The great debates of our time rage on: When will women earn as much as men for the same work? Will there ever be peace in the Middle East? Are leggings really pants?
We may not have answers to the former but to that last burning question, Erica Luster, one of our hosiery experts here at Bare Necessities, says a resounding…
Packing a suitcase intelligently is the top priority for an effortless getaway—it’s hard to dash for a connecting flight or climb five flights of stairs to a hotel room with a view when you’re schlepping a suitcase the size of a double-decker bus. And there’s something crazy satisfying about zipping past the bored horde at the baggage carousel.
So when we came across a formula for the best way to pack a suitcase to max out wardrobe options and space, we were all in. Not only do we love a system for doing anything better, it applies to a trip of any length of time. (If you’re taking a vacation of longer than a week, you may have to do laundry. No big thing. With Shout wipes, you may get away with a few more days yet.) Limits are surprisingly liberating—there’s a reason fashion editors only wear black—and sticking to them for a few days is easier than you might think.
Ever since Madonna rocked that cone bra, it’s become less and less taboo to pass off lingerie as streetwear. (I mean, have you kept up with a Kardashian lately?) Flip through an issue of Vogue or Elle and you’ll notice the lingerie trend never goes away for very long.
Now that warm weather is here again (um, yay), expect to see more pretty peekaboo straps, flirty lace-trimmed cups—even gorgeous mesh bras under totally sheer tops. Boudoir fashion is sexy, modern, safely thrilling, at times rather comfy, damn near effortless—and it gives your prettiest layers the opportunity to show off a little.
HOWEVER. The look that’s so good in theory can go horribly wrong in practice.
Like a gallon of milk, bras expire after awhile. Most give up the ghost around the two-year mark; your everyday go-tos might meet the end of the bra life cycle in just six months! Devastating but true, particularly after you find one you love like whoa. So how do you know when it’s finally time to put a beloved brassiere out to pasture? Our senior buyer, Heather Garcia, has some ideas for how to tell if a bra fits and whether or not it’s time for an upgrade.
She’s talking weight loss or gain of more than five pounds, the physical rollercoaster that is pregnancy/childbirth/nursing and, of course, breast surgery. Regardless, brush up on how to measure bra size at least twice a year to make sure you’re getting the right fit. That’s also the perfect time to take a ruthless look at the state of your lingerie drawer.
There are approximately forty gazillion bra styles out there (we should know, we carry them all). So how do you narrow down which bra types are the best for you? Here’s a cheat sheet. Ideally, you’ll have at least 6 bras in the mix—two nude, two black, and have fun with the rest—to get through the week. (Bras work hard, they’ve earned the next day off!)
FULL CUPPerfect for: the daily grind; average-to-full busts
Why we love it: complete, confident coverage that seriously supports a chest