Bra or brassiere is the most attractive and important undergarments for womens and girls. An appropriate bra gives her fit and confidence. It show her also attractive and sexy. It is important to know the types of bras available so that you can pick the right one for the right time so as to protect the general health of your breasts. In previous article we discuss about different parts of bra. Now I will give a short description about different types of bra.

Fig: Different types of bra

Types of Bra: 
There are different types bra. Those Bra which are generally used by womens, a list are pointed out below: 

Front fastening bras

Nursing Bra

Full Support Bra

Minimizer Bra

Sport Bra

Shelf Bra

Push-up Bra

Bandeau Bra

Maternity Bra

Bridal Bra/Corset

Backless Bra

Adhesive Bras

T-shirt Bra

Half cup

Halter neck bras

Strapless bra

Moulded Bra

Balcounette

Full Cup Bra

Belly Dance Bra

Multiway bra

Peephole Bras

Vintage Bra

Water Bra

U-plunge Bra

Trainer Bra

Built-in Bra

Racerback Bra

Padded Bra

Novelty Bra

Mastectomy Bra

Front Closure Bra

Demi Bra

Convertible Bra

Plunge bras

Front Fastening Bras: 
Some people say that front fastening bras are more convenient than back fastenings as the clasps are easier to reach and the problem of fumbling with hooks behind your back is removed. Some men might say that front fastening bras are easier to deal with too! These bras can be wired or non-wired and come in a variation of styles and colours. They can be worn under any type of clothing including day wear and evening wear. 

Front fastening bras

Nursing Bra: 
Nursing bras are made to make breast feeding easier by giving the baby easy access to the nipple. Usually nursing bras have cups made of flaps of fabric that can be unhooked at the top and pulled down to expose the nipple. There are other designs out there involving holes built into the cup or zips and hooks for exposing the breast from the front but these are much less common. 

Nursing Bra

Full Support Bra: 
Full Support Bra is the type of bra which is being used in the day to day life by most of the women. The Full Support Bra covers the whole of the breasts. 

Full support bra

Minimizer Bra: 
Minimizer Bras are designed to play down the bust, particulary for cup sizes 34C and above. they work by compressing and shaping the breasts, helping to create the illusion of being a cup size or two smaller, The minimiser also helps to prevent ‘spill over’ and should also help to give a more flattering, smoother look to the bust. These bras can be worn with day and evening wear and can give a smoother look to the bust area under clothing. The minimiser can also give extra support for larger sizes. 

Minimiser Bra

Sports Bra: 
Sports bras provide firm support for the breasts to prevent discomfort or embarrassment during exercise. Usually made of stretchable material they provide a snug fit. Their main role is to keep the breasts in place while exercising to reduce damage done to the soft tissues of the chest. 

Sports bra

Shelf Bra: 
Essentially a rigid band, usually underwires, along the inframammary line that pushes up while covering none, or only a narrow strip, of the breast. 

Shelf Bra

Push-up Bra: 
Push up bras are structured in a way that lifts the breasts and pushes them closer together, enhancing the cleavage.The Wonderbra is a very well known brand of push up bra but there are many others. The padding in the bras are mostly either foam, gel or rubber. This padding is different from padded bras in its positioning, padded bras is centered under the breast and merely lifts them while push up bras have the padding at the side to push the breasts up and inwards. Its this padding positioning which gives push up bras such full cleavage. 

Push-up Bra

Bandeau Bra: 
A Bandeau Bra is a simple band of cloth worn across the breasts, providing little support or shaping. 
 

Bandeau bra

Maternity Bra: 
Designed such that they can be expanded to adjust as the breasts increase in size over the course of a pregnancy. 
 

Maternity bra

Bridal Bra/Corset: 
As the name itself suggest, the bridal bra or the corset is mainly used for marriages which helips in providing the desired shape for Wedding dress. The main advantage of this type is that, it helps in giving the bride a good posture and can be more comfortable as the weight of the breasts is carried by the whole corset rather than the brassiere’s shoulder straps. 

Bridal Corset

Backless Bra: 
The backless bra has no back and is usually lightweight, self adhesive and self supporting. It's ideal for wearing under backless tops and dresses and of-the-shoulder numbers and the colours of the self adhesive types are often neutral or flesh colour, making them ideal to wear under sheer and low-cut clothing. 

Backless bra

Adhesive Bras: 
An Adhesive bra is comprised of bra cups with medical grade adhesive on one side, which allow for the bra to be worn several times. They provide little support, however, they help fill out the bust and conceal the nipples under light fabrics. Adhesive bras have no straps or bands of any sort, this makes them ideal for backless and strapless fashions. They come in two types, disposable paper ones that use a strong adhesive and silicone ones that can be washed and reused. 

Adhesive bra

T-shirt Bra: 
T-Shirt Bras are made without any raised seams or decoration, this is to allow the bras to be worm with tight shirts without the bra being obviously visible. The cups are usually padded to hit the nipples from view and to give the bust a smoother look. The T-Shirt bra is not only for t-shirts and can be worn with any thin top where you want to have the bra less visible. Because of this they can also be known as seamless bras. 

T-Shirt Bra

Half Cup Bra: 
Lingerie manufacturers do not always agree on whatmakes a half cup bra but as a general rule, it’s one where the cup stops just above the nipple. It is generally moresuitable for a smaller cup but larger cup brands arebecoming increasingly skilled at creating supportive bras that give a good impression of a half cup. 

Half cup Bra

Halter Neck Bra: 
These bras have clasps on the straps, which attach at the back of the neck and also around the back. They cover about 75% of the breasts and are suitable to wear under many types of clothes including strapless tops, dresses and off the shoulder numbers. 

Halter neck bras

Strapless Bra: 
Designed for wearing with clothes which reveal the shoulders, strapless bras are just that, strapless.A very technically challenging designs they rely completely on the strength on the material around the bust, the designs of the under-wire and the width and tightness of the band.The most relaible strapless bras have a wide band around the back, boning under the arms, deep under-wires at the front, silicone strips along the inside to reduce slippage. Some larger size strapless bras also put boning in the cups for more support.Different from other under-wires strapless under-wires are taller and curve in to encompass the breast more.Even with all this sophisticated desigem strapless bras are still a little uncomfortable and can slip down during an active day or evening. 

Strapless Bra

 Moulded Bra: 
So called because the cup is moulded from a single pieceot foam or fabric – so that it’s seamless. 

Moulded bra

Balcounette Bras: 
Balconette Bras are a more risque version of a demi bra with less coverage and more lift. They are a good choice for low neckline tops and dresses. Although they offer lift like a push up bra they do no push the breasts together in the center and have quite wide set bra straps. Balconette Bras can be worn under most clothing and suit a wide range of breast sizes. 

Balconette Bra

Full Cup Bra: 
Full Cup Bras are designed to offer good support for the whole of the breast and are a practical bra for everyday wear.Covering the entire breast makes the bra look larger than it is. The full cup is designed to give more support for the breasts, this is very important for keeping the shape and fullness of the breast. Full cup bras can be very stylish and sexy, depending on the fabric that they are made of. Ideal for larger breasts and pregnant women as less support can lead to slight breast sagging and back pains. 

Full Cup Bra

Belly Dance Bra: 
It is commonly assumed that a belly dancing bra size is the same as normal bra size. This is not necessarily so. For instance if you normally use a size 32C you may well find that a 34B will fit quite comfortably with a few minor adjustments to latch settings since most belly dancing bras are designed to cover very well. 

Belly Dance Bra

Multiway Bra: 
Multiway bras have straps that can be worn in a variety of ways, such as over the shoulder, as normal, as a halterneck, crossed around the middle of the body or even removed altogether. It's extremely versatile and can be worn under all types and styles of clothing including low back, strapless and off the shoulder numbers. The Multiway bra can also be worn as any standard bra with t-shirts and dresses. One of the best things about the multiway bra is that the shoulder straps can be completely removed, making is ideal for dinner dresses and outfits for special occasions. 

Multiway bras

Peephole Bras: 
The type of bra that has cups loosely covering the breasts, which also includes holes around the nipples. 

Peephole Bra

Vintage Bra: 
A type of full support bra with cups in the shape of a paraboloid of revolution with its axis perpendicular to the breast. Invented in the late 1940s, they were still being sold well into the 1960s. 

Vintage Bra

Water Bra: 
Bras which have water or silicon gel-filled cups to make your breasts look larger. 
 

Water Bra

U-plunge Bra: 
Allows you to wear clothes that have a deep plunging neckline. 

U-Plunge Bra

 Trainer Bra: 
Designed for young girls who have begun to develop breasts but have yet to be considered ‘developed’ enough to allow for a standard-sized bra to fit properly. They are of simple construction and offer very little support. 
 

Trainer Bra

Built-in Bra: 
Supportive brassiere-like structures on the inside of another garment, such as a swimsuit or tank top, which provide support for the bust without the need for a separate bra. In most such garments, these built-ins consist of a horizontal elastic strip, although some do have cups and underwires as with other bra types. In some cases these may easily be removed, if desired. 

Built-in Bra

Racerback Bra: 
Has shoulder straps that come over the shouder in a V pattern very close to the neck. This design is sometimes worn under strapless dresses or tops where traditional straps would be very obviously exposed. Many Sport bras use the racerback. 

Racer Back Bra

Padded Bra: 
Padded bras have padding inside the lining. They are designed for small breasts to provide a fuller shape. Unlike push-up bras most padded bras support the breasts but do not significantly lift them.Padded bras do do vary slightly, some have more padding than others. They can offer anything from a slight lift to a more push up effect. All are very fashionable and feminine. Some padded bras may have removable inserts while others are just padded more on the lower part to give more lift and to help give the effect of more cleavage. Padded bras come in many sizes, colours and materials. 

Padded Bra

Novelty Bra: 
Designed more for show and sensuality than for function. They may include unusual materials, such as leather, coconuts or be unusual in design. 
 

Novelty Bra

Mastectomy Bra: 
Mastectomy Bra is a type of bra which is specially made for women who suffer from prosthesis. This type is also used by women who have lost one or both their breasts in breast cancer. 

Mastectomy Bra

Front Closure Bra: 
Front Closure Bra have the closure, hooks and eyes in the front. The back of these bra type is very plain and also used in tank tops. 
 

Front closure Bra

Demi Bra: 
One of the most popular of the many different types of bra is the demi bra. A Demi Bra is a half-cup bra style with wide set straps and a horizontal bust line. Usually boned or seamed, they give great cleavage. Offering less support, but allowing low cut garments to be worn without the bra being seen as well as providing lift.

Demi cup bras provide less breast coverage, generally cut to 1″ above the nipple. Most push-up bras are demi cups to show more cleavage. Most demi cups are designed to slightly push the breasts towards the center for more cleavage and remove breast tissue from under the arms. Demi Bras are great for petite women who have issues with poking under-wires. 

Demi bra

Convertible Bra: 
It has straps which may be detached and rearranged in different ways depending on the outfit. Alternatives to regular straps for strapless bras are beaded bra straps or clear plastic bra straps that provide support and style. 

Convertible bra

Plunge Bras: 
Plunge bras are distinguished by the part of the band that joins the cups. If it is below nipple level, then it's a plunge bra. These bras are ideal for wearing under low-cut tops and many plunge bras are padded to push your breasts together to maximise cleavage. The plunge bra won't give you the support and security you might normally want, but sometimes the WOW factor is worth the sacrifice for that special occasion.

B.Sc. in Apparel Manufacturing

Noakhali Textile Engineering College

Mobile: +8801722797194