Adhesive / Stick-On Bra

An adhesive bra has no band, no straps and no back. It is two cups, usually silicone or foam faced with fabric, lined on the inside with a skin-safe adhesive that holds them to the breast. Many have a clasp at the center front that pulls the cups together for a little cleavage; others are sold as two separate pieces. Washing restores the tack, and the cups last a limited number of wears.

It is the answer for necklines and backs that rule out every other bra: backless, halter, plunging or sheer clothes. Support is minimal and depends on the adhesive, so it suits small and medium busts best, and heat, sweat and body lotion all shorten the hold. It is an occasion piece, not daily wear.

The modern form came out of silicone. Bragel International of Pomona, California, which had made silicone gel breast enhancers since 1989, launched the NuBra in 2002 as a strapless, backless, self-supporting bra. Its pressure-sensitive adhesive regenerates its tack after washing, and the company quotes up to 100 uses.

A backless bra keeps a band, dropped low on the back; an adhesive bra has none. A strapless bra keeps a full band with hooks. If anything goes round the body, it is not an adhesive bra.

Moisturizer ruins more adhesive bras than sweat does. The adhesive needs bare, clean skin to grip, and a trace of body lotion, deodorant or powder left from the morning is enough to make a cup start peeling before the evening has started.

Silicone cups or disposable lifts

Two quite different products share the name, and it helps to know which one you are buying.

• Reusable silicone cups. Shaped cups of silicone, often in a polyurethane skin, with a silicone adhesive on the inside and usually a clasp at the center front. Fashion Forms sells its Amazing Silicone Bra this way, in cup sizes A to C. These give shape and a little cleavage, and they can be peeled off and repositioned.
• Disposable lift tapes. Thin cups or petals of nonwoven fabric with a medical-grade adhesive, worn once and thrown away. Fashion Forms makes a version in sizes A to DD. They hold tissue up rather than shaping it, and they are thinner under fitted fabric.

Fabric-faced stick-on bras sit in between. Love Bonito, for example, makes a backless stick-on bra in a polyamide and elastane knit.

If your cup size is above the top of the range, a stick-on bra is the wrong tool. A backless bra, which keeps a band dropped low on the back, will hold far more.

Skin prep and placement

Fashion Forms' instructions are a useful baseline. Start with clean, dry skin, free of moisturizers, soaps, powders, deodorants and perfume. Do your body lotion the night before, or skip it on the chest that day.

For silicone cups, apply each half to the outer, lower part of the breast first, angled slightly outward, then press it smooth toward the center and clip the two halves together. The angle is what makes the cleavage: the more outward you place the cups before clipping, the more they pull together.

For disposable lifts, press the lower edge under the breast, then lift and smooth upward. Smooth out every air bubble with your fingertips; a wrinkle in the adhesive is where peeling starts.

Patch test first. Wear the bra for a short spell before an event that will last hours, and do not put it on sensitive or sunburned skin. Fashion Forms tells wearers never to keep one on overnight, and to stop using it and rinse the skin with clean water if irritation starts.

Dresses that justify one

Adhesive cups are for clothes that rule out everything else: open backs cut to the waist, halter necks with a bare back, deep plunges, and one-shoulder or cut-out dresses where any band or strap would show. They suit small and medium busts, events of a few hours and indoor or cool settings.

They suit hot outdoor weddings badly, as do dancing all night, sheer fabrics where the cup's outline shows, and full busts. For a strapless dress with a closed back, a proper strapless bra supports better; the adhesive vs strapless bra comparison goes through when each wins.

Making the tack last

Peel silicone cups off slowly, starting at the outer edge and rolling them back, rather than pulling straight out. Wash the inside by hand with mild soap and water, then let the cups air-dry face up. Never rub the adhesive with a towel, which leaves lint stuck to it.

Once dry, put the original clear protective film back on before storing. Fashion Forms says that keeping the film is what preserves the adhesive between wears. Store the cups flat in their box, not loose in a drawer where the adhesive picks up dust and fluff. When a clean, dry cup no longer grips, it has reached the end of its life; no washing method brings it back for good.