I was almost 14 when I managed to get my first real bra. It was not a purchase. It was a hand-me-down from a friend of my older sister.
It was a pity donation. I had told her of issues with my mother, who was quick to remind me that I did not really need one, and should wait until I did.
Mom didn’t get it.
I was in the last years of Catholic school when the uniforms progressed from a wool jumper to the equally unfashionable plaid skirt with a white cotton blouse, Peter Pan collar; a look reserved for 7th and 8th grade girls.
The white cotton blouse was a bit see-through. It was clear that some girls wore a proper bra, and some were still clad in the white cotton undershirt of doom. That would include me.
It didn’t take long for me to improvise my way out of the humiliation. I found a form-fitting petticoat with a flared skirt in a box in the attic. It had bra-like straps, and would cling at the bodice.
I took the scissors and cut that puppy into a bra- shaped garment. It worked.
Of course, I couldn’t let it be seen at home. I tucked it away in my book bag, and rushed to the girls’ room every morning as I got off the bus to switch into my makeshift lingerie.
Every. Single. Morning.
This lasted most of the way through 7th grade. It was exhausting. I had to be sure that I switched back into the undershirt before going home.
Art by Ana Bagayan
I was tagging along with my sister and her friends one day when the truth came out. A girl named Kathy came to my rescue.
She gave me her old Size 30 AAA ‘s, sometimes called training bras. Plain white cotton and flat as a pancake, they were golden to me.
It took a while for my mother to notice, and she was okay with it.The deception ceased.
I was slow to develop, it was years before I truly needed them, but I will never forget the girl who saved me from that early wardrobe peer pressure.
My lingerie angel.
Girls and her first bras… that’s always a story, right? I also needed them pretty late… 🙂
Yep. It happened to a lot of us. I remember one summer…changing swim suit tops 3 times. ☺
Haha!!!
For real. And I wore a white uniform at my soda jerk job, to make it even more obvious. Today, I hardly ever wear a white top ! Scars.☺
You were very creative, I must confess! I am sure you felt great!!! 😀
I was an early problem solver, Erika. ☺
Very clever, Van! 🙂
I don’t remember how I got rid of the rest of that full skirt petticoat. ?? Interesting. Maybe my mother knew all along.
Do you have a photo?
No, it is not something I wanted to remember. It’s only funny in retrospect, I guess.
That makes me even more wanting to see it… lol
One thing is for sure……you were one determined girl!
I wasn’t going to let an undershirt define me …lol
I’m still waiting to develop Van. 😉
Diana xo
Better late than never ??? xo
Hahaha!
This is adorable, Van! I remember those undershirts of doom! I still think it’s funny that training bras are called that – I mean what are we training? lol! Great post!
Training for puberty ?? maybe ? ☺ The sad part is that my sister developed very young. I was breaking the pattern.
Well, it really is a sensitive part of growing up for a girl, that’s for sure. I remember comparing myself to other girls at that age and wishing the process would speed up! Still seems like kids always want to grow up so fast.
So true, Kelly, by the time I was 20, I was ready to give them back !! Be careful what you wish for…
Haha! Yep!
The things we do to fit in. 🙂
I have another story. It involves my first gym class in 9th grade, and a monthly private shower. I didn’t need it, but kept a 28 day calendar, so maybe no one would notice. Seriously, Doc. ☺
Thankfully I never had that problem…:)
lol. Welcome to our nightmare, George ! ☺
I was early… but that brought its own problems, finding anything that would fit right in the days when bras were engineered rather than sewn 😉
I remember lots of ridges, concentric circles and pointy centers…old school !
Yep… They did look good under a sweater though 😉
So it seems. I stayed away from the sweater in those days. ☺
This is Egland.. sweaters even in summer 🙂
Lately, with the heat of summer here, that sounds so lovely. ☺
I prefer it a little cooler. We have summer here today…it may be all we get, it is never a given 🙂
I wasn’t particularly early – mum bought me my first bras as a 12th birthday present.
The problem was that although mum could see that my body was starting to change I still thought of myself as a tomboy and preferred to hide or ignore the changes for as long as I could. Like Sue, this was back in the days when there was no halfway house between a vest and scaled down versions of the type of bras our mothers wore! When I first tried it on, it felt like an iron band round my chest and it really emphasised the shape I was trying to hide!
The reference to swimsuit tops by Vanbytheriver reminds me that I spent a lot of the summer holiday after my 12th birthday wearing my old swimsuit tops under my T shirts as they tended to flatten things down rather than emphasise them!
Of course this couldn’t last and when school started again in September, I was wearing a bra rather than a vest.
Thanks so much for sharing, Andrea. ☺
Oh, one of the most humiliating times of my life. I think I was the last girl in my class to get a bra. It was common knowlege I didnt wear one. How awful!
I know. People noticed, and it hurt. I found a way out. ☺
This is the second blog post in as many days that dealt with the subject of a girl’s first bra. I had no idea how important this is to a young lady.
It is life-altering, John. ☺
Girls have to go though so much. It never really ends.
It just makes us stronger, Eddie. ☺
You have to be stronger for many reasons
True enough. Thanks. ☺
though= through
That is hilarious. I can’t believe you managed to pull it off for so long. Before requesting a bra I remember trying to make one with my friends.
The tricky part was trying to launder it without being noticed…☺ Love that you tried to make one…I can almost picture it.
I was a late bloomer too but my parents bought me little cropped vests for modesty due to the see through shirts. My mum couldn’t drive so it was my dad who took me to but my first proper bra.
The modesty vest…what a great concept. When I got a real one, I bought it myself. Once we were old enough to earn babysitting money, we bought or sewed all our stuff. My mother never did get involved. Sweet of your dad. ☺
By contrast I can remember being embarrassed the first time mum hung one of mine on the washing line when my dad was at home!
They all did that, didn’t they, with the clothesline ?? Funny.
I can’t believe the the creativity and determination you had, Van! The training bra is somewhat silly but man, I wanted one too! White undershirt under white blouse = not a good look. Once girls had bras, boys would come up behind them and snap the strap which was painful. And embarrassing.
Yep…I missed out on that one I guess. Lucky me ???
Thank God for your lingerie angel.
Thanks, Kitt, I missed this comment and it ended up in Spam…I should check that file more often. ☺
I had no idea my comments were ending up in spam. Perhaps it was the use of the word “lingerie”!
I’ll have to be more watchful !
I still could get by with a training bra, so I don’t bother 🙂 But I remember wanting one when I was a kid – so desperate to grow up.
Why were we all in such a hurry ?? ☺
Hormones 😀
Seems like we all had our little adventures re first bra…
It was an important milestone. ☺
Cotton undershirt. Oh Van, I’m so sorry. 😳
I’d love to be able to wear one now…funny enough. Seems so much better than an underwire !! Thanks, Julie. ☺
Kindness comes in many forms, Van. What a great friend of your sister’s who just KNEW.
She was kind to me in many ways that my sister was not….that’s a whole other story.
She was your angel, Van. Blessed.
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Thanks so much. Have a great holiday weekend, Momma. 💕
Catholic school, training bras and see through blouses—the good old days… thanks for the sweet reminder!
You’re most welcome, and I love your name !! Growing up Irish, Catholic,…I can relate to both. ☺
🙂
This was epic!! Thanks for sharing! I, on the other hand, went from pancake flat in 6th grade to like a 32 B in 7th grade. That was traumatic too – what were those things?? And they weren’t cute and perky either… Enough said.
I DO have a traumatic memory associated with my “budding” buds. My step-mother took me to the bra department of the local department store for my first bra and I had to take of my shirt while these two 50-something “old” ladies measured me and they watched me try in the bras that they pulled from these big old-school wooden drawers. I was mortified!
I remember those wooden drawers. They also had drawers full of nylon stockings that were handled so delicately. ( pre-pantyhose days). Thanks for sharing the mammory memories ! ☺
Laughing so hard!! Van, you have been truly traumatized by a flat chest when young. I know the feeling well. Thank goodness for that Angel friend of yours!! 😉