Why every woman needs a bralette
Super-comfy, stylish, and now (hallelujah!) supportive enough for bigger boobs, too
My first encounter with a soft bra, circa 1989, took place as a 12-year-old in our dismal (long since closed) local department store.
surrounded by bargain bins and flammable nylon, i was shovelled into a hideous white ‘training bra’ by a brusque lady brandishing a measuring tape.
Oh, how i longed to graduate to grown-up glamour! Which, to my tweenage mind, meant underwiring (it was the Wonderbra era).
Little did i know those first stretchy nylon triangles would go on to become the height of fashion, complete with their own pretty moniker: the bralette.
Once the preserve of teens and pensioners, the soft, non-wired bra is now a huge trend. soft, stretchy jersey and high-tech sports fabrics are the new sexy. if, like me, you’re on the generously endowed side, this sounds blissful, but also a little worrying. My adult life has been spent see-sawing from a pre-pregnancy D-cup up to a G-cup and back down again. No matter how well-fitting the bra, by the end of the day i’m unclasping it before i’m over the doorstep, ribcage crying for freedom from that wiring.
so can the new soft bras provide a flattering shape and adequate support for the heftier-boobed? yes, if you choose the right style. A deep band and wide straps are a must, like Wacoal’s tomato-red lace style and sloggi’s peach design. Commando’s longline bralette, with wide straps and a higher cut, is ideal for stronger support. Marks & spencer’s longline yellow floral bra is pretty enough to peek out from under a denim shirt.
i’ll slip in to Panache’s cobalt bralette — reassuringly bra-like, with seamed cups, but oh-so-comfy.