A Different Spin On Hiding Money in Bra
 

This is not specific to Europe, but this is really the only board I frequent.

Take this for what it's worth, I heard it today from a co-worker, and thought it was interesting enough to share.

Her son and his girlfriend are spending 3 weeks in Peru. Before they left, she (the co-worker) took all the bra's that the girlfriend was taking and made a slit between the padding and the inner lining, and secured the opening with velcro.

The girlfriend now has a place to stash her cash without having to carry a bag, or a waistsafe etc.

Personally, I think it's an innovative idea, no clue if something like this exists already or not, but I've never heard of it.

As I said, this is more of an FYI than anything really "Europe" related. If anyone gets anything out of this...then my work here is done!

Happy Travels
Pantelia

That's a very interesting idea, patelia. And sounds like a good one for extra cash. But wouldn't she still need to carry a purse? It doesn't seem like she'd want to be taking money out of her bra in public! :D

This not new. My mom always stored a wad of cash between her breasts.

I guess that is why I never asked for money.

My grandmother traveled extensively, including Europe, and always carried money and travelers checks in her bra. She called it her "safe". Of course, I was mortified when she reached in to retrieve some money, but she wasn't bothered by it at all.

She still carried her pocketbook or purse with all the other stuff she needed and some money, but she carried her main stash in her bra. No special compartments were needed for her bosom :-)

Now, how do you do this if you don't wear a padded bra? And if you wear a minimizer, does that mean you have to take less?

I suppose it would be one way for the "endowment challenged" to curb their urge to shop and spend. Talk about a "dwindling cash flow!"

My grandmother always stored cash in her bra, as a young child, I cringed everytime she went to give me money. As I grew older though, I didn't care where it came from!

Stashing cash in a bra is not new, I've never heard nor thought of making a slit in the actual bra.

Yes, pantelia, it is a good idea.

When we took my mother back to Italy eighteen years ago for her first visit in 55 years, she made a little lace pocket with snap which she attached to her bra. That's where she put her money. She told me that her mother who was a seamstress in Torre del Greco, Italy, would make them for herself and her friends to keep their money in a safe place. It was pretty, useful and secure yet easy to get at when you needed the money.

Thanks for reminding me of this.

I hate to think what is the safe place for a passport :))

I once worked for a woman who kept a pack of cigerettes between her breasts. I never stopped being amazed when she would pick out one.

Remember the Marlene Dietrich (I think) line: There's gold in them thar hills.

My grandmother tried to get me to do that on my first trip to Europe. I didn't want to do it, and finally my aunt pointed out that it won't work for me, as I would be lop-sided. That was good for my teen-aged ego. :-[

:-D

My mom would keep kleenex in her bra, so she could whip one out whenever her brat (me) had a runny nose. One day her good friend saw her doing this and told my mom (while shaking her head sadly), "I always thought yours were real."

What if you don;t wear a padded bra? (No offense but I haven;t since I was 12 - and assume most grown women don;t either.) And wouldn;t any more than a very small amount of money result in some very odd bumps? And - getting the money out would seem to provide on-lookers with some interesting opportunities.

Why not just a wallet in a purse across your shoulder? Never had any problem with that in 60+ trips.

nytravler, this works best with well-endowed women. No padding needed.

I think that my co-workers son and girlfriend are spending quite some time hiking etc, which is why she didn't want to carry anything.

I personally wouldn't take the time (or waste a good bra either) to do this, but thought it was interesting enough to share!

As for the padded bra, I've no need for that, and I can't imagine walking around all lumpy and bumpy! :^)

What if you were to get all sweaty... ewww :-o
I know, I know... "ladies don't sweat, they 'glow' ".
However, after hiking from Monterosso to Riomaggiore in the CT I was definitely more than glowing! The thought of pulling out clammy, smelly money to buy a gelato is less than pleasant!

Funny, TexasAggie! :-)

I've actually refused moist bills when given change. I get strange looks from the cashier, but I'd just rather not receive damp bills - nor wonder why they are damp! :-)

The coins are heavy, what would she do with them? They are needed when you must have small money for toilets, etc.
There are wallet like money/passport holders that hang around your neck on a leather string. I have a French one that is very attractive by Lamartre.
Longchamp has an attractive zippered bag on a belt, I'm sure there are less expensive versions.
The lady who had the cigerettes tucked between her breasts in her bra, well when she ate, every bite seemed to come as a surprise :).

When I lived in Boston and my friends and I would go out and night and stay out late, I carried a wallet, but then I would put an extra $20 either in my bra or one of my socks. That way, if I got mugged, I still had some other money somewhere so that I could hail a cab and get home without being forced to walk home in the dark.
-Christine

Coins and small bills were kept in the purse. The bosom served as the "safe". She only dipped in the safe when she needed a larger bill. The theory was that if her purse were snatched they wouldn't get the "big money" and that no one would dare bother her bosom (and no one ever did! :-)

Keeping money in a bra (between the breast and the actual bra) is very common in South Africa.
No-one bats an eye when a lady plunges her hand down into the depths to retrieve either notes or the whole wallet.
As most breasts are voluptuous to say the least, it makes it very hard to loose your cash to a mugger!

I just can't bare to think of putting that "filthy luca" (and money must be one of the most germ infected items handled everyday) against my body.

"And - getting the money out would seem to provide on-lookers with some interesting opportunities."

Like starrsville already said, you also have a purse with lesser amount of money, you don´t dig into your bra. When good old USSR still existed I travelled there quite a bit. The amount of money that could be legally taken into the country was very small. They wanted that tourists exchange money IN the country so they get currency, but the exhange rate was 10x worse than while exhanging outside the borders.. Everything had to be reported at the border, and every single bag was throughly searched.

I always had money stacked into my bra. But I admit, sometimes I had some extra sweat at the border.

Bra is a way nicer way than shoes. Less smelly.

But USSR was the only country where I have done it.

The bra lining is an old trick, but I have never had velcro installed. The other day at the street market in Málaga I bought 5 pairs of underwear, all of which have a small pocket right at the back that will fit a credit card or some cash. The problem is if they give me back change.

When I go out wearing a dress and I don't want to be bothered by a purse while dancing, I've more than often put money in my bra. The only problem is change... It works better if you can buy drink tickets, because then you only have to put the tickets in your bra :-)

I actually searched the internet and found a bra pouch - a small, washable pouch, big enough for a passport, with a small zipper on the top, and a velcro attachment that goes around the bra strap. The pouch itself fits between the breast and the bra, and the velcro strap keeps it there. That removes the sweat factor, and allows for washing.

I used it in Ireland, with no problems.

I remember a renaissance fair when I was a little girl. My younger sister and I went to buy some orange ices, and the proprietess took our money and stuffed it down her very ample cleavage. As our mother was a proper type of woman with an average-sized bust, my sister and I were totally shocked. When walking away, my sister asked me, "Why did she do that?" I replied that I didn't know. After relating this story several decades later to one of my friends, I finally got the answer to my sister's question: Because she CAN.

:-) Poohgirl!

I've put credit cards in my bra!! :D

:) I'm still laughing at the thought of putting change in a bra...

%%-

I think it would be easier (and more comfortable) to sew security pockets into the interior of some of your clothes. I know people do that, or take them to their tailor, and have an extra pocket with velcro closures or zipper added to the inside of their pants along the waistline.

Sorry didn't mean to be a wet blanket on this funny thread
;-)

but it just doesn't seem real practical to me. unless maybe it's to stash an extra $100 bill for emergencies. remember to remove before washing!

katya - and then dancing!

Here's a funny story...

I sell my art at art shows, and am usually the only one there (no help for bathroom breaks or lunch). Therefore, when I went to get lunch at one art show last April, I tucked the $2 change in my bra, so I had both hands available to carry back lunch and drink.

Later that night, having dinner with my DH and parents, I was gesticulating and placed my hand on my chest, emphasizing some point... and it crackled. I put my hand in, looking for what it was, having completely forgotten about the money. And lo and behold, out comes money! I had such a startled look on my face!

My husband asked if I could do that again.

I worked at a bank in the south, it never failed every day we had some large breasted woman come in to pay on a loan and she'd dig out money from her bra. Imagine that in August in the humidity....

So what do you recommend for guys? Padding a pair of briefs? <wink>

starrsville- =D>

I will admit that when I first travelled to Russia, I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep any rubles as souvenirs that I put a few into my bra.

That would be paper money, though!

:)
%%-

Would the TSA arrest me if I put a tube of lip gloss in my bra (and maybe a tiny bottle of contact solution to balance out the other side)?

Missypie, I was considering doing the exact same thing for my upcoming trip! Thankfully the lip balm ban is over. I guess that means the contact lens case will have to go between the, um, twin peaks. hehehe

We were in Equador many years ago and we were told that mugging was common especially at dusk so take extra care with cash and passports.

Well not having heard about the stuffed bra idea my BF shoved our cash and passports! in his socks and were walking down a hill when we heard a friends' voice ... "If any muggers are interested in passports that man has a square ankle!" ROTFL

When I was little and first started wearing a bra (about the age of 9 or 10--I'm italian, we develop young!), I would stash a few dollars in there. I always used to see the women do this in old movies and I thought it was glamorous. Picture little 10 year old mean pulling dollar bills out of her bra at the ice cream truck.