Day to night, the quick-change cheapo version.
- White tank (last seen here) from Guess? via an outlet, circa 2004
- Blue jersey pencil skirt (last seen here) from H&M– $5 on clearance!
- Hot pink vintage patent purse (last seen here?) via eBay, circa 2003 or 2004
- Yellow patent flats (last seen here) from MIA via Loehmann’s Labor Day Sale– $4.50
It may be a cheap tank, but it’s a white shirt. Much as I hate to credit fashion mags, they’re right– a white shirt is probably the most versatile
piece of clothing you can own (especially if you’re not much of a jeans-wearer). There’s only one problem with a tank like this– the racerback. While I was wearing this outfit earlier in the day, I realized (oops!) that you could see my bra straps from behind. Lucky I was wearing a convertible bra, right?
Yeah… Though I once attended a church camp that offered evangelism as an elective*, I’ve never really tried to convert… a convertible bra. Well, not one that wasn’t fully-convertible (meaning the straps can be completely removed, you can wear it as a halter style, etc., as in the Gossard Superboost I wore with this dress). I mean– that’s easy enough.
But nowadays, lots of bras are partially convertible for racerback or crossback styles– you can’t detach them in the front, where they attach to the cups, but you can detach them in back and cross the straps. This is the case with my regular Wacoal bra(s), and sounds incredibly useful. In theory. Have you ever actually tried this maneuver?
This woman looks waaaayyy too happy.
I’m the kind of gal who puts her bra on backwards, hooks it and twists it around the front. Well, guess what? When you’ve already converted a bra to a cross-back, it ain’t gonna happen. I should have made a youtube of myself struggling with the thing.
See, first of all, if you try to hook it in front, you’ll almost certainly be out of luck. Because the crossed straps will be in front of you with the cups, the bra will be too tight to hook. Even if you could do it, you’d have to somehow squeeze your arms and head through the straps that are now strangling every body part from the boobs up.
No.
So you have to put your head and neck through and reach behind your back to hook the bra. Honestly, even if this is how you usually put on your bra (and more power to you!), I can’t imagine you’re getting out of the bathroom in less than 25 minutes. It’s a whole wrestle-the-straps, scoop-the-boobs, sprain-the-elbow production. I thought I had it 3 or 4 times, but when I checked, the hooks were in the wrong eyes.
All this so the sight of my bra straps wouldn’t offend passersby.
Does anyone have any tips for getting these things on without a hook hand?
*True story.
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Ha, I totally have that skirt in black. LOVE. IT.
I’m one that just puts the bra on and reaches around and hooks it in the back. I can’t imagine any other way to do it, but I’ve always been small-chested, so I imagine it’s easier.
On the other hand, I’ve never tried to put one on with the cross-straps like that, which sounds like it would be vastly more entertaining. And potentially embarrassing.
Maybe I really should do a youtube of me trying to wrestle the thing on. I’ll wear tasteful pasties, of course.
I actually modified one of my sports bras so it’s always a cross over back, plus I have a couple of convertible ones as well. I put my head through, then arms and hook it up at the back. I used to do my bras up in front but have got so used to putting one on now and doing it up at the back I don’t even think about it. Just practise I suppose? Though I have to say that I wear a lot of singlets, some are racerbacks and I don’t really care if the bra straps show, especially if its a pretty bra, but then i’m kinda lazy like that!
I am also inept at putting the hooks on without looking at them; so I don’t wear racerbacks unless they snap in the front or have some other sort of easy-in feature (ie., sports bras that you just pull over your head). I am ashamed to admit I actually had to ask my husband to help me hook up one time when I was wearing a fancy dress that called for the convertible bra to be converted.
Has anyone tried those “Strap Perfect” things they show on TV? They seem to make it look pretty easy, and can be used on ‘any bra’.
I have no bra tips. I just wanted to say that I love that purse and that’s crazy because I’m generally anti-pink.
[...] pink vintage patent purse (last seen here) via eBay, circa 2003 or [...]