Combo BraTop Keeps Girls Cool, Gets Guys Hot

Summer means fun in the sun, swimming pools and cooler chests but it's the latter that are all the rage in Japan this year. We're talking busts, not beer - though with millions of braless women expected to hit the street this summer you'll definitely need a few icy cold cans to press against your forehead.

Pay attention now, I said braless but not topless: the BraTop from Uniqlo combines the support of a bra with the convenience of a camisole. Designed especially for Japan's notoriously hot & humid summers, the BraTop features adjustable shoulder straps and molded mesh cups that wick away perspiration.

According to G-cup gravure model Yuri Morishita, keeping a cool chest is vital to her modeling career. Says the busty model in Weekly Playboy magazine, "Well, women's chests perspire a lot and in the steamy summer heat, mine become smaller, to the point that I have to go down one size." I did not know this!

 Explains Morishita, "The BraTop allows good ventilation and prevents subcutaneous fat cells from burning off, so I won’t need to change to a smaller size." Suddenly, global warming has taken on a much more ominous character... shrinking coastlines may not move our (mostly male) political leaders but shrinking bustlines surely will!

In any case, Uniqlo is actively promoting the BraTop through the media and at the company website, which features (at the Japanese site) actress Chiaki Kuriyama.

Known to westerners for playing psycho schoolgirl Gogo Yubari in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Volume I, the now 24-year-old Kuriyama presents a somewhat softer side in her BraTop ads.

Uniqlo is one of the few Japanese retailers who have thrived during the current recession by providing good quality clothing at very reasonable prices. The BraTop, which comes in a range of styles, colors and patterns starts at just 1500 yen (about $16).

Uniqlo has a number of country-specific websites, including a US site, where buyers can browse and purchase BraTops and other Uniqlo fashions online.

In closing, we'll offer up another quote from the bubbly Yuri Morishita; "I've always had problems finding a bra that fit me well, to the point the I didn't want to wear one. But these new types with built-in cups give no feeling of constriction. That's because since they consist only of pads, my bosom can move about freely." Amen to that... and book your Japan travel plans ASAP. (via Japan Today)