Just 30 NSFW Historic Photos That'll Fully Convince You To Stop Wearing A Bra
Just 30 NSFW Historic Photos That'll Fully Convince You To Stop Wearing A Bra
You may not see them, but undergarments (or a lack thereof) can make an outfit. As summer approaches and quarantine wears on, more and more women are finding more comfortable alternatives to underwire bras or ditching them altogether. Going braless (or even topless) is now widely accepted, but the trend also brings with it a lengthy and sometimes controversial history.
Until the early 1800s, it was not uncommon in many European courts for women to actually wear dresses that fully revealed their breasts. It was during the Victorian era that the body parts became fully banned. Since then, breasts have gone from being seen as inappropriate to promiscuous to downright objectified and everything in between. Activists, models, and designers have pushed society's conception of the female body over the past few decades, leading to a resurgence of female toplessness and an increase in no-bra dressing. As many forgo the undergarment while at home in quarantine, CR delves into the history of the braless trend in pop culture, from movie cameos and celeb style to the runways.
Kendall Jenner Goes Sheer
Jenner's several braless dresses made headlines at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. "I love my tits being out. It’s like one of my things, I guess," the model said in 2016. Jenner (who famously has pierced nipples) wore a sheer Alexandre Vauthier mini dress that accentuated her top half.
Activists Protest the 1968 Miss America
A group of Women's Rights Activists threw feminine products into a trash can to protest the1 968 Miss America Beauty Pageant. Though they did not actually burn any bras, the protestors sent the message that they were not interesting in hiding or reshaping their bodies for the male gaze.
Comme Des Gar?ons Spring/Summer 1997
Rei Kawakubo often plays with shape and silhouette to question clothing's structural potential and its relationship to the human body. For Comme Des Gar?ons' Spring/Summer 1997 show, Kawakubo shared a dress with a fully sheer top.
Rihanna Shines at the 2014 CFDA Awards
Leave it to Rihanna to accept her Style Icon Award draped in Swarovski crystals. The singer's matching headpiece and fur wrap pay homage to Old Hollywood aesthetics, but the sheer dress is cutting edge. Later, Rihanna said her only regret in life was not pairing the Adam Selman dress with a bedazzled thong.
Lizzo Poses for <i>Cuz I Love You </i>
Lizzo appeared naked on the cover of Cuz I Love You. The three-time Grammy winner often talks to her fans about the beauty and sex appeal of all bodies, but, “I’m so much more than that," she said. "Because I actually present that, I have a whole career."
Jacquemus Fall/Winter 2015
Simon Porte Jacquemus' Fall/Winter 2015 collection questioned the very role and definition of clothing. The designer painted shirt details onto topless models and put them in structured pants. The experimental collection cemented Jacquemus' place as one of fashion's most beloved contemporary brands.
J-Lo Wears The Dress to the Grammys
Jennifer Lopez's low-cut Versace dress actually spawned the creation of Google images, changing the internet and fashion forever. The cleavage-baring gown inspired countless more revealing looks. Plus, for Spring/Summer 2020 Lopez even walked the Versace runway in a tribute gown.
Sharon Stone owns her sexuality in <i>Basic Instinct</i>
The 1992 neo-noir Basic Instinct follows detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and crime novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) as they embark on an unpredictable, sexual game of cat-and-mouse. Though Nick suspects Catherine has murdered her ex-boyfriend, he is undeniably attracted to her. Throughout the film Stone's Catherine is comfortable using her body to get the result she wants from men. She is frequently topless, she initiates rough sex, and there is even the famous commando scene where she uncrosses her legs to distract a room full of cops. The sexy film depicts Catherine not as a passive recipient of male desire but as an agent in her own destiny, subverting sexist tropes of the noir genre.
Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 1990
At its Spring/Summer 1990 show Saint Laurent showed a gown that left a model with one breast exposed. The Greco-Roman influenced gown turned heads and helped normalize toplessness on the runway.
Grace Jones Breaks Gender Stereotypes
The legendary Grace Jones' fashion sense challenged the gender binary. The androgynous singer, actress, and supermodel wore suits, often with her cleavage showing. These combinations of masculine sartorial elements with the female body both made statements about the implicit power of femininity and questioned the strict categorization of gender.
Bella Hadid Shines at the Met Gala
Hadid's shimmering, sheer Alexander Wang bodysuit payed homage to the legendary Rei Kawakubo at the 2017 Met Gala.
Wrap Dresses Embrace Women's Bodies
In the 1970s, Diane Von Furstenburg popularized the wrap dress. The cleavage-baring, flattering style was inspired by her divorce, Von Furstenburg has said, and the dress' feminine look inspires women to own their sexuality. Here, Jerry Hall goes braless for DVF in 1975.
Slick Woods Walks The Runway In Labor
A 9 months pregnant Slick Woods made headlines when she donned a sexy bondage-lingerie set with pasties for Rihanna's Savage x Fenty show. Woods later confirmed that she was actually in labor during the show. After 14 hours of labor, she gave birth to her son Saphir.
<i>It Happened One Night</i>: Clark Gable Slept Shirtless
In It Happened One Night (1934), Clark Gable's character Pete has to platonically share a hotel room with Claudette Colbert's Ellie. Pete removes his shirt to sleep, and the scene subverts the male gaze; a female character watches a male character instead of a male character watching a female character. Gable's bare chest may have won him Best Actor at the Academy Awards, but it was scandalous. The Motion Picture Production Code came out the same year as the film, effectively imposing a soft ban on nudity and toplessness for decades. Still, shortly after the film came out men's sleep shirt sales dipped across America.
For Her 21st Birthday: Paris Hilton Makes History
Hilton's slinky, sparkly chain-link dress has inspired countless barely-there tops and dresses. The daringly low cowl neck felt impossibly close to a wardrobe malfunction, giving the outfit a sense of risk and excitement so perfect for a crazy night out that Kendall Jenner even wore an updated take on the design for her own 21st.
Chanel Fall/Winter 1991
Helena Christensen went braless under a sheer top at the Chanel Fall/Winter 1991 show. The French fashion house combined Christensen's edgy look with traditional motifs, adding pearl necklaces and a camellia headpiece.
Stanley Kubrick makes erotic thriller <i>Eyes Wide Shut</i>
Only a week after screening what would be his final film for studio executives, Stanley Kubrick passed away. But erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut would cement Kubrick's legacy as a true cinematic provocateur. After Alice Hartford (Nicole Kidman) dreams of an affair, her husband Bill (Tom Cruise) seeks out prostitutes and attends a masked ball-turned secretive orgy. Kubrick's intense masterpiece is filled with sex, drugs, and danger. The auteur-director's copious use of female toplessness helps the audience see the excess and numbness that come with the lifestyle Bill is exposed to throughout the film. Kubrick was no stranger to controversy. Throughout his career his expertly-crafted films pushed the conventions of cinema.
In the 1980s Musicians Go Braless
Blondie front-woman Debbie Harry was an early proponent of the no-bra movement. The rocker was a regular at Studio 54, whose patrons' outrageous, exciting club style would influence fashion for decades to come. Harry and her peers' revealing T-shirts helped pave the way for Riot Grrrl looks in the '90s and for contemporary no-bra trends.
Jaime King Normalizes Breastfeeding
Over the past decade, women have fought back against sexist bans against breastfeeding in public. Model Jaime King spoke out in favor of normalizing the process but was careful not to fault any moms who made different decisions. "#JamesKnight is now 8 months old! These are the moments a mother lives for. Breastfeeding should not be taboo–and bottle feeding should not be judged–it's ALL fun for the whole family:)" the star wrote in 2014.
Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood Fall/Winter 2020
Vivienne Westwood is famous for bringing punk and new wave looks into high fashion and pop culture. For the most recent collection, designer Andreas Kronthaler subverted the a traditional Victorian-influenced gown with a corset that ended below the breasts.
<i>There's Something About Mary</i> predicts the braless white tank trend
Cameron Diaz' Mary is irresistible. Every man who meets Cameron Diaz' Mary becomes obsessed. In Ben Stiller's Ted's case, so obsessed that he watches her change through a set of binoculars. Though Mary strips her top off, she also dons a cute sheer white tank with no bra, a look that is common with celebs, models, and designers today!
Riot Grrrl uses Punk Style for Feminist Politics
In the 1990s the Riot Grrrl movement drew on the punk principles of individuality and resistance to advocate for greater women's rights. With combat boots, heavy eyeliner, and no bras, Bikini Kill and other bands' punk look helped define the aesthetics of third wave feminism.
Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2020
Valentino's Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2019 collection was loaded with eye-catching neon looks. Here, a model's breasts peek through an electric and elegant gauzy gown.
Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2014
Marc Jacobs made headlines when he sent a then 18-year-old Kendall Jenner down the catwalk in a sheer shirt with no bra. Though critics called her too young, Jenner has publicly said she loved doing the show and was excited to go braless. The model openly supports the #freethenipple movement and has worked with the designer many times since.
Charlotte Gets Insecure in <i>Sex and the City 2</i>
Amidst the four best friends' adventures in Sex and the City 2, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) freaks out about her beautiful babysitter Erin (Alice Eve) who appears repeatedly sans bra. The mom of two projects many of her insecurities onto Erin, worrying that her husband is attracted to the Irish nanny. The film is a sex comedy about aging women, after all. More importantly, though, the camera's hyper-focus on Erin's breasts shows how women can objectify each other, especially in the face of perceived threat. This deliberate objectification is effective comedy in this female-centered movie because it sets up tension that is broken with a punchline: By the end of the film Charlotte realizes that Harry loves her unconditionally and he has not even looked at their nanny. Thus, the film both critiques Charlotte's judgement of Erin's body while also validating the societal pressure she feels about her own body and sexuality as she ages.
Christian Dior Fall/Winter 2020
Dior's fringed dress revealed a model's chest as she walked the Fall/Winter 2020 runway. Black netting under the fringe gave a grunge feel to the look.
Twiggy Goes Braless
Throughout the 1960s women began to wear both more masculine and more revealing looks. Twiggy was known for her boyish figure, and her willingness to embrace her body (and wear Mary Quant-inspired mini skirts or go braless) helped make more revealing clothing and different body types a mainstay of second wave feminist clothing.
Marc Jacobs and Miley Cyrus Collab for Planned Parenthood
The hoodie was released in 2019 and featured a picture of the singer topless holding fruit to cover her breasts. 100% of its profits went to Planned Parenthood. Cyrus has long been a supporter of the #freethenipple movement, but the hoodie collab represented both support from a high fashion power house and showcased Cyrus' belief in the connection between women's right to healthcare and to self expression.
A Braless, Dancing Kirsten Dunst Epitomizes Young Love
Since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind came out in 2004, it has been considered one of the best films of the 21st century. The film's script (which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars) ruminates on the nature of love and memory. Though Kirsten Dunst's carefree character Mary appears topless in a love scene, it is the free-spirit's braless white tank and baby pink briefs that steal the show and help the audience remember Mary's happy moments in love.
Tom Ford Fall/Winter 2020
Tom Ford is known for his sultry, seductive designs, so it's no surprise that the designer frequently sends topless or braless models down the runway. The designer debuted this slinky black lace number in his latest collection.
From Rihanna to Riot Grrrl, these are the most important fashion moments in pop culture.