Not your usual lingerie models
September 20, 2012 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
What: Abilene Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors’ Bras for the Cause benefiting Alliance for Women Children
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Paramount Theatre, 352 Cypress St.
Admission: $10 advance, $15 at the door. Tickets may be purchased at The Center for Contemporary Arts, 220 Cypress St., or ReMax of Abilene, 2545 S. Danville
Photo by Thomas Metthe, Tommy Metthe/Abilene Reporter-News
photos by Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News
Bird Thomas, curator of “fun learning experiences” at The Center for Contemporary Arts, hangs a bra Tuesday in the window of McKay’s Bakery.
Photo by Thomas Metthe, Tommy Metthe/Abilene Reporter-News
Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News
The “Under RE-Construction” bra designed by Tina Backus is on display at McKay’s Bakery.
Photo by Thomas Metthe, Tommy Metthe/Abilene Reporter-News
Thomas Metthe/Reporter-News
The “Nice Rack” bra designed by Patrick Messersmith is on display in the window at Bogie’s Specialty Deli.
Fifteen years ago, Myrtle and her “Get Your Bed Ready” campaign to promote the beautification of Abilene had folks raising a ruckus.
It’s a sign of just how far Abilene’s come that more than two dozen’s bras are hanging in the front windows of McKay’s Bakery and Bogie’s Specialty Deli and nobody’s raised an eyebrow.
Bras for the Cause is the Abilene Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors fundraiser to raise awareness of breast cancer and help local uninsured and underinsured breast cancer patients. The group teamed up with the Abilene Alliance for Women Children and artists from The Center of Contemporary Arts for the event.
Artists from The Center and people in the community approached by members of the real estate council crafted 30 amazing bras that will be modeled and auctioned Saturday night at the Paramount Theatre.
But hold on. This is not your typical lingerie fashion show. These models shave their chins, not their legs, and for most of them, this will be the first time they’ve EVER worn a bra.
Nineteen brave and courageous men — that’s right, men — agreed to walk the runway in brassieres named A-BRA-Cada-BRA, Dolly BRA-ma, Fishing for the Girls, Under Re-Construction and Nice Rack, among others.
“A man should not wear a bra,” said KBCY radio personality J.B. Cloud. “We finally accepted the wearing-the-pink thing.”
He said he wouldn’t have minded wearing a regular bra so much, but there’s nothing regular about the one he’ll don Saturday night — Forbidden Fruit, which features flowers, fruit and even a co-BRA snake.
“It looks like Michael’s threw up on my chest,” Cloud said. But as much as he might kvetch about wearing a bright pink bra, it’s something he’s happy to do.
“Breast cancer is a terrible thing,” he said on a serious note. “If I can go embarrass myself and let others laugh, I’ll jump at the chance.”
Dr. Seth Ardoin’s mother is a breast cancer survivor, so when one of the women from the real estate group asked him to participate, he was happy to take part.
“This is my first time strutting my stuff,” the local pediatric dentist said. “I’ve been practicing.”
He said the girls in the office designed his bra, Healthy Teeth ‘n Healthy TaTas. They decorated it using dental materials, including silver crowns.
The McMurry University grad will bring along a giant toothbrush and big fake teeth as props for his walk down the runway.
Two local football coaches also join the list of models: Todd Moebes from Cooper High and Steve Warren from Abilene High.
Warren said his 95-year-old grandmother is a two-time breast cancer survivor, and the cause makes him think of her. His construction-themed bra features pink hard hats. His football players may not know much about the event, but he figures they will by the day of the event. “It’ll be fun; I hope it’s a packed house.”
Patrick Messersmith is the only man who created a bra for the show. His mother is an 11-year breast cancer survivor.
Messersmith said he drew inspiration from his experience as a hunter.
“I’d been really deliberating, I didn’t want to do something girlie or obvious, but I wanted to go big,” he said. His design came from a term that has connotations both in hunting and bra-related terms — Nice Rack.
Cloud said he can be pretty animated on the runway, but was told to remember this is a family show. He laughed at that.
“They didn’t keep that in mind when they designed these bras.”
