A woman comes home from a long day at work and steps into her home. She slips off her shoes and heads to the bedroom to get rid of her bra. “Hi Mom!” shouts her son… thus creating a change in the plans. Perhaps some women would be less concerned with removing their bra in their son’s presence but he is high school age and she does not want to embarrass him…after all… Mom braless? Yikes!

Thus was the scenario that birthed the idea for Virtuous Apparel. I had spent years wearing a nubby vest over my clothing when I wasn’t wearing my bra… which was not very practical during a hot, humid summer; but it provided the camouflage I desired and the ability to be without my bra. I realize not every woman loathes the bra; there is certainly a time and a place for it. But, to be able to relax without it, especially in the company of others, was something I longed for!

Plato said that necessity is the mother of invention, so let’s take a look at the beginning of this “necessity.” As written in Wikipedia:

In 1910, Mary Phelps Jacob (known later in life as Caresse Crosby), a 19-year-old New York socialite, purchased a sheer evening gown for a debutante ball. At that time, the only acceptable undergarment was a corset stiffened with whalebone. Mary had large breasts and found that the whalebone visibly poked out around her plunging neckline and from under the sheer fabric. Dissatisfied with this arrangement, she worked with her maid to fashion two silk handkerchiefs together with some pink ribbon and cord. Her innovation drew immediate attention that evening and, at the request of family and friends, she made more of her new device. When she received a request for one from a stranger, who offered a dollar for her efforts, she realized that her device could turn into a viable business.

She went on to say, “The bra would allow women the freedom of movement that corsets had long prevented.” Therefore I propose to you that 108 years later we seize a new type of freedom!

I carried this plan for many years before taking any steps to fulfill it. The entire thought was overwhelming to me… I never considered myself a business woman, and yet since no one else had developed it, maybe it was for me to do? It’s been said that the Lord doesn’t require ability, but availability. “Here am I Lord, send me,” as Isaiah said. I stepped out only so far, to have to pull back again and again…people and timing and finances not lining up the way I thought they needed to. Through God’s Grace I finally met a lovely seamstress and pattern-maker who caught the vision. After many weeks of back and forth, we finally developed a prototype I could present; a piece of clothing that embodied what I had imagined many years before. Hallelujah!

Even as the brassiere evolved over time, so also may be the case for Virtuous Apparel. Join me as we take a step into a new era!

To Gray or Not to Gray?

I began coloring my hair in my 20s… just for a change from my average dark brown mane. I went through a series of colors over the years, keeping a promise to my youngest daughter that I would not stop coloring my hair until after she graduated high school. Understandable… I gave birth to her at 38. Let’s face it… no teen wants their mom to look like their grandmother!

It was actually easier to “go gray” than I had imagined. Staying gray was a different story. Little by little I went lighter and lighter in my color until the gray blended and looked like nice highlights. Not bad. I could live with this. But... READ MORE