Halter Bra

In a halter bra the straps hang from the neck. They run up from the top of each cup and either tie or clip behind the neck or join into one strap that loops round it, leaving the shoulders and upper back bare. The band still circles the ribcage and, as in any bra, does most of the work.

Cups range from soft triangles to molded underwired styles. Adjustment usually happens at the neck, with a tie, slider or hook.

The style matches halter-neck dresses and tops, where shoulder straps would show. It suits small and medium busts best. On a heavy bust the load on the back of the neck can become uncomfortable over a long day, and many full-bust wearers use a strapless or convertible bra under halter clothes instead. In swimwear the halter is one of the standard bikini top shapes, often on triangle cups tied at the neck and the back.

A convertible bra in its halter setting looks the same in a photo. A dedicated halter has fixed neck straps and no spare loops on the cups or band. A triangle bra often uses halter ties in swimwear, but its defining feature is the triangular cup, not the route of the strap.

A halter bra moves part of the job from the shoulders to the back of the neck, and that one change decides who will be comfortable in it. If the band does its work, the neck strap only steadies the cups. If the band is loose, the neck takes the weight, and you will feel it by mid afternoon.

Getting the weight off your neck

The fix is in the band, not the neck tie. A bra's support comes mainly from the band around the ribcage, so a halter needs a band that is firm and level from the start. Fasten it, then raise both arms over your head: if the band slides up at the back, go down a band size. Only then adjust the neck, just tight enough to stop the cups tipping forward.

Common faults, and what they mean:

• The neck strap leaves a red line. The band is too loose or the cups are too small, so the neck is carrying the bust.
• The cups gape at the top. The neck is pulled too tight and is dragging the cups upward and inward.
• The strap slides off the back of the neck. The tie is set too long, or the cups sit too far apart for your frame.

Small and medium busts get away with almost any halter. Above a D or DD cup, many wearers find that a strapless or convertible bra in its halter setting is easier over a long day, because a convertible usually has a stronger band and wire built for strapless wear.

Tie, clasp or single loop

Each fastening suits a different body and occasion. A tie adjusts by fractions of an inch and copes with any neck length, but the knot can show under a high halter and loosen with movement. A hook or clasp is quicker and sits flat, though its adjustment range is shorter. A single loop that goes over the head is the neatest and least adjustable; buy it only if the length fits you as sold. For longer necks or long torsos, a tie or slider gives you the extra room.

The dresses it was made for

The halter neckline has a long run in fashion. Madeleine Vionnet used it in the 1930s, most famously on her 1936 Carnival dress, a bias-cut silk halter bodice now in the Metropolitan Museum. Marilyn Monroe's white halter dress in The Seven Year Itch in 1955 fixed the shape in the public mind, and Halston's matte jersey halter dresses defined the 1970s disco look.

All of those leave the shoulders bare, which is why a regular bra fails under them. A halter bra works under halter-neck dresses, cut-in sleeveless tops that show the shoulder joint, racer-front knits and sundresses with a neck tie. It does not solve a low back: the band still crosses the ribcage at the usual height, so for a dress cut to the waist at the back look at a backless bra instead.

In swimwear

Swimwear is where the halter is everywhere. Bikini tops that tie at the neck are standard from small to large sizes, and full-bust brands treat the halter as a support shape, not only a fashion one. Freya, whose range runs from a B to an O cup, sells halter bikini tops such as its Arizona Wave line. If you are torn between a fixed halter bra and a multiway one, the halter vs convertible bra comparison sets out the trade-offs.

Care for neck ties

Neck ties fray and twist faster than shoulder straps because they are knotted every wear. Untie fully before washing, wash by hand or in a mesh bag, and dry flat so the elastic in the band keeps its grip.