Responding to my invitation to Ask Me Anything, Jenn wrote, "My question is about wearing a bra. My wife and many close female friends are known to comment about how they can’t wait to take off their bra. Of course, as a crossdresser I can’t wait to put one on! Knowing that you dress much more often (and longer) than I do, what do you think about your bra?"
Whereas fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg once proclaimed, "Feel like a woman. Wear a dress!" I say, "Feel like a woman, Wear a bra!"
Is there any garment that defines womanhood more than a bra? Fashion forward fellows may dress like women from head to toe, but they don't wear bras. Only women and femulators wear bras.
On occasion, I have femulated without wearing a bra because I did not have the correct style bra to go with a particular dress or top I was wearing and since I am already well-endowed for a guy, going bra-less was not a deal breaker. However, I prefer to wear a bra when I femulate.
Early on, I wore some ill-fitting bras. The band was too small and/or the shoulder straps too short and like Jenn's lady friends, I could not wait to take off my bra.
After too many misfits, I decided that the only way to get a bra that fits is to get a professional bra-fitting at an intimate apparel shop or in the lingerie department of a department store.
Your mileage may vary, but I have been fitted for bras in both girl mode and boy mode in both venues and have never been turned away. In fact, the women performing the fittings were very helpful and seemed pleased to have a male join their bra-wearing sorority.
If you are unsure about which bra-selling venue to seek out for a fitting, you can always call ahead and ask. Also, during the holiday season, guys shopping for intimate apparel gifts is common, so walking into a lingerie shop in boy mode is not that unusual this time of year.
My niece worked at Victoria's Secret for awhile and the saleswomen were used to fitting both men and women, so don't be shy – go for it, girl!
And if your bra is the correct fit, you won't even know you are wearing one!
By the way, when you were growing up, did your Mom call it a "bra" or a "brassiere?"
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Wearing 3.1 Phillip Lim sweater, RTA skirt and Marni bag (Source: Intermix) |
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Nadia Russo |