyingly adds: “We have recorded breast skin stretching to more than double its original length if not properly supported.”
She explains: “We have no muscles in the breast, any natural support relies on skin and ligament structure – you’ve basically got a sack of skin, supporting on average a kilo and half of weight with both breasts combined.
“It’s quite heavy and what’s different about your breast is that with other parts of your body if you stress them, they get stronger – for example your muscles.
“But with your breasts if you keep stretching the skin, it gets thinner and weaker and leads to premature sagging.
“Sadly it’s all about prevention not cure – you can’t de-sag your breasts. And wearing a well-fitting bra will help.”
So while I applaud these women for going without their bra, I hope they listen to my cautionary tale and reserve the braless look for very special occasions.
There is of course the exception to the rule and I’d like to applaud 59-year-old Liz Hurley for having boobs that defy gravity.
She’s one of the first people I remember to sport the braless look in ‘that dress’ – the gold safety pin Versace number she wore back in 1994 when she accompanied Hugh Grant to the premier of Four Weddings and a Funeral.
The dress made her a household name and she continues to be one now.
Recent pictures of her in a bikini illustrate that her ample assets are as perfect as ever.
Liz, if you’re reading this, please can you tell me how you’ve managed it… though I have a sinking feeling it would be too little too late…
@elizabethhurleybeachLiz Hurley’s boobs defy gravity and at age 59 are as perfect as ever[/caption]Fashion – Latest Style News And Fabulous Trends | The Sun
