You don’t have to pick a lane, declare allegiance, or choose a side. All bra-wearers can enjoy wearing both underwire and wirefree bra styles. In fact, I’m highly recommending it!
Both styles are comfortable. Both styles have their pros and cons. So, when deciding which style to wear and when, base it primarily on your activity, wardrobe need and desired physical appearance. Also, if you have a favorite underwire bra style, there’s a likely chance it’s been adapted into a wirefree version as well (read on).
Underwire Pros and Cons
Pros
• The most supportive • Gives more breast support with less coverage • Breasts rest higher giving a more youthful and thinner appearance • Supportive plunge bra styles only available with underwires • Can create cleavage and upper-breast fullness • The most beautiful and embellished bras are made with underwires • Larger cup sizes get better back and shoulder support
Cons
• Do not come in all bra sizes: cup size limitations around the 50-band size and only go up to size 54(D4) at HerRoom • Requires a more exact fit
If you find underwire bras uncomfortable, you are simply in the wrong bra size, or perhaps, bra style. Once you are in a correctly fitting underwire bra, it is absolutely comfortable. And the superstitions that underwires cause breast cancer or that they should be avoided while nursing have both been debunked.
Wirefree Pros and Cons
Pros
• A more relaxed and less defined fit • Breast shape looks more natural and without enhancement • Fabric and manufacturing technology advances have improved their ability to support and shape more • Best choice to sleep in • More bra styles now are available wireless: sports bras, minimizers, t-shirt bras, bandeau, and beyond • Made in a greater upper range of sizes: 50-band size goes up to cup size D11 and as high as a 58-band size with D7 cup sizing at HerRoom
Cons
• Requires more body coverage, so cleavage is usually masked • Very few plunge styles • Perceived comfort is primarily due to lowering the breasts’ resting location • Many come without a back or front closure so are challenging to put on and take off • Lower hanging breasts look aging and can mask your waist, thus giving you a heavier appearance
Many wirefree styles have minimal construction and come in t-shirt sizing (S, M, L). Their simplicity of construction tends to provide a “good enough” fit rather than a great one. Breasts allowed to hang in a minimally or unsupported state causes Cooper’s ligaments (which hold your breasts in place on your chest) to stretch. No exercise can shorten them once they are stretched out.
You Can Have It Both Ways
When I’m at work, or going out, I’m wearing an underwire. When gardening, biking, Pilates, or just changed into something super comfortable, I’m wirefree – and that includes wearing a camisole with a built-in shelf bra. My point here is to wear the bra type warranted by your activities. Underwires give you a boost under a sexy black dress. But go wireless when lounging or running errands. Having both bra options lets you look and feel your best.
Top Sellers With a Wireless Version
Here are some examples of best-selling underwire bras that also come in a wirefree version. If you love your underwire bra, it’s an excellent bet you’ll also enjoy wearing its wireless version too.
The same holds true for top-selling sports bras. Many of our sports bra manufacturers offer both an underwire and wirefree version of their best-selling sports bras.
As I stated in the beginning, you don’t have to pick one or the other – you can choose both. The most important element to consider is more about the bra’s fit. A bra that doesn’t fit you properly will be uncomfortable regardless of whether or not it has underwires.
Final Thoughts…
Every summer our swimwear is exposed to sun, seawater, chlorine, and other potentially damaging substances that make colors fade faster. Remember to wash your swimwear regularly to keep it looking fresh. Rinse your suit as soon as you take it off in cool or lukewarm water. Wash by hand – no washer – and rinse immediately without having it soak. Do not wring it out but rather lay it out flat and allow it to air dry in the shade. Never put it in a dryer.
Fun fact: The Wacoal Embrace Lace 65191 above is on full display by Emma Thompson in “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande” which is currently streaming on Hulu.
Yikes! & Yeahs!
While wirefree bras have a more forgiving fit than their underwire sisters, they still need to fit properly in order to be the most comfortable. Can you detect the troublesome fit details that are keeping these models from wireless bra bliss?
Fondly,
Tomima
Founder & CEO