Peeking Bra Straps Today - Not Unthinkable Is Ditching Bras, Some Day

In the 1970s when I was a coding trainer at a medical insurance company in the midwest a female manager was unpopular and eventually fired. I had a hunch it was because - horrors - she didn't wear a bra. 

There was no empathy from other women in the organization about how uncomfortable a bra eight to 10 hours or more a day could be. Not long ago when talking with former female employees at law firm Kirkland & Ellis they told me that what they did first when coming home was: Take off the bras, along with the heels.

Well, it might no longer be unthinkable that women in the workplace could go braless, penalty-free. 

See, today, The New York Times has an article about how visible bra straps have become a fashion statement. That's part of the trend, of course, of undergarments evolving into outergarments. 

Among the 178 comments (so far) to the Times article, there is empathy about the discomfort associated with the social mandate of wearing a bra. One female indicates that she doesn't wait to get home to remove it. No, she does that right in the car. 

There is also the broad cultural observation:

"Forget the strap, here in Europe it’s no problem foregoing the bra altogether. Unlike the Saudis and Americans, we don’t have self-appointed dress code police. Mothers are also free to breast feed their babies when the infant needs milk."

Impossible during the current political climate is even envisioning that women can be braless in the workplace. But not unthinkable longer-term. Especially with rising temperatures. How much workplace air-conditioning can employers afford? 

Even in the buttoned-down world of professional services the star assets are becoming those from technology and data science. Those kinds of folks tend to buck the rules. They can do even more of that given the importance of Generative AI to the business.

In the March 2025 Lawyer Monthly head of elite Paul, Weiss Brad Karp indicated how the law firm was hiring those technologists and data scientists. Yes, he also went on the record saying that the demand for inexperienced lawyers could decline. Power could be shifting to non-lawyers who aren't constrained by the mores of traditional law firm practices. Maybe the same ethos could take over JP Morgan, McKinsey and more.

So, what could evolve in the dress code of a professional services firm? 

First, the braless look might only be an option for those employees and contract workers who aren't interfacing with clients. Then, ditching the bra could become an option. Some with large breasts might find a bra functional.

In Puritan America in which all signs of sexuality had tended to be kept under wraps - aren't nipples particularly suspect - the liberation of working females from the implicit requirement to wear a bra could usher in Fourth Wave Feminism. 

In coaching, it's from young clients that I'm learning about the growing loosening of dress codes in some kinds of workplaces. Me? I remain conservative in how I put myself together for client interface. However, I am proud that I no longer over-dress. 

Thrown off your game, maybe the first time since you started working? You made all the right moves and then the world moved in another direction.

Intuitive Coaching. Special expertise with transitions, reskilling and aging. Psychic/tarot readings, upon request. Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com). Yes, test out the chemistry. There’s no risk.