Reading: Bras You Need In 2025

Underwire? More like blunderwire. The current trends in bras, according to independent lingerie retailers across the country, reveal a move to smooth, comfortable support without the ouch that underwire cups can bring. It’s not that underwire bras are totally out — in fact, they remain in hot demand — it’s that more supportive and structured wireless options are now available.

The departure from underwire is a change from a few years ago when women were returning to the office, regularly or on a hybrid schedule, post pandemic. When I spoke with retailers then, they reported that women were seeking out the level of support that properly fitting underwire bras offer. Many women were pulling their professional wardrobes out of the closet, ditching the sweatpants and athleisure that they wore during the pandemic’s stay-at-home periods. And while underwire then was a top choice for clients, other designs — notably bralettes and sports bras — became very hot categories. Since then, lingerie retailers explain that advances in bra design — including fabric technology, cup shape, and construction — have led to an increased offering of highly supportive and comfortable bras that provide lift and separation without underwire, and bralettes and sports bras remain as popular as ever. 

Unlike the usual anonymous feel of shopping for lingerie in department stores, independent lingerie shop owners and their staff offer a personal experience. They literally intimately know their clients, many of whom are faithful repeat customers who also come in for bra fittings — you know, the real kind where you take your shirt off. These retailers understand what their clients want and deliver, even with European bras that cost over $200. 

Each of the retailers we spoke with emphasize the importance of getting fitted for bras in person, when possible. It’s not normal for your bra straps to fall down off your shoulders. It’s not good if the band in the back rides up between your shoulder blades. What makes the correct fit even harder to find is the fact that a 38D in one brand will fit completely differently than a 38D in another brand. This is one of the reasons that, at New York City’s Town Shop, fitters rarely even use measuring tapes. The saleswomen literally size you up.

If you don’t have an independent lingerie retailer in your area, you can go to a department store, but try to search out someone in the lingerie department trained in fitting customers. 

You can get started sourcing ideas and finding some favorite bras with our roundup of the bras you need in 2025. Thanks to these top experts we interviewed from across the US, you’ll learn all about what makes these bras so popular so you can go shop with confidence.

At 136 years old, Town Shop is one of the oldest lingerie stores in the US. On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the store’s team has outfitted generations of women often from the same family, including this writer (note to self: go in for a fitting!), this writer’s daughter, and late mother.

“The flight to comfort continues,” says owner Dan Koch. “Most of our customers are not yet back in the office full time [and] one continuing trend is for non-wired bras that offer support.” 

“We are also seeing several innovations toward lighter weight molded cup bras [as well as] ‘spacer cups’ that many bra companies are now using. It is a very lightweight composition cup, that when you hold it up to light looks like a honeycomb,” Koch observes. “The idea that a molded cup bra makes your breasts appear larger has been dispelled; we are selling a great amount of t-shirt or molded bras every day.”

For work, women are looking for minimizing bras and smooth t-shirt bras that help hide nipples. Sports bras remain in strong demand and women continue to wear them daily for comfort or simply leisure when they are not doing sports, Koch notes. Also for leisure or those WFH days, women are going for wirefree soft cup bras and bralettes, while for special occasions they are in search of “solution” bras — those that offer, say, a very low front or back while providing support, he reports. Some to check out? Australia’s Fine Lines and Pour Moi, from the UK.

But the best-selling wireless bras at Town Shop include the Natori Bliss Perfection Contour Soft Cup Bra, $66 (above left), and Anita Rosa Faia Twin Soft Cup Bra, $75 (above right) from Germany, which has preformed cups made from double layers of a smooth microfiber fabric.

“[The Anita soft cup] is a wireless bra that gives almost identical support as a wired bra, and comes in a terrific size range,” Koch explains. 

And a forever-favorite underwire option? France’s Empreinte’s Cassiopee Seamless Embroidery Underwire Bra (above), constantly in demand at Town Shop, despite its lofty price tag.

“It is one of the most beautiful bras we sell, and even though it is priced at $225, there is not a day that we don’t sell 5-10 of these. It used to surprise me, but just like anything else in life, if you love it and it makes you look amazing, why mess with success?” Koch asks. “The Empreinte bras are truly the Rolls Royce of bras!”

Down south in Louisiana is the small Bra Genie group of stores in Covington, Baton Rouge and Metairie owned by Jeanne Emory. 

“Women are focused on comfort but they still want the benefit of a great fitting bra. Many manufacturers are adding wider, ‘back smoothing’ bras to their assortment, and these have become very popular for us,” reports Emory. “Spacer fabrics, which give a smooth shape with better airflow, are also becoming extremely popular.” 

For sports bras, her clients want less padding, yet more structure for less bounce and a front hook (which I am also a fan of). Sports bras tend to be so tight that unless you’re Gumby, I find that it’s often hard to close them in the back. 

At Bra Genie, the Evelyn & Bobbie wireless bras are bestsellers among her wireless offerings, notably the Beyond Bra, $98 (above), which comes in a wide range of colors. While these are sized from XS – 3X, the range has adjustable straps and removable cups so you can get the fit right for you.

And as with Town Shop, Emory’s clients still like underwire bras, notably Fantasie’s Aubree Spacer Seamless t-shirt bra with molded cups, $77, and Chantelle’s Norah Comfort Smooth Unlined Bra, $84.

Emory has noticed that her customers have become more price sensitive in the last two years. The issue is that good bras, which offer proper support in comfortable fabrics, do not come cheap. 

“[There is a] difference between a quality bra, which contains from 25-50 pieces in its construction, and a big box store bra, which has fewer pieces, fewer stitches per inch, and fabrics that don’t hold up to wear,” she explains. Coming in for fittings is not just helpful for customers to find the right bras for their shape, but is an opportunity to educate women about bras, differences in fabrication, construction, and value.

Jenette Goldstein, the owner of Jenette Bras with four locations in the Los Angeles area and a shop in Atlanta, doesn’t even sell bras online. “We have a knockout rack and it needs to be managed,” reads a line on the company’s website, highlighting the stores’ in-person fitting service and how important it is. The retailer specializes in D-cups and larger.

“I think everyone is sick and tired of being spammed by the newest online wonderbra only to be let down — again,” she says. “I know all of these brands (and I’m sure you do too!) because this is what new clients come in wearing — then throw away once they’ve been properly fitted.” 

As for price concerns, Goldstein says: “Price per wear is one of our mantras. Ladies, spend your hard-earned money on things of value.”

Supplementing the trend toward comfort, Goldstein notes that lingerie embroideries are flatter thanks to “new techniques that press the threads without losing the design and color. The bras virtually disappear under close-fitting clothing.” Yet the wearer knows she’s wearing something embellished and pretty. 

One of Goldstein’s best-sellers is the Série (above) from French company Louisa Bracq, $136 for the full cup style. Bracq, originally a fine embroidery manufacturer founded in 1938 in Caudry, France, that supplied Haute Couture houses, began making lingerie in 2007. While Série is an underwire, the base fabric for the bra is a stretch satin microfiber. And, just like Koch from Town Shop, Goldstein notes that Empreinte’s Cassiopee is also a bestseller.

Busted Bra Shop is a six-store lingerie retailer with stores in some big cities like Detroit and Chicago. Proprietor Lee Padgett, a Navy veteran who worked in cryptologic technician maintenance (shhh, it’s top secret!), opened her first store in 2013 after market research that showed Detroit, a once thriving retail capital, was bereft of stores offering a decent lingerie selection and fitting services. 

Padgett confirms the trend of wire-free comfortable and supportive bras but notes that, “for breasts with some weight to them, this can be a challenge.” As at Bra Genie, the Evelyn & Bobbie Beyond bra, $98, is a great solution and bestseller for clients who need strong support with a wireless bra. 

“It is smoothing, seamless, and wire free. You still have separation and a round shape,” Padgett explains. “This bra molds to your body within three wears. People are buying this one on repeat. There is this patented sling in the bra that replaces the wire. Magic made by women for women.”

She and her clients also like the wireless Elomi Downtime bralette, $68 (above left). The company is using a trademarked breathable Tencel Modal Micro Air fabric. “The bra has inner and outer layers with a concealed lining that helps with support as well as shape. The back of the bra provides anchorage and support with its power mesh lining. And the straps are fabulously soft and wide,” Padgett describes. “It’s a total comfort bra while still remembering to support.”

For sports bras, Padgett and her clients lean toward the German brand Anita. The various sports bras, such as the Extreme Control Sports Bra, $79, are made with lighter material, and offer “heavy duty support for high impact” and separation while wireless.  

Padgett says that the Italian brand Cosabella Longline Plungie bralette (above right), which starts at $75 for regular and $85 for curvy sells out in her stores and when she takes the store on the road for pop-up shops. 

“The stretch lace is strong, and soft. This bralette is designed with layers to support breasts with volume,” Padgett notes. “I have seen JJs in this little number and it performs very well.” Plus, it comes in like a zillion colors — truly, something for everyone.