A fashion and culture story about how sexy young things are revealing/concealing themselves this summer. *This story appeared in the Montreal Gazette and the Calgary Herald.
I once had a friend meet me for breakfast wearing skyhigh wooden platforms, micro hot pants and a knit bra top. It was her waitressing outfit from the night before. I escorted her back to her apartment, swatting away all the fellas who jumped in front of her. At one point we dived into a cab, but the driver’s eyes were examining her every curve in the rear-view mirror. So we got out.
“I’ve finally gone too far,” she said, fastening my cardigan around her hips. It concealed one cheek of her derrière. I’ve worn jean-shorts that were too short and a dress that hiked up so high I had to yank it down with every step. But her outfit was, indeed, way too much for daytime. Mind you, if I had her knockout figure, there’s no telling what I would have – or wouldn’t have – worn.
Itsy-bitsy streetwear is about as new as the bikini. And with summer in full smoulder, ladies of all ages are once again taking it off. But this season, young darlings are only mildly blush-worthy compared to eras of yore.
Rather, expect to see ladylike conservatism with whiffs of prairie-girl charm on the streets and rooftop terrasses. Think blousy button-ups snapped to the neck, paired with shorts or skirts nipped at the waist.
Funny thing is, many ladies who flaunt their underwear insist the peekaboo look is rather demure.
At a recent party at the Crystal Hotel in honour of the coming Festival Mode & Design, transparent looks were on full display.
“Every time I see a girl in see-through, I think it’s really sexy, ” said Eliane Sauvé, a communications student at Concordia University and a fashion and music blogger. “It’s a way to show femininity without being vulgar.”
Sauvé wore a tight lace bodice to the event, with a very visible black strapless bralette underneath. She also had on smart-looking highwaisted shorts, bold-framed nerdy-girl glasses and flat sandals. The overall effect was sort of sexy, sort of serious.
“In French, there’s an expression: We prefer to suggest than show,” Sauvé said, leaning forward.
“I’m not the type of girl to wear low-cut with cleavage,” she pointed out.
Young women in seethrough clothing often believe it conceals more than it reveals. In fact, Sauvé and her two roommates, who were sporting transparent tops at the party, defined their style as conservative.
“I was told my outfit was (ideal) for a picnic,” said Sara Barrière, one of Sauvé’s roommates. Barrière was wearing a white blouse with a visible pink bra underneath, paired with short shorts. She had been at work all day as an assistant at Chatelaine magazine, she said, explaining why her shirt was slightly less transparent than her roommate’s. But she does think that even moderately sheer tops like hers are inappropriate for most offices, unless it is a fashion-forward environment similar to that of Chatelaine.
There are boundaries that come with nearly naked dressing, after all.
“I think it’s a young look, and you need to have a certain body type,” Barrière said. “I feel like if you don’t have big boobs, you can really make it work.”
She also believes the transparent look needs to be subtle.
“I wouldn’t wear a very flashy bra with it. This one is pink and kind of like skin colour – I wouldn’t wear it with a fuchsia bra,” she said. (Her bra was punch coloured.)
Friend and roommate Cindy Boyce, a photographer, had on a very transparent black chiffon top buttoned to the neck. She paired it with a black bra underneath. “It adds a bit of fun in your look,” she explained.
Boyce wasn’t always so confident with the peekaboo factor, though. When she first put on the outfit, her roommates had to give her a pep talk before leaving the house.
“I’ve had this shirt since (high) school and I used to wear it with a little tank top under it. But now I just wear a bra,” she said, laughing.
What happened? “I think it’s a change of mentality,” Boyce said, adding the bra is difficult to see except when light hits the shirt from the sides.
The three girls said the transparent look is “very à la mode” for summer, with sheer T-shirts, blouses and dresses now available at stores like American Apparel, Zara and H&M.
Would they wear a sheer skirt or dress without a slip underneath? “Maybe at the beach!” they shouted in unison, agreeing that wearing visible panties would be pushing the limit. It would also be counter to their fashion politic.
“I just hate those girls that are not respectful to themselves, like when you can see their G-string. I prefer things that are hidden,” Sauvé said. She noted that in the winter she usually wears a lot of black silky and soft items, which have a similar sensual appeal.
A young girl’s charm is rarely without its ironies, of course, along with ample doses of denial.
In the high-stakes game of young courtship, a lady must distinguish herself, after all. For these girls, it all hinges on not looking too suggestive.
“I think all my guy friends prefer things that are not obvious,” Sauvé said. “Like when you’re speaking to the girl and you just want to look at her décolleté …”
Barrière cut in, agreeing: “She (should be) sexy but not obvious.”
The girls ushered over a fellow to endorse their theory on the male perspective. Angelo Cadet, artist, actor and TV host, was happy to oblige.
“Mystery is desire,” Cadet noted when the girls asked him to comment on the seethrough look. “The poet Jean-Pierre Ferland says that when you whisper words to a woman, she glows. But with women it’s words, and with men it’s form. So when you whisper to us your form, we’re in love.”
His charms appeared to be working, so he continued. “See-through, in my mind, makes my heart beat like a tsunami.”
How does Cadet feel when he sees a woman in a corset and a tight skirt? “Hey, that’s for my room, baby,” he beamed. “When my mother’s away.”
Some parting words of wisdom for the scantily clad: When dressed in less than usual for the summer heat, it’s best to travel in packs and bring your girlfriends along. And for the sake of your own sanity, don’t forget to bring along a cardigan (a long one). It doesn’t take much to attract more rubberneckers than anticipated. The blush of denial is adorable, but shame quickly paralyzes. If you wouldn’t wear your outfit to dinner at the house of your boyfriend or girlfriend’s parents, that’s a good litmus test for whether you might suddenly get uncomfortable wearing such getup on the street.
****BRALETTES
A bralette, you ask? It’s simply a bra without underwires, and is flimsier and more dressedup than a sports bra. To nail the subtle look of transparent dressing, bra lettes are far better options than underwire or push-up bras. Pricier options include those made by Cosabella, which sells them in strapless, bikini and large bandsupport styles in a variety of colours. (There are many at Lola & Emily.) Bralettes can also be found at American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and many other young adult-themed stores for less than $30.