Women's Strapless (Bras)

Straps contribute only a share of a bra's support, yet removing them takes away enough that everything else has to get firmer. A strapless answers with a wider, longer band, rigid stays in the side panels to stop the whole thing folding, and a strip of silicone along the top edge that grips skin rather than clothing.

Cups are usually molded and stiffer than you would otherwise choose, because a soft cup collapses with nothing above it. Boning is the detail to check. Two or four flexible stays running vertically through the sides keep the band upright when you lift your arms. Hook rows tend to run three or four deep, which leaves somewhere to go as the elastic relaxes over the year.

Bandeaus look similar and do something else entirely, being a tube of fabric with no cups and no real support. Everyday bras sold with removable straps are not the same purchase either, since their bands are built for strapped wear and slide down the moment the straps come off. Against a normal wired bra in your usual size, a strapless should feel tighter around the ribs and looser nowhere.

Sizing is where most people go wrong. Take a band size down and a cup letter up. That means a 34C becomes a 32D, which keeps the volume the same while giving the band the grip it needs. A few hours in a cool room is the job it does best, since heat and sweat defeat silicone. This makes an outdoor summer wedding the hardest test it faces. Above a DD, expect to need four stays and a band noticeably deeper than a strapped bra's.

Try it standing, then raise both arms overhead and bend forward. Any movement at all means the band is too big, never that the cups are wrong. Silicone that has stopped gripping is usually just dirty, because body lotion and dust dull it. A rinse with mild soap restores most of the hold. Store it fastened and unfolded so the stays stay straight.