Strapless Bra

Without straps, all the work falls to the band. A strapless bra has a firmer, often deeper underband than a strapped bra, side wings that reach further toward the back, and strips of silicone along the top edge or inside the band to grip the skin. The cups are usually molded and underwired, with wires that wrap further round the side of the breast to anchor the cup. Some are cut longer down the ribcage to spread the load.

Fit is less forgiving than with an ordinary bra, and a band that is even slightly loose will slide. Full busts do best in styles with side boning or a longline body. Most strapless bras come with detachable straps for days when bare shoulders are not needed.

Strapless bras appeared in the 1930s, with an early wired design dated to 1934, but they did not become common until the 1950s, when strapless evening gowns, peasant blouses and sundresses made a visible strap look wrong. Flexible boning, set horizontally and vertically, gave those early cups their shape.

A bandeau has no cups, no wire and little support, while a strapless bra is built like a full bra with the straps taken away. An adhesive bra has no band at all and sticks to the skin. A convertible bra is a strapless bra sold with straps and extra attachment points, so the difference between the two is often only the hardware.

Strapless bras are the one style where shoppers are routinely told to cheat their size, and the advice is not always right. Elomi tells customers to wear their true size in its strapless bra rather than going down a band, and to switch to a sister size (one band up, one cup down) only if the back feels too tight. Start from a size that fits in a strapped bra and adjust from there.

The band test before anything else

With no straps, the band holds everything up. Fasten it on the loosest hook and check:

• It sits level and firm, with room for two fingers underneath and no more.
• It does not move when you raise both arms above your head. If it slides down at the front, it is too loose or the cups are too small, so the breast tissue pushes the top edge down.
• The wires sit behind the breast tissue at the sides, not on it. Strapless wires run further round toward the armpit, and they should end against the ribcage.
• The silicone strip at the top grips without leaving a deep groove after an hour.

A useful trick is to try it on with the straps attached, check the fit, then take them off and jump on the spot. If it stays put, it will stay put at dinner.

Above a D cup: what to look for

Larger busts can wear strapless, but the construction has to change. Look for these features:

• Flexible boning in the side seams. Elomi puts flex-bones into its molded strapless bra, made for DD to M cups on 32 to 44 bands.
• Silicone on both edges. Freya's Tailored molded strapless (28 to 38 bands, B to J cups) uses what it calls Stay4Sure gripper elastic.
• A deep band with at least three hooks.

If the bust is very full or the dress is fitted all the way down the torso, a longline bra spreads the load over more of the ribcage and slides less. Both Freya and Elomi sell their strapless styles with detachable multiway straps, so the same bra can go cross-back or halter on other days.

What it goes under, and what it does not

Strapless bras exist for bare shoulders: off-the-shoulder tops, tube tops, strapless and sweetheart gowns, one-shoulder dresses and wide boat necks. They also suit halter tops when you clip the straps on in a halter shape.

They do not solve every problem. The band is still there at the back, so a dress with a low open back will show it. A neckline that plunges below the cup tops will show the cups. For those, an adhesive bra or a backless design does the job; this site compares the options in adhesive vs strapless bras.

Color matters more than usual, since strapless dresses are often thin satin or crepe. A bra close to your skin tone shows less under white or pale fabric than a white bra does.

Keeping the silicone working

The grip depends on clean silicone. Body lotion, oil and powder make the strips slippery, so put lotion on well before dressing, and keep the skin under the top edge dry.

Hand wash in cool water. Elomi's care guide says machine washing weakens elastane and warns against tumble drying, which can also damage wires. Lay the bra flat to dry, never hanging it by the band, and keep the molded cups nested rather than folded. When the silicone stops gripping after washing, or the band has stretched enough that you are on the tightest hook, the bra is finished as a strapless and is better used with its straps on.