Everywhere I go I see bra straps. Where did this trend originate, what is the point, and when will it go away? — Gin, Alexandria, Va.
Blame the 1990s. That was the decade the visible bra strap really entered the pop culture wardrobe both high and low. Given that the decade is currently having an extended revival and influence on all things fashion, the re-emergence of the bra strap was pretty much a foregone conclusion.
Especially when combined with the way workout wear has inured almost everyone to the sight of people in sports bras and leggings, not to mention the explosion of body positivity and nakedness after pandemic lockdowns.
Indeed, the visible bra has become such a familiar sight in many settings that it’s hard to remember that once upon a time it was shocking.
But so it was back in 1990 when Jean Paul Gaultier made the corset into outerwear and Madonna took his bullet bras global. From there the look made its way into the collections of Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, as well as the world of grunge.
“By 1997, celebrities and the fashionable everywhere had their bra straps visible,” said the lingerie historian Cora Harrington. That this happened at the same time that the slip dress entered the wardrobe is not a coincidence.
Gwen Stefani made black bras under a white tank top cool, and on “Sex and the City” (which, duh, had its own recent revival), Carrie Bradshaw made all sorts of contrast bras part of her fashion identity. Fiona Apple wore visible bras under sheer tops; so did Jennifer Aniston, both on “Friends” and on the red carpet. Now Sydney Sweeney and Scarlett Johansson are doing the same — and bras are increasingly designed with the idea of being seen in mind.
In the same way that some brands offer different handbag straps, Ms. Harrington said, some lingerie companies are offering different bra straps.
“Colorful bra straps, lace bra straps, spaghetti bra straps or straps with decorative metallic hardware” are all ways lingerie brands have adapted their products for the time, she said. They are effectively thinking of the strap as another accessory.
Despite its current ubiquity, however, it would be a mistake to think that showing off your bra is just another styling choice. There is something both rebellious about the refusal to hide the bra and feminine at the same time.
That was the attitude on display in the March Miu Miu show, where Miuccia Prada’s messy, subversive women wore visible bullet bras sticking out from beneath gray cardigans and wool coats.
“We need femininity in this difficult time to lift us up,” Mrs. Prada said at the time, a pointed comment underscored by the fact that her equally pointy underthings unapologetically blurred the line between weaponry and lingerie.
After all, bras were and are a reality of women’s lives (sometimes an uncomfortable one, in every meaning of that word). Forcing the world to confront that fact, as well as the sexuality it implies, can be a political act. Especially at the current moment, when the conversation around women’s bodies and who has authority over them and the trad wife movement — one in which the visible bra is definitely not part of the imagery — is gaining steam, the question of what is, or is not, covered up is not so simple.
Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or X. Questions are edited and condensed.
Vanessa Friedman has been the fashion director and chief fashion critic for The Times since 2014.
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