Braless Look: 2 Years Ago a Daring Fad, but Now It's a Trend (Published 1970) (2024)

Two summers ago it was virtually un heard of. Last summer it was mainly confined to the Bethesda Fountain, the East Village and Washington Square Park. But now, as anybody who has been out walking on a warm summer day can plainly see, the braless look has established a beachhead in Man hattan.

Working girls are now going to their offices unfettered. Married women push baby carriages up Fifth Avenue in an au naturel style that was unthinkable few years ago. Women's liberationists, who view the bra as a threat to their freedom, demonstrate for their causes wearing nothing but themselves under neath their blouses.

Even Mario Thomas, the all‐American heroine of the television series “That Girl,” no longer wears a bra on the show.

“God created women to bounce, so he it,” the dark‐haired actress wrote in a recent issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. “If I bounce, I'm glad to be a girl.”

Most Are Under 30

Generally speaking, the braless woman is under 30 and small‐breasted. But grandmothers are also among the throngs, as are C and D cuppers—who get the most comment, both pro and con, from male oglers.

Because it still requires courage for many women to shed their bras, those who do generally prefer weekends when they are with close friends and loved ones and far away from bosses and business associates.

But many of the girls who go braless to work say their employers are sur prisingly tolerant of their mode of dress.

“Nobody has said a word to me,” said Mrs. Sal Guida, 27, of New York, secretary for a midtown insurance agency. “In fact, I don't think anybody has even noticed it.”

The attractive, B cup brunette, who was walking in Central Park with her two nephews, Lenny Maltese, 14, and his brother, Christopher, 8, said she had stopped wearing bras about a year ago.

“I feel very; very comfortable,” she said. “I doubt if I'll ever wear a bra again.”

Manufacturers Aren't Worried

Most of the major bra companies aren't worried about threats like that.

“I feel that it is primarily a fad,” said Joel Smilow, president of Playtex, Inc., “and judging from the fact that our bra business is quite healthy, I don't feel that it is a trend of lasting significance.”

Roberta Berk, advertising director for The Bali Company, said she thought that the majority of women would not be affected by the braless trend, “because most women need bras—they don't look esthetically right without them.”

Some bra companies have cashed in on the braless look by coming out with “uplift” bras that do not cover the breasts at all. Instead, they support the breasts from underneath to give a firm, braless effect. And then there are the “no bra bras” that are made of such soft, natural fabrics that the wearer's nipples often show through.

It's not unusual these days to see braless wives shopping with their hus bands on Saturdays in New York. The other day, the William Fullars of Port Washington, took turns pushing their year‐old son, Eric, in a stroller dur ing a shopping jaunt on Fifth Avenue.

“I felt self‐conscious at first,” said Mrs. Fullar, who is 24. “But there are so many braless women in New York that you don't even think about it after while.”

Her husband, who is a lieutenant (i.g.) in the Navy, said it didn't matter to him whether his wife wore a bra. “Whatever she wants to do is all right with me,” he said.

Susanne Lesh, 24, a willowy blonde who works as a secretary for the Blood Center of New York, said the only things she didn't like about going braless were the insults she sometimes got from men on the streets.

“One of them yelled ‘Trash’ at me,” she said, while walking down Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich Village. “And couple of them have said, ‘Put a bra on—or can't you afford one?"’

JoAnn Thomas, 24, a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital, said that the only time she was brave enough to go braless was on weekends.

“Some nurses don't wear bras to work,” she said, standing in front of Bonwit Teller, “but I haven't reached that stage yet. I'm more comfortable when I'm working if I wear one.”

Denise Hazlett, a 17‐year‐old blue eyed blonde, who was visiting her boy friend here, said she felt more at ease going braless in New York than she did back home in Scranton, Pa.

“At home it's a major attraction,” she said the other day as she walked near the Fountain Cafe in Central Park.

Bandida Sanchez, an 18‐year‐old model who grew up in a convent in Monterrey. Mexico, said the only time she wears a bra is when she is asked to put one on for a modeling job.

“Other than that, I've only worn one once or twice in my life,” she said proudly.

Damage to the Muscles

Some doctors—and some bra com panies—believe women can damage their pectoral muscles by not wearing bras.

“There is proof,” said a spokesman for Maidenform, Inc. “Just take a look at pictures of women over 30 who live in primitive societies where bralessness has been a way of life.”

Dr. Kathleen Klochkoff, an obstetri cian‐gynecologist at 20 East 74th Street, disagreed. “I'm all for this nature busi ness,” she said. “A lot of my patients are girls who don't wear bras, and I haven't seen any damage yet.”

She recommended that women wear bras during pregnancy if they felt the need for them, and for the first few days after their babies are born.

Girls who lire at home and want to go braless often encounter the wrath of parents. Some have solved this prob lem by wearing a bra at home and shedding it when they are away.

Parents Didn't Dig It

“At first my parents didn't dig the braless thing,” said Judy Glass, 16, of the Bronx, daughter of a cab driver. “But now they know that it's me, and that I do my own thing. Besides, I have an older sister, Linda, and she doesn't wear one, either.”

Miss Glass, who was wearing a red button that said “Woman Power,” spoke while sitting with Frank Justice, a 20‐year‐old poet, near the lake in Central Park.

“I think it's what's ,happening—it's together,” Mr. Justice said. “Women are becoming so hard now, and all they have left is their femininity. The braless look brings it out.”

According to Frances Spear, a librar ian in her 30's, one area where the braless look has not made many inroads is Wall Street, where she works.

“I'm only braless in my private life,” she said. “Most people on Wall Street are extremely uptight people. The guys are just starting to wear wide ties and colored shirts—when they're going out of style everywhere else.”