The underbelly of the Bra World

How many of you could truly say you love all your bras? Each one, not just that one favourite bra that you have a nickname for and would have added to your close friends' list on Instagram if it had an account? Yup, we are going to keep that one aside, safely on a pillow. But the rest, all those that give the name “boob cage” power? Feeling nostalgic? Memories of bra straps digging in your skin? Feeling the underwire strangling your chest right now? The red imprints of elastic on your skin after a long tiring day? Sounds like a horror movie? You are not alone.

Most women are not happy with their bras. But why are such items of daily wear made in such an uncomfortable manner that the user dreads wearing them?

The problems and rants that follow never seem to cease. We conducted a survey on 225 women from different walks of life, to tell us what they like, dislike, love, and hate about bras and this is what we found.

THE SIZING SCANDAL

Less than 10% of the women said that they didn’t find it difficult to find the right size of bra. Answers of the remaining 90%+ women ranged from often to always. This brings to light a very ignored issue, which is the inappropriate sizing used for bras. Bras are sized only based on two parameters, that is band size and cup. And even in these values, the range of available sizes is so limited that women who don’t fit in these categories have to adjust to a size higher or lower than the required size just to get a bra that kind of fits.

THE PERFECT MATCH??

Another issue that the survey brought to light was that less than 50% of the women felt that they wore the correct size of bra. The remaining majority weren’t satisfied with their current bras. Even 90% of women who said that they didn’t face any problems finding the right bra size, were wearing bras they were unsatisfied with. And ultimately, only 2.2% of women in the entire survey could say that they were genuinely satisfied with their current bras and didn’t even face major issues finding their perfect fit. This leaves behind almost 98% of people who are abandoned to a grey area in fashion sizing. here they can’t even find the right size for a piece of clothing they put on almost every day.

MO’ BREAST TISSUE, MO’ PROBLEMS.

The problems with sizing are just the tip of the iceberg. The current conventional bra design is pretty uncomfortable to wear. Complaints range from too much padding that puts a lot of pressure on breasts and gives an artificial look, to underwire stabbing across the breasts. Bras ride up and the straps keep falling. Medical issues like problems with the cervical spine and tension in the shoulder girdle and neck area are also common. Finding the right bra for the right occasion also ends up being a hefty task. Strapless bras for off-shoulder dresses are accompanied by constant pulling up of the bra fabric from the front and the fear of wardrobe malfunctions. While backless dresses are a whole different story, which gives us goosebumps to even think about. Sports bras are fine to wear while working out but wearing and removing a sports bra is another workout session in itself. And the sweat, especially during hot and humid seasons causes itching and rashes on the skin.?

These problems are even more exaggerated for people during and post-pregnancy. During pregnancy, breasts are extremely sensitive, and swollen and their size keeps changing. So, finding the ideal bra, that doesn’t hurt the person’s skin while supporting their breasts at the same time sounds like a dream. While in the post-pregnancy period, conventional bras are not the best option as they don’t have any proper mechanism for the new mother to properly feed their babies.

With this, we finally conclude that we need a radical change in how we see bras. Hiding the bra straps and whispering while talking about the bra is part of the problem. We need to speak up and acknowledge the elephant in the room, that is, how unacceptable the current bra is. It doesn’t solve most of the issues it’s supposed to solve and conversations about it are so marginalised that people are not even willing to talk about the problem, let alone solve it. Bras should not feel like a burden we have to put on our bodies because of society, but something we voluntarily wear, if we want to. We need functional bras that work for, not against the person wearing them. Because it is our choice and our right, as an individual, and a consumer, to be happy and satisfied and feel comfortable with what we wear and what we don’t.

–Nandini Bhala