I’m not one to usually advocate visible bra straps (I use my Strappers and multiway bra faithfully), but I can certainly bend the rules for StrapCouture. LA designers Kate Lessa and Alexandra Yolman have created a line of interchangeable bra straps meant to be seen – and worth seeing! Originally Lessa worked as a stylist and her affinity for accessories became her priority in her work for film and fashion. Soon, StrapCouture was created so equally accessories-obsessed women could have new options. The line officially launched in Spring 2006 at the LA store Intuition and now the full collection of designs by Lessa and Yolman (a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technolgy in New York City) is available online at StrapCouture.com.
The products look so much more like jewelry than underwear that they manage to circumvent the visible-bra-strap faux pas status that so many other bra straps suffer from, even some of the decorative ones! I think my favorites are the “Nickel Chains†(it just has a playful toughness I can’t get enough of) and “Pink Ribbon & Gold Chain†
(proceeds from this pair benefit breast cancer research, by the way). They’re all very pretty, though – and the range of styles is refreshing. There are heavier chain straps laced with leather and suede, but also lighter straps made of delicate links and pearls or ribbons. So, you can wear StrapCouture whether you’re going to a seedy biker bar or a romantic bistro. Paired with a spaghetti strap top, they look like they’re just part of the strap of the shirt, which means these visible bra straps can go incognito to classier events too! I think my favorite look by far, though, is with a shoulder-baring top, like this picture with my favorite “Nickel Chains” straps!