With the wide variety of tops available for women, there are a wide variety of bras available that will support, flatter, and be invisible under the garment. In addition, certain bras are better suited to different situations. What follows is a list of essential bras to have in your wardrobe.
Full Coverage and Minimizer Bras:
Many women see minimizer bras in the store, and are turned off by the name. Most women would prefer to accentuate rather than minimize their breasts, and as such, never consider what these bras are, how they work, and what they’re good for. First of all, minimizer bras do not actually make the breasts smaller.
Instead, minimizer bras are constructed in a way that pushes the breast tissue away from the center of the chest, and more towards the arms. In addition, minimizer bras help re-shape the breast to minimize the amount in which it protrudes from the chest. A minimizer bra is great for button down shirts. When many women wear form-fitting button down shirts, breasts that protrude too sharply from the chest tend to create a gap between the buttons of the shirt, revealing the cups of the bra. Since most women don’t want their bras to be seen, a minimizer bra is going to help eliminate that gap, and hide your bra from prying eyes. Since minimizer bras are not usually made for women with smaller breasts, full-coverage bras are another solution for women who want to conceal their bras better. Full coverage bras are also popular due to the better support they provide, and are great for women who move around a lot. If your job requires you to be on your feet, you will prefer full-coverage bras during long work days due to their more comfortable, more supportive designs. Have at least one of these bras, preferably in a color that matches your skin tone. If you think you’ll need multiple minimizer bras, look into getting a black one too.
Strapless and Convertible Bras:
A strapless bra is a wardrobe essential for most women. Strapless bras are great for tops that are strapless, or with unconventional designs. For example, strapless bras work great for tube tops, but they are also great for halter tops, or tank tops with thin straps. Strapless bras also work well for shirts with open necklines (Such as boat neck styles), or large arm holes. Strapless bras are essential for a lot of formal and evening wear as well. If possible, get a strapless bra that is convertible. Many strapless bras include a set of straps that can be attached to the bra, and many also allow the straps to be worn several ways. You can often create a halter bra, or a bra that has a strap over one shoulder. You can also attach the straps similarly to a racerback bra, allowing you to wear the bra with revealing tank tops. When shopping for strapless bras, be sure to get one in a color that matches your skin tone. This color will disappear the most under your clothing. Also, if you need a second, get a black one too.
Demi Cup Bras:
Demi bras are essential for most women. Because demi bras cover less of the breast than most other styles of bras, they can be worn with a wide variety of tops. Demi bras allow you to wear lower cut, and v-neck style tops without revealing the top of the bra cups. Also, demi cup bras tend to have straps that are set wider on the shoulders, making the bra less likely to show when wearing tops with open necklines. Demi cups are also great for the shape of some womens’ breasts. While larger breasted women have no trouble filling their bra cups, many women with smaller breasts prefer the demi cup style because the breast fills the cups easier, minimizing the buckling that is often seen when a smaller breasted woman wears a fuller cup bra style. Many demi bras also offer padded cups designed to maximize cleavage and fullness. When shopping for demi bras, you have a lot of choices. Padded vs. non-padded, molded cup, vs. non-molded, a wide variety of materials, colors, and more. Unless you have larger breasts, you’ll likely want to have several demi cup bra styles in your wardrobe. Get padded demi cup bras for sexy tops, molded cup bras for t-shirts and form-fitting tops. Look at the variety of materials available, and pick a few based on your taste. There are so many cute demi bras out there, so look for one or two that will give your inner sense of beauty a boost as well.
Soft Cup Bras:
Soft cup bras are bras that do not have an underwire. The underwire is a semi-circular shaped piece of metal or plastic that is sewn into the bottom of the cup to give your breasts a more rounded shape. Most women have a love/hate relationship with this part of the bra: They love it for the shape that it gives your breasts, yet hate it for the discomfort that it can cause. For this reason, we recommend having at least one or two soft cup bras in your wardrobe. Sometimes, you just don’t want to deal with the discomfort sometimes caused by underwire bras. It seems like many women do not consider this option when looking at bras, but if you value your comfort, you really should. It’s true that soft cup bras do not offer the same kind of shaping that underwire bras offer, and finding more attractive soft cup bras is often difficult, but these bras are not about those things, they are simply about letting your breasts relax and be natural, while still providing support. You’ll love the way a soft cup bra feels during long days, or simply after a long day. Get home, take off your underwire, and wear a soft cup bra around the house. You’ll feel much more comfortable. When shopping for soft cup bras, there are a wide variety of options available. You can find simple, comfy cotton designs, satiny designs, even lacy designs. There are molded soft cup bras, even padded designs! Grab a few in styles that strike your fancy, preferably in skin tone or black.
Racerback Bras:
Racerback bras are relatively new, and are somewhat in the middle between sports bras and regular “everyday” bras. What makes racerback bras unique is the design of the back of the bra and the positioning of the bra straps. Most racerback bra designs clasp in the front of the bra, between the cups, although some racerback bras offer simple pullover designs as well. Racerback bras are great for a wide variety of clothing, especially tank tops with narrow backs. The racerback design also features straps that sit closer to the neck on the shoulders, remaining hidden under tops with large arm holes, and which bare most of the shoulders. This bra style has become very popular lately due to the popularity of tank tops. If you wear a lot of tank tops, you’ll definitely want to have one or two racerback bras in your collection. Look for molded cup or padded designs to eliminate nipple show-through, and have at least one in a nude color (Or, brown for women with darker skin) and one in black.
Sexy/Pretty/Cute Bras:
Unless you are not into the sexy/cute/romantic bra designs, you should have one or two pretty bras in your collection. Not only are they great for those intimate moments, they also have a tendency to make you feel beautiful, sexy and confident. While most women have different ideas about what sexy actually means, you’ll probably be able to find at least one or two bras that will suit your taste perfectly. There are lacy designs that have a romantic and feminine look. There are shiny satin designs. There are various sheer and see-through styles. There are cleavage enhancing and push-up styles. Even bras in unique colors like red or purple are sexy. There are so many designers out there making elegant and beautiful bras that you are sure to find a few to make you feel good inside. Well ladies, that wraps it up. Next time you’re out looking for bras, keep the style of clothing you wear fresh in your mind. Buy your bras based on what you wear. Bras are not called “foundation” garments for nothing: They truly are the foundation of your outfit. The perfect bra can give you exactly what you need for whatever you’re wearing.
