I'm sure most of you have seen the photos of Leighton Meester in a lace body with her bra visible below by now [if not scroll down]. The look would have made the Hit and Miss of the week but the images came out too late. When I first saw the photos my immediate reaction was bad. Lets be honest, those are not the best trousers to pair the top with. I really admire Leighton for experimenting, but I don't think this look worked as well as she hoped.
Visible underwear is always rather hit and miss, and annoyingly (or not - if you're Lady Gaga) it's a big trend for S/S 10. The problem with bra-flashing is that you never know how it's going to turn out until your boobs are on show and it's too late. You're far more likely to end up looking like Leighton than you are Carrie Bradshaw, no matter how much work you put in.
Carrie is the queen of the visible bra, and 9 times out of 10 her visible bra looks worked, because of Patricia Field's genius. In the book Kiss and Tell Patricia says "A bra is underwear, but a T-shirt used to be too. Before 1950 no man or woman would have worn a T-shirt out in public because that was underwear. Once James Dean and Marlon Brando did it the T-shirt became the most common form of top for everyone. I see the bra the same way. It is not something that needs to be hidden."
And hidden it is not. Bras and briefs are visible everywhere at the moment. At Dolce & Gabbana the lingerie was the clothing, while Marc Jacobs took into account the fact it might be rather cold to wear underwear only - so he kindly dressed his models in cotton shirts with satin bras on top.
I think the most subtle way to work this look (apart from merely flashing a colourful bra strap) is to work a lace top - Stella McCartney style. She sent her models out in halter neck lace tops tucked into denim skirts. It's casual but still flirty, and slightly more foolproof than flashing your bra.
What do you think? Do you like Leighton's look? Does underwear work as outwear?
images from thefashionspot.com and style.com
32 comments:
hmm, hard decision to make.. actually I love her sense of fashion but well, maybe some black trousers or a high-waisted skirt would be more suitable..
I think Leighton didn't do bad at all, though it's not as good as Carrie has it. Happy new Year!
juliet xxx
In the Stellas McCartney designs the underwear works amazing as outwear! it looks perfect! so cute and stylish! love the outfits!
xoxo
http://www.washmach.com/
Not a fan of Leighton's outfit but Carrie's is much better, despite the fact she's basically wearing a string vest.
The underwear as outerwear really depends on body-type in the case of the bra. A flat chested girl is going to pull of the look a lot more easily than someone flashing a bra full of cleavage.
I actually like Leighton's look a lot more than Carrie's... much more classy.
Ι like Leighton's outfit but not as much as Carrie's!
angie
Not really loving Leighton's look, but Stella McCartney's take is a little cuter! And Carrie, ofcourse, was just born fabulous ;-)
pixiedrivein.blogspot.com
SJP had a rare knack for pulling off that look.
I don't think Leighton's look is bad as such but she could definitely have improved it - perhaps a high-wasited skirt instead of those trousers? I love the underwear-as-outerwear trend, although it is far to cold in England at the moment to even consider going for it myself!!
x
http://sparklesmiledance.blogspot.com
mostly i don't like Leighton's red carpet looks. this is not the worst things to wear.
and what about outwear trend...
i'm not its fan. in many cases,this outfit really doesn't fit.
Stella gets 4,5 from 5
I really enjoyed this post!
Happy New Year, E.
xx
Btw, glad you fixed your margin issue.
xx
Btw, glad you fixed your margin issue.
xx
I don`t hate Leighton`s look but I adore Stella`s lace tops!
one of the rodarte for target pieces is a sort of long-sleeve blouse with a sheer bodice. i wear it like leighton does, with a black triangle bra, or a bandeau and i think it looks great that way! i don't feel overly exposed or anything.
i really do not appreciate Leighton's outfit. although she looks so happy in it :)
i really adore her look, she looks beautiful and different. i'm tired of all the celebs wearing similar clothes..
and btw..... next to leighton carrie's shirt/bra combination looks disturbingly wrong.
I've always thought that insinuating is better than showing.
visible underwear will always work if you only insinuate it, showing it all will only work if you're wearing a Stella's or Patricia Field planned your outfit.
xx & Happy New Year,
Chic and Chocolate.
I actually love those trousers with the lace top, it's a great contrast between quite manly and uber-girly.
And despite my love for Carrie, I'm not going to say that I like the mesh vest and not-so-pretty bra combo just because it's her. She works it, but as outfits, I much prefer Leighton's to Carrie's.
This is tricky. There's a fine line between showing your bra & being chic, and being plain trashy. It also depends on the size of your breasts.
xx
I have to say, I personally like Leighton's outfit more than Carrie's.
Leighton definitely stands out and at first, I could only think '?? Odd' but the more I look at the photos, I can't help but think she looks really charming (especially in the first one!) :)
I was really not loving Leighton's look, but it's not so much the visible bra as it is those trousers! At any rate, I'm currently undecided about visible underwear at the moment. xo
http://labelllefille.blogspot.com/
I actually thought that Leighton's look was decent because the pants were so conservative looking the idea of showing her bra seemed less of a big deal. the sexiness was balanced. I kind of think you can show a bra as long as you're not showing too much or any cleavage. This is an instance when ladies with little boobs win.
Fashion X K8
dont like the pants AT ALL..
but i love love lurve leighton!
i like the top just not the pants with this top ~ I think the miss is really the pants rather than the top. Overall I think her hair and makeup and upper body looks good.
xxx
Gi
http://glam623.blogspot.com/
The McCartney looks work. Leighton's simply doesn't. I looked at her photos and just thought, horrible.
Even though I don't like the look per se, I can see exactly what Leighton was thinking when she paired those trousers with that top; and had the trousers been a different colour or a different fit it may well have worked fine. I have even tried a similar outfit myself before, but never managed to get it out of the house. Hats off to her for trying!
You know when I see it in a picture, or in a movie, or on the runway, sometimes I think "cute." It works. But you know...in person, it pretty much always comes across like a street walker...I don't think I could take someone seriously wearing a lace bodysuit with a visible bra underneath.
her stylist makes really risky decisions and a lot of times they don't work with leighton's personality...its much to edgy for her.
brill quote from kiss and tell PF, leightons underwear looks alright me thinks, 6/10, tops beautiful but something is ever so slightly not PF magnificent..
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