In the video announcing the release, Skims co-founder Kim Kardashian assumed the gruff air of a satirical corporate scientist as she decried the effects of global warming on nipple hardness. “Some days are tough, but these nipples are even harder,” she says. “And unlike icebergs, these things aren’t going anywhere.” (Many commenters took offense to her fickle framing of climate change, but from the beginning, Skims said 10% of her bra sales (He said he would donate 1% to environmental organizations and 1% to benefit the planet.)
The appeal of this bra, according to buyers, is that it can offer a kind of controlled, braless feeling, meaning you can wear a T-shirt over a clean breast augmentation or “idealized” natural breasts. It is said that the aim is to emphasize the bust so much that it looks like it is full. “I’m the type of person who usually goes without a bra.” Bunny Hedaya said on TikTok. “…I don’t know what I was expecting. They kind of look the same, don’t they?”
Some wearers emphasized the delicacy of the nipples themselves. Creator Chloe Gottschalk Bounds said in a TikTok review.. “You can be lifted, but something like this still happens. mystery Be braless. ”
For others, the lack of mystery was exactly the point. “I’ll give you a lift and a thrust!” Creator Bryn Baker said:adding, “Girls are being girly!”
Kardashian once again worked her social media magic, seemingly creating a viral product that turned something the world thought was tacky into something glamorous.
Most buyers seemed to understand what the gimmick was. The stigma around nipples hasn’t disappeared. “If you’re going to wear that bra, you’re going to look good,” says fashion writer Liana Satenstein, who frequently goes braless. “You’re going to get attention. That’s the reality!” Still, Satenstein says she doesn’t really mind people staring at her breasts. But I don’t usually do that. She usually stays in her own world and doesn’t notice it. ”
“I don’t feel exposed, because these are not.” my Nipples. do you understand? ” Said another purchaser in a TikTok reviewsaid she bought the bra because she had to have her implants removed.
Are nipples now a fashion statement? Base of activities? Or is it just a bump on the skin, like on a man’s body? And what does that say about what we find sexy?
TSkims bras join a long history of clothing that imitates or emphasizes the breasts, with the purpose of highlighting hypocrisies and concerns about the human body.
In particular, “there’s a certain insecurity about the female body,” says Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the FIT Museum and a fashion historian. Designers respond to the belief that “a woman’s body is wet, its boundaries are vague, and it is soft. And what we really need is something that makes a woman’s body stiff, whether it’s a corset, a bra, or a girdle.” , I often make clothes that I criticize. Or pantyhose reveal that you have a second skin that keeps you from going out of line or out of order. [and] It’s out of control and messy. ”
Steele cited works such as Yves Saint Laurent’s bustier, created in the late 1960s in collaboration with artist Les Lalanne, and Issey Miyake’s plastic bustier with distinctive nipples from the early 1980s. “That’s because it’s a realistic structure of the breast,” she points out. While Saint Laurent’s designs were created in an era that celebrated bodily autonomy and freedom, Miyake’s designs questioned fashion’s function as a medium for concealing the body.
Actress Florence Pugh recently wore a sheer Valentino dress that exposed her nipples, a choice she fiercely defended. She said, “Unfortunately, we’ve become so afraid of the human body that we can’t even look at my two cute little nipples behind the cloth in any other way than sexually.” she told ELLE UK.. “We need to keep reminding everyone that women’s bodies are built for more than one reason. [to exist]”
As far as Steele knows, the Skims bra is the first underwear with fake nipples.
The fact that the bra ad takes place in an office makes it even more intriguing by focusing on perhaps the most anxiety-inducing nipple spot and making it the punchline.
Despite the headlines, bra sales aren’t declining – in fact, underwire and push up style But changing social norms in the workplace and a growing acceptance of showing one’s body (or refusing to cover it up), especially in the United States, mean that the social contract inherent in fashion is fundamentally changing. It suggests that there is. Breastfeeding in public has become more acceptable as doctors and academics prioritize the mother’s sense of security over the anxiety of bystanders. And recently, the conversation surrounding Janet Jackson’s infamous breast-exposing moment during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show has resurfaced, with references to co-star Justin Timberlake’s role in the stunt and Jackson’s gratuitous villainy. did.
And as Gen Zers transition from working from home to working in the office, many are questioning their assumptions about appropriate attire for the first time. Morgan Sanner, a human resources and organizational design strategist at Honda who also provides resume writing and career advice as an independent consultant, says, “Time and time again, I see people who wonder why business casual has become the way it is.” I’ve come,” he says. “There’s no rulebook that says business casual has to be this, but in a way we’ve accepted it the same way we accept the 40-hour work week as the law.” t.
Our relationship with clothing, where we dress to make others comfortable, is changing as younger generations enter the workforce. “For me, #MeToo is [this change]” says Sanner, 26. you You’re making me uncomfortable because you’re taking the shirt I’m wearing as a sexual invitation, but you’re taking it in a different way than what I’m trying to convey. ‘So instead of saying, ‘Okay, I need to change her shirt,’ I said, ‘Okay, why don’t you just stop staring at her? ” I was like, “What?” ”
For some activists, skims bras are a small step toward nipple liberation. “Anything that helps to finally free the nipple is important,” says Lina Esco, actress, director, and one of the founders of the Free the Nipple movement, which started in 2012. To tell. The end of the day. That means they have the same rights as men, right? If a man is topless, it is considered topless. If a woman is topless, it is considered nude. And I have a problem with that. ”
Free the Nipple was founded after Esko directed a feature film on the subject, but much of her work has been done on Instagram, where women’s nipples have been published in violation of meta censorship rules. There is.
“In America, you can objectify a woman’s body with pasties on her nipples, but the moment you take them off, it’s considered obscene,” Esko says. While filming the CBS series “SWAT,” which Esco starred in from 2017 to 2022, she wore pasties to hide her nipples, which were exposed due to the cold weather, even though her male castmates’ nipples were visible. She recalls being asked to wear one. You can also see it.
In early 2023, the oversight board of Meta, the company that owns Instagram, Recommended that the company revise its regulations regarding nipples.states that the policy is “based on a dualistic view of gender and the distinction between male and female bodies.”
Based on its current community guidelines, Instagram says it does not allow nudity on its platform. “This includes photos, videos, and some digitally created content that depict close-ups of sexual intercourse, genitals, or naked buttocks,” the guidelines state. “Although some photos of female nipples are included, photos related to breastfeeding, childbirth, post-natal moments, health-related situations (such as post-mastectomy, breast cancer awareness, gender reassignment surgery), or sexual acts. ” Protests are allowed. ”
Nipples are not blurred out in Ms. Kardashian’s posts or those of supposedly satisfied customers.