I used to boycott bras at home. If I wasn’t on a Zoom call, I wasn’t wearing a bra. As a 44DDD, it was all or nothing for me — I had to wear an underwire to hoist the girls up or go commando up top, and if I wore an underwire all day, even the most “comfortable” bra would dig into my rib cage. I could feel it every time I moved, making it impossible to ever really relax or lounge around. I tried a few different brands of “bralettes for busty women” and all of them failed me. Gravity fought against me, and though comfortable, these wireless bras barely held me up. Oftentimes they were too thin or not lined enough so my nipples showed through the material — and sometimes my clothes — and there was no support or lift to wear them outside my apartment. Since they were basically the same as wearing no bra at all, I had a mental ban on bralettes, wireless bras, and anything that could fit into those categories … until I found Lane Bryant’s Lightly Lined Lounge Bra.
I was trying to find something with the support of an underwire bra that didn’t feel like a bra — a fairy-tale middle ground between no bra and a wired bra. My first stop was Lane Bryant. It was the only truly inclusive store in my small hometown that I could shop at, which is a sad truth for a lot of plus-size teens, but I’ve been wearing its bras exclusively since then and appreciate the attention to detail for protecting larger busts. (Like this button-down shirt that doesn’t make me accidentally flash people!)
The option with the most glowing reviews was the Lightly Lined Lounge Bra. I scrolled back two years into the reviews and was fully convinced by a woman named Meg, who titled her comments “GIVE YOUR BOOBS A HUG.” Her pitch was that this bra is “the perfect middle ground between no bra and full underwire support. Go to the mailbox, run to the store, and not be self-conscious about things flapping around. Absolutely nothing digs in anywhere. And the straps stay put!”
Over the past two years, Meg has been proved right time and again. This bra doesn’t have any hooks that dig into my skin; it actually just slips over my head as easily as a T-shirt. Yet somehow, magically, the molding of the cups, the thick band underneath the bust (that isn’t too tight or constricting), and the supportive straps give real lift and cleavage. This isn’t an up-to-your-chin push-up bra or anything, but it’s flattering with modest enough coverage for women of any age. The straps are thick, and their length adjusts in the front, so if the bra isn’t offering quite enough lift for you, it’s easy to adjust without taking off or having to try to reach behind your shoulder awkwardly.
I haven’t tried to exercise thoroughly in this bra, but I’ve taken my dog, Miso, on daily walks, jumped around at a concert, traveled across the country, and even filmed TV shows wearing this. It has no spillage in the front or sideboob but instead cradles everything with a soft, stretchy, yet supportive material. If you’re showing off skin where that supportive material rides up, however, it will show. So far, only three outfits haven’t worked with this bra — and those are the three times in the past two years I’ve worn a “real” underwire bra.
I love it so much that I just bought three more and am even contemplating throwing out all my old bras and replacing them with only these. They’re the next best thing to wearing nothing, and I like knowing I’ll look damn good while in full lounge mode 24/7/365.
Some more wireless bras for large breasts that we've written about
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