ZOE: 32B tells you the band size and the cup size of that bra in that brand, but it really doesn’t tell you anything else about how it’s going to feel on your body, or whether it’s going to be suited to your unique shape and proportions and all that.
CAIRA: I’m Caira Blackwell.
ROSIE: I’m Rosie Guerin, and you’re listening to The Wirecutter Show.
ROSIE: Hey, there. Before we jump into today’s show, I want to let you know about a special offer. If you’re not already a subscriber to the New York Times, you can now explore the Times for free. No paywalls during your first month in the New York Times app. You can find all of your favorite shows like, I don’t know, this show, Modern Love, Cannonball, and more on the new shows tab. Okay, let’s get into it.
ROSIE: Hey, Caira.
CAIRA: Hi, Rosie.
ROSIE: Today we’re talking about something that Wirecutter has covered forever and is consistently popular. I feel like you probably know what this is.
CAIRA: Ooh, something in the kitchen section.
ROSIE: It’s bras.
CAIRA: Oh, duh. It is really hard to find a good bra, and it makes total sense that people come to Wirecutter to try and figure that out because there’s so much you have to know.
ROSIE: For the longest time, I assumed that you only could buy bras that actually fit you in a store, that you would have to go in, get measured, find someone with the knowledge to help you. It’s definitely not easy. We’ve got an expert here on staff who spent years covering bras. Her name is Zoe Vanderweide. She’s a senior staff writer, and she joined us not too long ago to talk swimsuits. We love Zoe. She spent hours going deep into Reddit threads, talking with bra makers, and recruiting testers of all shapes and sizes, and colors and creeds.
CAIRA: Totally. And that’s why she’s not just going to run through all the picks that she recommends in that guide, which you should go read, but she is going to walk us through what bras are supposed to do and how they’re supposed to fit, and how to find one that really works for you no matter what size or style you’re looking for.
ROSIE: It’s going to be educational, find out what your bra can do for you. We’re going to take a quick break and then we’ll be back with Zoe Vanderweide.
CAIRA: Welcome back. With us now is Zoe Vanderweide, a senior staff writer on our style team. Zoe has written our guides to women’s jeans, t-shirts, underwear, and swimsuits, and for this guide, she’s tested over 35 bras.
ROSIE: That’s a lot of bras. Welcome back, Zoe. Good to see you.
ZOE: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
ROSIE: Okay. Let’s start with a very, very basic question, a softball. Most people who wear a bra know it’s supposed to offer support. What do you think people don’t understand about what a bra can really do? What can your bra do for you?
ZOE: Well, like you said, of course the bra provides support and comfort, which is especially important if you have larger, heavier breasts, but it can do lots of other things. A bra can provide some extra nipple coverage. It can provide shaping, whether that’s kind of creating a more rounded shape, a more lifted shape, a more projected, that means up and forward-facing shape.
ROSIE: Up and out.
ZOE: Yup. And it can also just make your clothes fit better. For someone with smaller breasts it could help to enhance, whether that’s through a pushup or padding. It could also, for someone with larger boobs, help to minimize a larger bust. Many women with a larger bust will recognize the struggle of trying to wear a button up shirt that gapes in the front, so a minimizer can help with that kind of thing. A bra can also help to create symmetry. If you have noticeable asymmetry on your breasts, it can create a smoother appearance, not just on your breast, but also around your back. So there’s a lot of things that a bra does for you.
ROSIE: Yeah, it can mop your floors. It can-
CAIRA: I was going to say the same thing. It just changes your whole life, it sounds like, if you get a good one.
ROSIE: It can braid your hair.
CAIRA: So why is it so hard for people to find a bra that they like or get a good fit?
ZOE: Well, it’s the unfortunate truth that a lot of bras are just uncomfortable, and that’s partly because many of them are just not well-designed or well-constructed. But it’s also because there are lots of great bras out there that still feel uncomfortable for people, and that’s because a lot of folks are just not wearing the right bra for their unique breast size and shape, and for their personal preferences. There’s a lot more to consider beyond just your band and your cup size that impacts how a bra fits you and feels on your body, and that includes the shape of your breasts, the way your breast tissue is distributed across your chest. Your life stage, that includes your age, hormonal changes, your lifestyle, how active you are, what kind of clothes you’re wearing, and your sensory preferences, like how loose or tight do you like things to fit you? Are you sensitive to certain materials? Do seams and tags, and little itchy things bother you? Does an underwire feel supportive for you or does it feel terrible? There’s a lot of things to consider.
CAIRA: And you don’t get all of that information in a 32B label, right? You have to really try them on to figure out what you’re getting and how it fits on you.
ZOE: Yeah, you definitely don’t. I mean, that 32B tells you the band size and the cup size of that bra in that brand, but it really doesn’t tell you anything else about how it’s going to feel on your body, or whether it’s going to be suited to your unique shape and proportions and all that.
ROSIE: Zoe, what are the things you’d recommend people know or learn about their breasts, their body, before shopping for a bra? As an example, I think I didn’t consider asymmetry.
ZOE: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there’s a lot that you can kind of observe about yourself that will help you come into bra shopping more prepared. For example, is there more fullness on the top or on the bottom? Are they a close-set or are they wide set? Which way are your nipples pointing? Like you said, are they asymmetrical? Is one bigger than the other? Are they more projected? That is pointing more forward, or are they more spread out? And of course, the size of your breasts is also very important to know. You can also think about it in terms of the common fit issues that you encounter, and this may be an easier way for some folks to kind of wrap their head around this, because it can get very technical when you’re talking about the shape and distribution of your breasts. How tall are your roots? You know, like-
ROSIE: You know what, Zoe? Thank you for asking because no one ever asks me that.
ZOE: Right?
ROSIE: What does that actually mean?
ZOE: Okay. So when we talk about your roots, we’re talking about how your breasts are placed on your chest. So if you have tall roots, your breasts are going to come up higher onto your chest. If you have wide roots, then your breasts spread out farther across your chest. There’s just a lot of different terminology that most people don’t use, so it’s honestly not helpful for most people. But I think a way that people can kind of assess how their breasts compare, because you only have … For the most part, you’re looking at yourself and you’re not really thinking about like, “Well, my roots are taller than average,” or something. Right? But you can kind of think about it in terms of the fit issues that you encounter when you’re shopping.
So for example, do your boobs spill out the top of cups? That might mean that you have taller roots, i.e. that your breast tissue is extending high up on your chest. Maybe you often have gaping at the top of the cup, which means you have the opposite, you have shorter roots. If your breasts are wider, you might find that sometimes under wires will dig into the side under your armpit. So when you think about it in terms of that, you can kind of get an idea of where your breasts fall in terms of what bra manufacturers are thinking of as the target boob.
ROSIE: It sounds like just the more information you can gather, appearance, feel, some of these fit issues, the better prepared you’ll be to communicate your wants and needs if you go into a store?
ZOE: Yeah. I mean, I think you should be able to describe your breasts, and you should be able to describe the things about bras that don’t work for you.
ROSIE: Are there any resources people can look to if you’re trying to gather more field research about your breasts?
ZOE: There are a lot of resources online that can be very helpful. There’s a subreddit called A Bra That Fits. That’s a real treasure trove of information. It’s been around for a while and there’s a lot of information on it, so it can be a little bit overwhelming. But if you want to get really into the nitty-gritty and hear from other people and their experiences, there’s a lot of great expertise to be found on that subreddit. There’s also retailers that offer helpful guides on how to measure yourself, what types of bras work best for different breast shapes, things like that. There’s a retailer called Her Room that has a nice guide on their site. So there’s lots of stuff you can find online. I mean, the gold standard would be to get fitted by a professional bra fitter in person, especially at a store that sells multiple different brands.
CAIRA: So not like a Victoria’s Secret where you go into the-
ROSIE: Yeah.
ZOE: Right, because then you’re going to get their specific sizing convention. And what’s really nice is to have somebody who’s just deeply expert in the whole industry, in the whole field of offerings. You should do it at least once, especially if you’ve ever had issues finding a bra that’s comfy for you, because it really is an area where these people have a ton of expertise and can give you really personalized specific pointers. And for brands to produce that number of sizes, imagine producing all the way from 28AA up to a 50O or something and with every single-
ROSIE: Design, color.
ZOE: And also with every single cup size paired with every single band size.
ROSIE: Oh, right.
ZOE: The number of permutations, it doesn’t scale well. It’s a difficult thing to invest in. So what bra companies typically do is they try to make sizes that can kind of conform to a variety of bodies, but they don’t do it perfectly, and that’s why people have such a hard time finding bras that fit them because they’re kind of taking like a, “Well, this is like a guesstimate of what’s going to kind of fit you,” rather than, “This is your actual specific size that is tailor-made for you and how your breasts sit on your body.”
CAIRA: Zoe, I learned a lot about the different parts of the bra and what they’re supposed to do just by reading your guide. So can you tell us what the different parts are, what we should know about them, and how they should properly fit? And I want to just start with the band. What is the purpose of the band of the bra?
ZOE: Yeah. So first of all, when we are talking about the band of the bra, which is the band that goes around your ribcage, we’re generally also talking about a part of the bra that we call the wings. Those are the panels of fabric that kind of wrap around the sides under your arms and around the back. So I’m going to kind of use those words interchangeably. But the band of the bra is where most of the support from the garment is coming from. This is really … It’s not as many people think coming from the straps, it’s mostly coming from the band. And for that reason, it’s really important to have a well-fitting band and a band that is snug enough around your ribcage.
So some signs that your band might be too big would be like you turn around and see that the back of the bra is kind of riding up. It’s higher in the back than it is in the front or if you’re able to fit more than a few fingers between your skin and the band. And on the other hand, a too tight band can be really uncomfortable as well. It can just feel too tight. It’ll leave marks or irritation on your skin. But in general, especially if you have bigger or heavier boobs or you just feel like you need more support, you kind of want to have the snuggest band that you personally feel comfy in. In general, a wider band is going to provide more support than a skinny one. If you have big boobs, you probably want a band that has at least three rows of hooks in the back.
ROSIE: How about the straps, Zoe? I would’ve imagined that the straps of the bra would be doing a lot of the supportive work. Is that true?
ZOE: Yeah, I mean the straps do provide some of the lifting and support. If you’re looking for the most support, you’re going to want a wider strap in general that’s going to provide more support and feel more comfortable. A thinner strap, you might find digs into the top of your shoulder. Usually when your straps are digging in that either means that they’re too thin, or that you need to adjust or loosen the straps, or just that the bra itself, the band, is not doing a great job with supporting your breasts. The placement of the strap also can affect how supportive and lifting they are. A racerback, which is like the crisscross shape in the back, is generally going to feel more supportive. Straps that are kind of like … Imagine that the back of the bra, the straps are shaped like a U, like a ballet leotard, so that’s one of the more supportive strap configurations as well. Whereas wider set straps, like on a balconette bra or something like that, are just not going to be as lifting and supportive.
CAIRA: What about cups? What do we need to know about cups?
ZOE: So the cups are the part of the bra that actually contains your breasts, and you want the shape and the construction of those cups to be a good fit for what you want and what your breasts are like. One thing that we talk about with cups is how deep or shallow they are. Deeper cups are going to be better for larger breasts, or if you have pendulous breasts or more projected breasts, whereas shallower cups are going to be better for breasts where the tissue is more spread out across your chest or for smaller breasts. There’s also, when we talk about cups, there are different cup constructions that do different things well. So some cups are constructed as a single molded piece that kind of provides that gentle rounded shape that a lot of people like. Other cups are a single piece, but they’re just kind of like unstructured, stretchy fabric, and those kinds of cups are going to conform to your body and offer a more kind of natural-looking shape.
And then there are also pieced cups, which are especially good for larger breasts. They can also be really cute in fancy lingerie, but you’re talking about cups typically with three different panels. What those do is they really create that 3D shape and space for a larger breast. They help to kind of coax the breast tissue into a more forward and lifted position, and they can provide better support for heavier boobs. And really what’s best is going to depend totally on the size and shape of your breasts and your personal preferences, and just kind of the look that you’re hoping to achieve.
ROSIE: Is there anything we should know about padding an underwire? I see underwire still available out there. Do people love it? What’s the deal?
ZOE: In general, an underwire bra is going to be more supportive than a wireless bra. There are some exceptions to the rule. We have thankfully found some really great, pretty supportive wireless bras. However, a lot of people, especially people with larger breasts will say that they’re just not going to get the same level of support from a wireless bra that they do from an underwire bra. On the other hand, there’s lots of folks who just really dislike the feel of an underwire. It can dig in. As the bra wears out, sometimes the wire even starts to poke out and poke you, which is really unpleasant, obviously. I am nine months pregnant, so I’m in a wire-free era. There’s not even space for a wire between my boobs and my belly right now. In terms of padding, I’m personally not a big fan of padding, but some people are. It just provides, either if it’s placed at the bottom of the bra, it can provide a little lift, like a pushup, or it can also just provide some shaping or additional coverage for nipples or a more rounded profile, which some people like.
CAIRA: Are there any parts of the bra that we haven’t talked about yet, particularly parts that people really don’t think about?
ZOE: Yeah, there’s the part that is right between the cups, that kind of little flat piece that sits between the cups is called the gore. And the way that the gore fits on you can tell you a lot about how the bra as a whole is fitting on you. So on a well-fitting bra that gore should be sitting flush against your chest. It should not be digging into your breast tissue. It shouldn’t feel like it’s too high. It shouldn’t feel like it’s pushing your boobs apart. If it’s digging in, that’s a common issue if you have closer set breasts. If it’s digging in, that means that the gore is either too high or it’s too wide for your shape, or that just the band itself of the bra is too small. On the other hand, if it’s floating away from your body, that could mean that your band is too loose. It could also mean that your cups are too small.
So you want to pay attention to how that gore is lying on your chest. I mean, in terms of other features, you want to have adjustable straps, which is important, one, to customize your fit when you first get your bra, and then also to keep it fitting well as it ages. As the elastic wears out, the bra will continue to fit you for longer. Kind of by the same token, bra bands have three columns of hooks to adjust the band tightness as the bra ages and stretches. That adjustability helps a single bra size fit more bodies, but it also helps that single bra fit your body as the bra ages.
CAIRA: So how does somebody figure out their bra size? This seems to be tricky for a lot of people. Do you have to get fitted in real life? Is that the only way to tell?
ZOE: I don’t think that you have to get fitted in real life. I think it’s definitely a great thing to do, especially if you’ve struggled with finding bras that fit, but you can absolutely do it on your own at home. Bras are sized with two key pieces of information, one is your band size and two is your cup size. The band is the part that fits just under your breasts. This measurement should be taken snugly around your rib cage. Typically, bands are offered in sizes 30 to 44-ish inches, although there are brands that offer more inclusive size ranges from, as small as a 28 to as large as a 50, 52. And then cups, you take that measurement around the fullest part of your bust, and you should take that measurement looser than you take the band measurement. You should be able to inhale, exhale when you’re doing that measurement. Cups, typically you’ll see ranges from an A or double A up to an F or a G, but there are brands that offer cup sizes up to an M or an O. That’s kind of the basics.
But the reality of it is that finding your size is pretty complicated because brands do not really offer super consistent sizing. You could be one size in one brand, and a totally different size in another brand. And then the other reason is that we have different ways of measuring size, and this is the one that really gets me, and I think is really confusing for a lot of people. But basically there are two ways that people commonly measure their bra size. One is the way that I learned when I was a teenager, which is that you take your snug under bust measurement and then you add four, or if it’s an odd number, you add five. So if I measure 32 inches under my bust, then I add four and I get 36, and that’s my band size. And then I’m going to take a measurement across the fullest part of my bust. Let’s say it measures 39 inches, 39 minus 36 is three, which corresponds to an A, B, C. It’s very convoluted.
So there’s that method, or what a lot of professionals will tell you is a better way of doing it is to take that under bust measurement, and that’s your band measurement, and then take your full bust measurement and subtract to find your cup size. So that same 36C could also be fitted as a 32G, and those sizes sound very, very different.
ROSIE: Yeah.
ZOE: And a lot of bra brands really favor the 36C, that former sizing convention, because it means they have to make fewer sizes.
ROSIE: Right.
ZOE: When you start looking more into higher end or specialty brands, especially brands that are really great for larger busts, then you’re going to start seeing more of those sizes that sound more unusual to us, like 32G. There’s a good amount of trial and error that comes with this. So once you have this information about your measurements, it really comes down to the brands and your own body shape and comfort. My best recommendation would be to know your measurements, and then with that information, look at the brand that you’re shopping, look at their size chart, see what they recommend, and then to order a couple different sizes because you really just have to try it on.
CAIRA: Okay. We’re going to take a quick break, and when we’re back, we’re going to give Zoe some scenarios and she’s going to recommend specific bra types and brands.
ROSIE: Welcome back. Today, our guest is Zoe Vanderweide. We’re talking about shopping for comfortable bras that actually fit you.
CAIRA: That’s right. So Zoe, we have some questions about how to take care of bras. But first, you need to find one that you actually like. We want to run through some scenarios with you and have you suggest the bra or bra brand that you would recommend. Are you ready?
ZOE: You bet.
CAIRA: So what if you’re someone who feels like it’s hard to find a bra that fits and thinks they may be in between standard sizes?
ZOE: Okay, this is a good one. So we have one recommendation in our guide from a brand called ThirdLove. This is the only brand that we’ve tested that offers half cup sizing, so literally you could be an A and a half, a B and a half, a C and a half. This has been a game-changer for lots of our testers. So that would be my recommended starting point for that person.
ROSIE: How about someone with large breasts who really hates underwires, but feels like the traditional wireless, I think as you referred to it, isn’t supportive enough?
ZOE: Yeah. Well, we actually have an amazing recommendation in our guide for this very person. It’s from a brand called Evelyn Bobbie, and it is their Defy Bra, zero wires, very smooth, like buttery smooth feeling fabric, and it’s surprisingly supportive. I ran a test panel with only testers with double D and larger breasts, and everyone was pretty astounded at how well-supported they felt by this bra. So I would look at that one. It’s a little pricey.
ROSIE: What do we mean by pricey?
ZOE: It’s like 90 bucks or something, which is a lot for a wireless bra. However, it’s a bit of a unicorn. I had testers telling me like, “I never thought I could wear a wireless bra. With my breast size, I didn’t think that was possible.” And now I get it, I know what all the … all my-
ROSIE: The hype is about.
ZOE: All my friends with small boobs are talking about how great it is. So if that’s something you’re interested in, check that out.
CAIRA: Next we have someone who wants a sexy lacy bra.
ZOE: We have a couple sexy lacy numbers in our guide. We have this gorgeous, very expensive bra from Journelle that’s made with really beautiful floral lace. That’s a gorgeous bra. It’s really best for smaller busts, smaller frames. The band sizing only goes up to a size 36. We also have a really beautiful lace pick from a brand called Panache, which is a brand that specializes in bras for larger cup sizes. It’s super supportive. A lot of people with bigger boobs have complaints about not having cute styles to choose from, but this one’s really cute, really flattering. It go up to a size M. And we also have a really cute and more sort of minimalist mesh bra from Negative, which is the Negative Sieve Bra. And that one, it’s not frilly and lacy, but it’s kind of like a more modern take on the sexy bra.
ROSIE: Nice.
ZOE: And that one is really nice, especially for folks with, I would say, small to medium-sized boobs.
ROSIE: I think we would be remiss not to ask you about someone who’s breastfeeding and needs access to their nipples with ease, but I’m pretty sure there’s a guide for that. Is that right?
ZOE: There is a guide for that and I didn’t write it. So I’m actually not the number one expert on the nursing bras, but we have a guide for it, which is excellent. I will also say that if you don’t feel like buying a separate nursing bra, at least in the beginning, you could try out using some of your existing stretchy bras. If that ends up feeling cumbersome, you go to our guide for the nursing bras. But for example, I have the Harper Wilde Triangle Bralette, which is a bra that I love, and it’s very stretchy, and you can pull it aside, and I plan on giving that a shot at the beginning of nursing. So we’ll see.
ROSIE: How about somebody with small to medium breasts who want something comfortable to maybe wear around the house or on errands, but not out-out?
ZOE: Well, so I’ll go back and reference that same bra that I was just talking about, the Harper Wilde Triangle Bra. It’s like a personal favorite of mine. It’s wireless, buttery, it’s soft, it’s smooth, and it has a really cute triangle shape that … unlike a lot of wireless bras, it doesn’t give you a heinous uniboob.
CAIRA: What if you are someone who’s older and worried about visible lumps and bumps from their skin being squeezed by a bra?
ZOE: Well, we have one recommendation that kind of jumps to mind here, which is the Wacoal Back Appeal Bra. This one is great for larger breasts. I think it comes in sizes C to, I’m not sure the upper limit, but it doesn’t come in cup sizes under a C. But this one is great because it has these really high wings, which again are the part of the band that wrap under your arm and around your back, that are made from this wonderfully smoothing fabric that evens out any lumps or bumps, is extremely comfy and supportive. It’s full coverage. So that would be the bra I’d probably recommend.
ROSIE: People are going to ask about a sports bra or bras for people who do a lot of high-impact exercise. We have a guide for that.
ZOE: We have a guide for that. I’ve never done a high-impact exercise in my life, so I-
ROSIE: It will not … The byline will not say Zoe Vanderweide. How about someone on a budget looking for a simple bra?
ZOE: My favorite kind of go-to brand for inexpensive but really great bras is Harper Wilde. In addition to that bralette that I love, they also make just like a simple t-shirt bra, which is called the Base Bra. And it has an underwire that’s actually quite unobtrusive, and it has molded cups, and it’s like 50 bucks. It’s pretty reasonably priced. And for that money, it’s comfy, it looks great under most clothes, and it has some cool features. The strap adjusters are on the front, so it’s really easy to adjust the straps. It also has a racerback conversion, so you can wear it with different style tops, and has this cute little crisscross gore detail, which kind of helps the gore sit more flush against your body.
ROSIE: Versatile.
ZOE: Yeah. So I think it’s really great and not too pricey bra.
CAIRA: Okay. Our last scenario is someone who finds it challenging to fasten a bra in the back.
ZOE: This is a good question. So I have read the comments on the guide and I know that readers are interested in bras with front closures. We have not yet done a big round of testing on bras with front closures, so I’m not going to make any specific recommendations here. But if you find it difficult to fasten a bra in the back, you may want to look at front closure bras. The other thing you could do, of course, is to fasten the bra in the front and then rotate it around your body. We also do have some bras without clasps at all, options that you can pull over your head. We also have options that you can step into.
ROSIE: Oh, cool.
ZOE: Which may be easier for some people, may also be harder for some people. So it kind of depends on what you’re working with, but we do plan to consider some front clasp options when we do retesting for the guide.
ROSIE: You’ve thrown out some pricing so far, but how much should we be expecting to spend on this new bra, Zoe? What’s the range?
ZOE: I mean, I would say in general, our picks fall somewhere between 50 and a 100 bucks.
ROSIE: That’s a lot.
ZOE: Cheaper bras obviously are out there. What I have found is that cheaper bras tend to not last as long. If you have bigger boobs, it is unfortunately often worth investing in the pricier bras because you’re just asking your bra to do more, and they are like pieces of engineering. If you think about it that way, you’re asking it to do a lot. If you’re a teenager or if you just have small boobs, you can probably get away with buying cheapie bralettes and living your best life. But this is like a garment that you’re probably going to be wearing a lot. You don’t need that many of them to build a functional bra wardrobe.
CAIRA: But you’re supposed to be washing them after every use, right? So ideally you’d want one for at least every day of the week. No?
ZOE: I don’t think you have to wash your bra after every use.
CAIRA: Okay.
ZOE: I don’t think so. What you should be doing is letting your bra rest after every use. By that, I mean you shouldn’t be wearing the same bra consecutively every day. That’s because almost all bras contain elastane for stretch, and if you continually are stretching it, stretching it, stretching it, it’s going to wear out faster, and it’s going to kind of lose its shape. Whereas if you allow it to rest, if you give it a day to kind of tighten back up, just sitting in your drawer, it’ll feel like it fits better for longer between washes. At the minimum, you want to have like three to four bras in your everyday rotation so that you have one to wear, one to rest, and one to wash.
ROSIE: And how long should we be expecting our bras to last?
ZOE: A lot of the experts out there will say that a bra lasts like a year. I think that’s crazy.
ROSIE: $100 a bra times four-
CAIRA: Four per year.
ROSIE: Every year-
ZOE: Every year.
ROSIE: Is a big bra budget.
ZOE: Yeah. I don’t think that that is realistic for most people. I certainly don’t buy new bras every year. I have bras still kicking that are three and four years old that are totally fine, but it really comes down to taking good care of your bras.
CAIRA: And what does that mean exactly? How do you make them last, other than not wearing them consecutively?
ROSIE: Yeah, you got to let that elastane rest.
ZOE: Yeah, let it rest. So I don’t think you need to wash them after every single wear. Washing clothes wears them out faster. Right? When you do wash your bras, you can really baby them, you can hand wash them with a no rinse detergent, which is like a detergent where you can just put in a cap full and then let your clothes sit in there, swish them around and then take them out. You don’t need to rinse them. You don’t need to agitate them. You don’t need to wring them out. That’s going to be the gentlest method. And then, of course you want to air dry, preferably air dry flat because that’s going to cause the least strain on the fabric. To be perfectly candid, I do not do that with my bras. I’m not so precious with them, but I would say at a minimum, you can machine wash your bras on a gentle cycle in cool water in a bra bag. So that would be mesh delicates bags, and then air dry it, and that will preserve your bras well over time.
The other advice I would give would be when you’re shopping, you always want to buy a bra that has a band that fits you snugly on the loosest setting because that bra band is going to stretch out over time. That’s why they have the three rows of hooks, so that over time, as the fabric stretches out, you can adjust and tighten it. So that will also buy you some time in that bra. Yeah, and then like I said, just having three to four bras in your rotation so that you’re not wearing them consecutively.
CAIRA: Zoe, we’ve made it to our last question. What’s the last thing you bought that you’ve really loved?
ZOE: I recently bought a set of diamond art on Amazon.
ROSIE: Ooh, what is that?
ZOE: So it’s like bedazzling. Basically it’s like a paint by numbers art kit with these tiny, little bedazzly beads that you stick onto it. I like it because it’s meticulous and careful work, but it’s also sort of mindless, like you’re not doing a lot of mental work, but it results in this lovely thing. I’m doing a set with insects, and they’re very sparkly and beautiful, and I’m putting them on a closet door.
CAIRA: That’s really nice.
ROSIE: That sounds lovely.
ZOE: Yeah.
CAIRA: Do you know the name?
ZOE: Probably like [inaudible 00:36:21].
CAIRA: Yeah, Amazon.
ROSIE: The name is Amazon.
ZOE: I’m not saying this is the best version of this product, but it’s a fun product.
ROSIE: Thank you so much for joining us, Zoe.
ZOE: Thank you for having me.
MUX
ROSIE: Caira, Zoe is so great.
CAIRA: She’s so knowledgeable.
ROSIE: So knowledgeable.
CAIRA: I had no idea there was so much to know about bras.
ROSIE: What are you taking from this episode?
CAIRA: Well, maybe it sounds obvious, but it sounds like you really have to know yourself first. You need to know what is going on with your situation before you can even begin to find a bra that fits you. And that might also include you trying a bunch of different styles, maybe different brands because they’re not standardized. So it’s a bit of trial and error.
ROSIE: There’s a lot of variables, yeah. I think one of the most interesting things Zoe shared is the importance of a band that fits. That that actually is even more important in terms of support than the cups or the straps, and I thought that was super interesting. I also thought it was interesting, her recommendations around giving your bras a day off.
CAIRA: Oh, yes.
ROSIE: Giving them that for four-day work week.
CAIRA: Mm-hmm, so you don’t stretch out the band. That was great.
ROSIE: You can’t stretch out the band. That’s it for us. Thank you so much for joining us. If you want to find out more about Zoe’s reporting on bras or anything else she reports on, check out our website and you can find a link to that in the show notes. Caira, talk to you soon.
CAIRA: Bye.
ROSIE: The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by me, Rosie Guerin, and produced by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Today’s episode is mixed by Catherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, Rowan Niemisto, Catherine Anderson, and Diane Wong. Cliff Levy is Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and general manager. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor-in-chief.
CAIRA: I’m Caira Blackwell.
ROSIE: And I’m Rosie Guerin. Thank you for listening.
ZOE: My partner just got me a tattoo machine and I’m going to start learning how to tattoo while I’m on mat leave, and that’s going to be so fun.
ROSIE: Like real tattoos?
ZOE: Yeah.
