At an asking price that makes for good value, the Lindex Nursing Bra offers a good balance of support and comfort, with the more structured design providing an experience more akin to a regular bra than many others on the market.

A supportive bra is an everyday essential for most women – and finding a bra that provides the proper support can feel like an impossible task. Not only that, but if your bra doesn’t give adequate support, it can also be physically damaging. Finding the right supportive bra doesn’t have to be a challenge, and you don’t have to feel resigned to a bulky mess of fabric to keep you lifted.

No more frumpy or uncomfortable nursing bras. Our top picks are stylish and easy to wear, which means one less thing to worry about

Underwire bras offer conventional shaping and support. They’re a tried and tested method for getting the fit you need. They also provide a good amount of lift and help define your shape. For some people, however, wires just aren’t comfortable. They may dig into the ribs or the underarms and just not feel right. From bralettes to balconettes, our women's bras lift, sculpt and enhance your shape. The key to a great bra is a great fit, a design that flatters and a style that works around your wardrobe – and we’ve hit the nail on the head with all three in our collection. Explore what’s new – including our super fresh colour palette – today. Your tees, but better Finding a good bra can be especially difficult if you have a larger cup size, but this fashionable yet functional style may end your shopping struggles. It goes up to a size HH (which is the UK equivalent of a US cup size L) and it performed exceptionally well in our tests. It was durable in our Lab’s evaluations without any issues to report, and our tester panel loved wearing it. While that is obviously an important factor, it’s not the only thing a nursing bra is good for. These bras provide extra support for your much heavier postpartum breasts, have a lot of “give” for the daily expansion and deflation that comes with breastfeeding, and can also prevent you from leaking through your clothes. What should I look out for in a nursing bra? Whether your breasts are asymmetric, large or small, round or slender, or somewhere in between, there are bras out there that can fit your unique shape—from a variety of great places like specialty brands and department stores.

You can use the two-finger rule to see if your bra strap fits well. If you can easily fit two fingers through the strap, and still have extra room, your strap is too loose. Thanks to the designers, today, the options are endless when it comes to choosing a bra. As you hit the market, you will know that there is a bra exclusively made for you. All you have to do is know your correct size and offer yourself the one that caters to your unique needs. So, next time you buy a bra, take this article as your guide and allow it to make your purchasing decisions easier. Frequently Asked Questions If you have wider hips, you can balance out your upper body by wearing a fuller, padded bra that provides more volume at the top. However, if you have a wider upper body you may want to opt for a bra that offers full support or a balconette that won’t add to your size."

It's just a matter of finding the best bra for your shape. Cohen recommends the best fitting bras for six common breast shapes. T-shirt: A T-shirt bra is a reliable choice, sitting subtly beneath even the tightest of tops (hence the name). While they work for everybody type, Emma especially recommends them for those whose nipples point in different directions or who have different breast sizes, as it will even out your cleavage. Cup shape: You know your cup size, but what cup shape works best for you? Full coverage and medium coverage cups offer comfort and support but may just be too much fabric for some people. Plunge bras with triangle cups may be your ideal fit, or they may not hold you up the way you need. Jessica Prebble is the creative director and co-founder of lingerie design consultancy Starkers and fuller bust lingerie brand Tutti Rouge. To help identify incorrect sizes, she has a set of tell-tale red flags. If a bra leaves marks when you take it off, it’s too tight. Conversely, if you can easily slide your hand beneath the wire, you need to increase the band size. Bralette: This is one of Emma’s top choices for smaller chests or those who dislike wired bras. Bralettes have become increasingly popular over the past few years for that very reason. They’re usually free of wires, padding and cups, offer full coverage and are more aesthetically pleasing than most bras. Some can even be worn as outerwear. The price you pay is less support.

Bra Types You Should Consider – Full Support, Built-In, Push Up, Padded, And Longline are some must-haves. Sports bras are also good for workouts and physical activities, but make sure your sizes are accurate. Searching for your perfect bra can feel like a never-ending journey. For starters, there are so many styles to choose from — strapless, bralettes, wireless and more with differences in padding, closures and support. It can feel nearly impossible to buy one that’ll meet your needs, fit you properly and feel comfortable enough to wear all day long. On top of that, bras can get pricey, so you want to make sure you’re investing in a quality bra that will feel good, look good and hold up well over time. Experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab test bras of all kinds and have evaluated more than 200 styles with over 500 real users in the last few years. Altogether, we've collected upwards of 6,500 data points to help us find the best bra styles for different preferences and body types.You also need to look at the material. Lace is usually used for aesthetic purposes but can be irritating against sensitive skin and doesn’t let it breathe as well as cotton. However, cotton does have its cons because it offers less support and shaping. I knew women who brushed it off when I said they needed different bras for sports and physical activities. However fancy your regular bra is, it just doesn’t cut it. If you are involved in high-intensity workout training, consider something that is meant for that. But a sports bra is a must-have. Strapless: Theoretically, strapless bras fit exactly like a regular bra, just without the straps. The goal is to give you the same amount of support while also offering more flexibility with your wardrobe. However, this is easier said than done – without straps, you just can’t get the same effect, and those with larger breasts may find that they have to readjust a strapless bra repeatedly throughout the day. We always complain about having smaller or bigger breasts. Don’t we? Breasts being proportionate to the body size is ideal, but since we do not live in an ideal world, we have to work it out. Go with bras that have padding, and that can round off the shape to look fuller.

You can start by measuring your bra size at home or with a consultant in a store. Even then, you should still try on a few different sizes to see what fits and feels best. Freno urges you to focus on what feels good instead of getting caught up on a specific size, especially because fit varies between brands. It may help to go up and down a few band or cup sizes if the fit doesn’t feel right. Just like with clothing, each brand will fit you differently. We get quite excited when we walk into a lingerie store to buy intimates. It feels great to wear lingerie that is not only sensuous but also smooth on the skin. However, it is not all that rosy for everyone, especially for someone with big busts above DD. And disappointment is a regular part of shopping for some of us. We have to look for bras that give full coverage and support. This style earned the top spot in our tests and our panel, including those with both small and large cup sizes, rated it the most comfortable bra of the bunch. On top of that, it proved to be durable in our Lab testing; it washed well and retained its shape even after we stretched it out. In fact, it's the bra our own experts have preferred to wear for years, even after trying dozens of styles on the market. The band: This is the part that provides the majority of a bra’s support. This strip of fabric sits under the cups and wraps around your torso. The wider the band is, the more support you get. For heavier busts, the band should fit snugly and have minimal stretch. The rule of thumb (or finger) is that you should be able to fit two fingers underneath the band. Any more and the band is too loose; any less and it’s too tight.

Looking after your lingerie

You may think that wearing a supportive bra means sacrificing bare shoulders, but that doesn’t have to be the case. With the right technology, a strapless bra can still provide the lift you need so you can wear that off-the-shoulder dress you love. The Wonderbra Refined Glamour Ultimate Strapless bra features that convenient gadgetry with a gorgeous flair and provides the cleavage effect Wonderbra is known for. The bra is designed with a plastic frame, as opposed to the traditional wire frame. Emma Seymour has been a senior textiles product analyst in the Good Housekeeping Textiles Lab for over four years, overseeing Lab and consumer tests for all different types of bras, including wireless bras, bralettes and sports bras. She studied Fiber Science and Apparel Design at Cornell University with research experience in product quality assessment. She updated the most recent version of this article with new testing data. You most likely have “the best nursing bra” on your to-buy list before the baby arrives, but if you don’t, put it on there pronto. It’s one of the most important items any expectant or brand-new mum could buy for herself and the baby.