A bralette is a lightweight bra without an underwire, designed primarily for comfort.[1][2] Bralettes are also sometimes worn as outerwear top,[1] and are also designed as undershirts for girls developing breasts.[3] The size of the bralette also differs from that of a bra: Instead of band width and cup size, normal clothing sizes are commonly used (S-XL or even larger).[4]
Popularity
editIn the 2010s and early 2020s, bralettes and soft bras started gaining in popularity, at the expense of underwired and padded bras.[5][1] Some brands such as Victoria's Secret failed to follow this trend and adjust, as a result of which their sales decreased significantly.[6] In 2017, the sales of cleavage-enhancing bras fell by 45% while, at Marks & Spencer, sales of wireless bras grew by 40%.[7] Some have attributed the rising popularity of bralettes to a new focus on the "athletic body, health and wellbeing", more than "about the male gaze,"[8] while others suggest a connection to the #MeToo movement.[1]
Bralettes also became popular during the COVID-19 lockdowns due to a focus on comfort while remote working.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Linda Dyett, The Bralette Is Back. This Time Blouses Are Optional, The New York Times, 2019-07-31
- ^ Emma Seymour, 17 Comfortable Bralettes of All Shapes and Sizes to Wear at Home, Good Housekeeping, 2020-05-18
Bernadette Deron, No Underwire Here! You’ll Wish You Bought This Plunge Bralette Sooner, US Magazine, 2020-06-18
Abigail Southan, Best bralettes to shop for women of all bust sizes, Cosmopolitan, 2020-03-27
Tembe Denton-Hurst, This $20 bralette actually supports my big boobs, Nylon - ^ The Playground Set Gets Its Own Bras; URL accessed August 22, 2020.
- ^ Bralette vs. Bra; URL accessed July 29, 2023.
- ^ Georgina Safe, Cup half full: the lingerie brands ditching padding and underwire, The Guardian, 2020-02-06
- ^ VerityJohnson, Woke millennials didn't kill Victoria's Secret, pale stale males did, Stuff, 2020-02-07
- ^ Harriet Walker, Push-up bras prove a bad fit for women in era of #MeToo, The Times, 2018-10-27
- ^ Kate Finnigan, Soft focus: the new lingerie evolution, Financial Times, 2020-07-08
- ^ Alicia Lansom, Trade In Your Underwired Bra For Something A Little More Comfortable, Refinery29, 2020-04-19