What I Wore When | Glamour

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From Wanting Implants to Proudly Going Flat With Stephanie Germino Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

Growing up, Stephanie Germino was aware that her family had a history of carrying the BRCA gene mutation, even though it wasn’t openly discussed in her household. Her mother and her aunt had preventative double mastectomies and opted for implants; her maternal grandmother had breast cancer twice. At the time, the potential consequences of testing positive for the BRCA mutation seemed pretty manageable, because, according to Germino, she was “an ignorant child who didn’t like her body” and was interested in getting her boobs done anyway.

Then Germino’s body underwent a series of changes: She took up bodybuilding, gave birth to a child, breastfed for a year—meanwhile, the threat of a positive test loomed larger in her mind. When she confirmed she had the BRCA mutation, she knew she would get a preventative double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing cancer, and assumed she would get implants as well. It was Germino’s partner who reminded her that there were other options, and one day, while scrolling online, she saw someone with an aesthetic flat closure. Germino, who was always “very insecure about her chest,” realized that she wanted a flat chest too. Her surgeon attempted to dissuade her, and she had no real life examples to point to, but she continued to advocate for her preference.

Now Stephanie Germino has built a public platform for flatties, proudly posting images of her chest at @theebooblessbabe, and pushing back on socialized norms of femininity. In fact, she says, “not having boobs makes me feel more of a female,” adding, “I show up more feminine, I feel more sexual because I was insecure about my chest.”

Perspectives is a new series exploring the topics that shape women's lives today with honest, nuanced, and deeply personal conversations. The first season examines the cultural significance of breasts through intimate accounts and expert interviews, hosted by Allure’s editor in chief Jessica Cruel.

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Raven-Symoné on the Surgery She Got Twice–and Regrets Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

“I really wasn’t speaking a lot about my personal life in my younger years,” Raven-Symoné told Jessica Cruel, editor in chief of Allure and host of the Perspectives podcast. But that’s changing now. Raven details the different pressures she endured as a young woman in the entertainment industry, from close scrutiny of the food she ate to the explicit expectation that she’d conform to a hyper-feminine aesthetic. For her, breasts are intimately connected to body image and weight management; she talks about shopping for hours in a day, afraid to go in the men’s section where she thought she’d find more comfortable options, instead looking for hard-to-find women’s clothes that would fit her breasts and her hips. Raven had two breast reductions before she turned 20, which she now regrets because, she says, “It was hastily done,” adding, “I wish I was stronger to say no.”

Now, Raven is done with constraints. Accepting her sexuality, wearing the clothes she feels comfortable in, and surrounding herself with people who keep her from “having to perform,” Raven is creating a life that prioritizes being grounded. When asked about how she thinks about her body currently, Raven celebrates throwing away her fajas for good, doing 100 squats a day, and eating healthy—but still making sure to eat. When she thinks about her younger self, and how she could have guided her through the hard times, she says, “It’s gonna get better later…. You’ll take the brunt of what it looks like to be a thicker person in the industry; other people will come and make it super popular, and you’ll have to just hold the trauma from that time for others…. And if you look at the silver lining in it, it’s the strength, it’s the courage, it’s wisdom for another time.”

And, Raven concludes, “You were right: A toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and tomato and a little bit of salt is delicious. You’ll be able to have it when you get older.”

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GLP-1’s Are Making Breast Lifts More Popular Than Ever, According to Dr. Lisa Cassileth Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Lisa Cassileth is a breast surgeon in Beverly Hills, which, according to her, means encountering “so many bad boob jobs.” But repairing someone else’s questionable handiwork happens to be one of Dr. Cassileth’s specialties, along with innovative reconstructions and other thoughtful surgical developments that prioritize positive patient outcomes and well-being. Dr. Cassileth was the first female chief of plastic surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and has started two practices of her own.

“Women aren’t really getting breast reductions as much as they used to,” Dr. Cassileth tells Jessica Cruel, host of the Perspectives podcast and editor in chief of Allure. That’s largely due to the impact of GLP-1s. “[Patients are] getting breast lifts because after the weight is lost…it’s really now a skin problem.” Breast lifts are aided by an absorbable mesh, which can hold the breast in place while scar tissue and collagen forms to support the newly tightened skin.

Dr. Cassileth discusses this and other trends and technological developments in the breast surgery space, including improved implants, fat transfers for augmentations, the use of peptides for expedited recovery, and the influence of AI. Her office uses AI-enhanced modeling to preview surgical outcomes, but Dr. Cassileth and other cosmetic and medical providers are also facing the reality that patients’ expectations are being skewed by AI-generated images. “Even though I’m a plastic surgeon,” Dr. Cassileth says, “and I have a lot of tools at my disposal, not even natural humans can achieve what AI is achieving.”

Still, a lot can be achieved. Dr. Cassileth talks through the essential steps for safe and sterile breast reconstruction or augmentation, and explains why patients seeking breast reductions are her favorite to work with. She also details the expectations she has for mastectomy surgeons in hospitals, calling out high rates of mastectomy flap necrosis, which happens when skin tissue dies due to lack of blood flow, complicating reconstructions. “You can have plastic surgeons that are fantastic, but if the mastectomy surgeon who removes the breast tissue is still making a big line, or if the overlying skin dies at the time they do the mastectomy, because the skin is thinned out too much, then,” Dr. Cassileth asks, “how does a plastic surgeon do a good job?”

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Kink Helped Ericka Hart Reclaim Her Body After Cancer Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Ericka Hart is in the next phase of her lifelong sex education. Starting as a curious and resourceful teenager, looking for answers to supplement her abstinence-only sex-ed class, Hart built on her knowledge when she was diagnosed, at 28, with breast cancer. Until her diagnosis, Hart had never really thought about her breasts. “They really felt like they were in service to other people,” she says. That changed post-treatment when she went topless at a music festival in 2016, publicly displaying her mastectomy scars: “I just wanted people…to see me and my scars, and to see what breast cancer looks like in Black, queer, and trans people.” She also wanted to challenge the cultural default that desexualizes cancer survivors. People would tell Hart over and over that she was so inspiring, which was nice, but, she adds, “I’m also pretty hot.”

That next phase of her education arrived when she got pregnant with her partner using IUI (intrauterine insemination) and gave birth. “I feel much different in my body now as a 40-year-old who is three years postpartum than I did after breast cancer,” Hart says. “I think pregnancy and childbirth truly rocked me more than anything I’ve ever experienced.” Now that she’s raising a child, Hart is aware of another change—the feeling that she wants to keep her body to herself, asking, “What’s for me?”

Ericka Hart is a sex educator, activist, and the author of Nasty Work.

Allure’s Perspectivesis a new series exploring the topics shaping women's lives today through honest, nuanced, and deeply personal conversations. The first season examines the cultural significance of breasts through intimate accounts and expert interviews, hosted by editor in chief Jessica Cruel.

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Are Belly Bands and Weightlifting Belts Modern-Day Corsets? With Dr. Valerie Steele Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

You can’t talk about breasts without talking about bras. So Jessica Cruel, Allure’s editor in chief, went to the source: Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Dr. Steele is a pioneer in the field of fashion studies and that the clothes we wear–and what we wear underneath them–merit serious attention. She’s also the author of a book tracing the cultural history of the corset and how it influenced the development of other shapewear. Cue: the bra.

Bras started to show up in the early 20th century as more women joined the workforce and pursued activities that required a broader range of movement and support. From torpedo-like bras to padded bras to more gamine bralettes, they are, according to Dr. Steele, “always in relation to the style of dress” that’s popular at the time and often attempt to balance looking “respectable” with being “sexually attractive.” Women, Dr. Steele notes, have always sought some form of shapewear, even if it's a rejection of the structure (e.g., bra-burning in the '70s). Today, as bra designers focus on balancing comfort with style, Dr. Steele highlights how there is still an impulse to nip, tuck, cinch, and lift the body.

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Jenna Samotin: What I Wore When I Realized I Don’t Care What Anyone Thinks About My Style Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

After months of recording a podcast asking women to talk about an important outfit, Perrie sits down with her younger sister, Jenna, to talk about something she wore on a family vacation, an outfit that's still pivotal to this day. Jenna's story is universal—who among us hasn't had a parent force us to wear something as a kid that we didn't feel comfortable in? We hope you'll enjoy this special episode—our last of the season—and think about your own What I Wore When moments that have shaped you and your relationship to personal style.

Follow @jsamo and @jsamotin_ceramics on Instagram.

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Rose Kirk: What I Wore When I Got My First Job In Corporate America Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

On this podcast, you’ve heard from a lot of familiar names, including actors, singers, and reality stars. Rose Kirk is a name you’re probably not familiar with. As the Chief Responsibility Officer at Verizon, she rose through the ranks of corporate America, as a woman in the 80’s and 90’s. This week, the executive sits down with Perrie to share what she wore during her first big job interview and how her style has evolved since, the challenges and benefits of being a woman in the C-suite, and what her big purchase was after she started making real money.

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Leah Van Dale (Carmella): What I Wore When I Became the SmackDown Women’s Champion Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

In case you're not familiar with Leah Van Dale, here's a quick primer: she's the former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, and her ring name is Carmella, a nod to all the strong "mob wives" that have informed her creatively. This week, Leah sits down with Perrie to talk about being a successful woman in the professional world of wrestling, her past as an NFL cheerleader, her new line of affordable wine, Capo Cagna, and more.

Follow @carmellawwe on Instagram and Twitter. Shop her Capo Cagna wines at capocagna.com.

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Natasha Bedingfield: What I Wore When I Wrote ‘Unwritten’ Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

It's impossible to find a woman between the ages of 25 and 45 that doesn’t know every word to the song "Unwritten" (or at least to the chorus that starts with the catchy “feel the rain on your skin"). This week, the song's writer and artist, Natasha Bedingfield, sits down with Perrie to talk about what she wore while writing the Grammy-nominated tune, as well as what it means to be an authentic mother, why she hates wearing jeans, and her latest album, Roll With Me.

Follow @natashabedingfield on Instagram and @natashabdnfield on Twitter. Find her newest album, Roll With Me, wherever you get music.

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Emily Nussbaum: What I Wore When I Interviewed at New York Magazine Mar 16, 2020

Show notes

Hello, Emily Nussbaum! Emily is the television critic for the New Yorker, and in 2016 she won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. In 2019, she released her first book, I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution. This week, Emily sits down with Perrie to talk about what she wore during a pivotal job interview, ‘80s fashion, letting kids watch Twin Peaks, perspectives on Carrie Bradshaw, and more.

Follow @emilynussbaum on Instagram and Twitter. Shop Emily’s book, I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution, in bookstores and online.

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