Welcome to cleavage normcore

Just ask Lindsay Lohan: going braless is now a fashion statement, too

Published April 18, 2014 7:45PM (EDT)

    (<a href=' http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-148228p1.html'>Lukas Majercik</a> via <a href='http://www.shutterstock.com/'>Shutterstock</a>)
(Lukas Majercik via Shutterstock)

Lindsay Lohan doesn’t wear a bra. And she's not alone. These days bralessness is so hip that the New York Daily News made a whole slideshow of celebrities who have been known to ditch their bras. More evidence: I sometimes see my neighbor at the corner bodega sans bra. There is probably a woman somewhere on this Earth not wearing a bra in public this very second. Cleavage normcore is everywhere.

Until a few weeks ago, these women would just be considered normal people who preferred the airy infinite, opting for a moment in the sun without the tug of an annoying chest band. But in the current fashion climate, however, this simple act of comfort-seeking could be a seriously unserious fashion statement, thanks to New York Magazine's unfortunate designation of “normcore."

As the cultural world reels from the revelation of normcore, an urbanite’s ode to Middle America, dad jeans, and fanny packs, one person's non-decision becomes another person's fashion statement. It's a faux subversion that turns Leonardo DiCaprio into the coolest celebrity yet. Women who forgo makeup are no longer confident, nor are they lazy, but instead they are “face nudists,” disciples of “Cosmetic normcore.”

It must follow, then, that if you are a woman who has gone out in public without a bra, you are now "Cleavage normcore.” Or even “boobcore." It doesn’t matter how you feel about that label, because trendsetters have subjected you to their unironic irony, and it’s here to stay. Getting out of bed is officially the coolest you will look all day, so go back to bed so you can look as fly as possible.

Oh, and have you ever gone sans-underwear, even as a function of having run out of clean clothes? Congrats, you are also hardcore pantycore.


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Bras Cleavage Normcore Cosmetic Normcore Facial Nudist Fashion Irony Normcore Trends Women