20 Oct I’m Spending More Time At Home; Is A Wire Free Bra A Good Option?

It’s mind-boggling to think about the reach and ripple effect Covid-19 has had on our everyday lives.

It’s caused a major change in how women buy their BRAS, of all things! Lots of women have been transitioning into or adding wire free bras into their properly-fitted bra wardrobe since the beginning of Covid. More women are working from home and/or staying home more than pre-Covid and are searching for softer fitting and softer feeling bras. When they’re not leaving their home for work they’re ok with trading the lift and shape that underwire bras provide for that softer fit and softer feel. Wireless bras were already growing in popularity before Covid hit and have since become the fastest-growing lingerie trend of 2020 with no indication of them falling in popularity as we head towards 2021.

Before delving into the pros and cons of wire free bras, let’s talk for a minute about bras with underwire. The vast majority of time, a woman shouldn’t feel the wire in a properly fitted underwire bra. The underwire should nestle right into the crevice where the breast tissue connects to your torso. The underwire should go all the way back and capture all of the breast tissue inside the cup of the bra and not press directly on the breast tissue. If an underwire bra is properly fitted there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be very comfortable to wear. In a properly fitted bra underwire bra, your support comes from three places: from an appropriately snug bra band which generates about 65% of your support (more than half!), from the underwire which generates approximately 25% of the support in a bra, and from the straps, which should only be doing about 10% of the work. You want to minimize as much as possible the pull and weight through the straps across your smaller neck and shoulder muscles, striving to keep the majority of the support in the bra through an appropriately snug bra band around your torso where your muscles are bigger and stronger.   When you remove the underwire from a bra, the 25% support that it contributed has to go somewhere. It ends up in the straps, which changes your support quotient to 65% from an appropriately snug bra band and 35% through the straps.  That being said, there is definitely a time and place for non-wired bras/wire free bras/bralettes in a woman’s properly fitted bra wardrobe. Wire free bras are available nowadays in lots of different styles. They can have a moulded/padded cup or a non-molded/soft cup, they can be seamed or seam free, they can be plain and functional with a smooth t shirt cup, and they can be lacy and beautiful. They are also being offered in a wider variety of back and cup sizes (yay for size inclusivity!) and offering versatility with convertible straps. Something to consider when contemplating wire free bras is a woman’s breast shape under her clothing in a non-underwire bra can be different than her shape when she’s wearing a bra with underwire, especially for fuller-cupped women. In a non-underwire bra the breasts lose some of the separation, some of the lift, and, depending on the density of the breast tissue, can sometimes look a little pointy under clothing. Not quite “Madonna circa 1992 in her famous, iconic Jean Paul Gaultier cone corset, poke your eye out” pointy, but not as round as in an underwire bra. Over the past few years as demand has steadily increased, suppliers have improved their wire free bras to include more options where the shape of the breasts is more rounded under clothing. Non-underwire bras of the past were also somewhat lacking in the support they provided; modern options are much more supportive. Seams in non-underwire bras (and wired bras, for that matter!) also help with providing lift, direction, and support to the breasts.

It used to be if your cup size was larger than about a D cup there were next to no non-underwire bra options for you, and forget about having something that was pretty, colourful, and fashion-forward! Nowadays we’re happy to say there are many wire free bra options available for the majority of cup and back sizes, and some styles even offer convertible straps for added versatility! At Bliss Beneath we stock 7 different non-underwire bras and bralettes in a variety of styles and sizes, and we have some exciting and beautiful new styles on order for 2021. Curious to see if wire free bra styles should be added into your rotation of properly-fitted bras? We can help!

Email bliss@blissbeneath.com, call us at 705-503-2547 (BLIS), or DM us on social media to set up a fitting appointment