How To Put On Your Bra

You might think this is a dumb topic for a blog. Who doesn’t know how to put on a bra, right? And how many different ways could even exist? Of course you know how to put on your bra! You do it every day, after all. But there’s more than one way to do it. In fact, I can think of a few: some that I would recommend, and some that I would…not.

and straps off!

Straps on…

1. Do it up at the back

This sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Just put your arms through the bra straps, wiggle into place, and reach behind your back to do up the hooks. But we can make this even better! Instead of putting the straps over your shoulders first, wait until you’ve done up the back. This makes it easier to do up a snug band, because you don’t have the tension of the straps to compete with.

2A. Do it up at the front and spin

If you have trouble reaching behind your back to do up your bra, this is a great alternative. Put your bra on backwards, doing the hooks up in front of your stomach, and then gently spin the bra around until the cups are where they should be. Pull the straps up over your shoulders, do your scoops, and you’re ready to go!

(What are scoops, you ask? With your left hand, hold the underwire on your left side. Reach into the left cup with your right hand and scoop your breast up and into the wires. Now do the same thing on the other side. You’ve done your scoops! Doing this every time you put on a bra  – no matter your method – ensures that your boobs are completely inside the wires, which means better fit and better comfort.)

2B. Do it up at the front, spin, and flip

This is basically the same move described above, but with a twist…er, flip. You put your bra on backwards, but this time it’s also inside-out. When you spin the bra to move the cups to the front, you flip it up to turn the cups right-side-out. This technically works, in that it gets the bra on your body. But I don’t recommend the flip because it’s so hard on bras, and especially on the underwires. It can warp them and even make them pop out over time. Discomfort and wasting money? That’s not the life I want to live!

Note: if you’re a spinner, you may find you need to go up a band size so that you can spin comfortably. Talk to your fitter and she’ll help you find a size that’s supportive and spinnable.

3. “The third way”

This is where you do up your bra and then pull the whole thing over your head like a t-shirt. I’d never heard of this one until I heard comic Sarah Millican talk about it. (Heads up: there’s a tiny bit of NSFW language at the start of that clip.) As Millican notes, if you can do this, your bra might be a bit big for you! Remember, in a perfect world your bra band is offering 80% of your bra’s total support. It needs to be snug enough to stay put and do its job.

As usual, my position is that there’s really no one true right way – if what you’re doing works for you, keep doing it! But I will say that there are some ways that are better for your bra (and fit) than others. Isn’t it nice to know you’ve got options?