How to Read Bra Reviews

If you’re really into lingerie, there’s a good chance you’ve checked out some online bra reviews. And why not? It makes sense to learn from someone else’s experience before you spend your money. Reviews can help you avoid the heartache of buying a bra that doesn’t work for you. But do they?

Reviews aren’t always useful.

Bra reviews can be pretty black and white. There’s a lot of “This bra sucks!” or “This is the perfect bra!” often without much detail to back it up. But those missing details are really important! They can be the difference between a truly bad bra and one that’s just a bad match for the reviewer.

For example, a shallow bra will never be a great fit for projected breasts. It’s not necessarily poorly designed, it’s just made for a different body. The same principle can be applied to a glowing review: there’s no one bra that’s the holy grail of fit for every body. So what should you look for in a bra review?

Details, details, details!

Kayla, by Goddess, has wide wires and slightly in-set straps. The cups are full coverage and neither super projected nor shallow.

We need to know about the bra. A thorough review describes the bra’s shape and structure. For example, is the cup deep, or shallow? Are the wires wide, or narrow? What about the straps – wide-set or in-set? (Super important information for those of us with sloped or small shoulders!) Does the bra give a round shape under clothing, or is it more on the “pointy” side?

And it may seem strange, but truly helpful reviewers write about themselves. It’s particularly useful to know their breast shape. Whether projected or shallow, full on bottom or top, wide set or close set, breast shape seriously impacts bra fit. I also like to know about the reviewer’s preferences with regards to shape and comfort – do they like a looser band? Prefer a minimized shape?

Reviews should also include size info, like what size the reviewer usually wears and what size they’re wearing in the review bra. Since bra sizing isn’t universal, this kind of detail can tell you if a particular bra runs a little big or small. Bonus points to a reviewer who names other bras that work well for them! (Points are awarded by me, and aren’t really worth anything unless you like high fives.)

I’m not saying to completely disregard a bra review that doesn’t hit every one of these points, but the more details, the better. (A fantastic example of a thorough and informative bra review would be literally any one written by our friend Erica at A Sophisticated Pair.)

Know thyself!

Those questions you want answered in a review? Yeah, you’re gonna need to answer them for yourself, too. Say the reviewer has shallow boobs, loves a super snug band, is into a “natural” shape, and she really digs the bra she’s reviewing. She’s even included a picture. Awesome, right? What a thorough review! But if you don’t know your own breast shape and haven’t thought about your band and silhouette preferences, all of that information is useless.

Spend some time getting to know your body and what you like. A great way to do this is to just try on a bunch of different bras. You can get real nerdy about it and take notes, or you can come to Broad and let us take notes for you. As always, a fitter is a great resource for bra and boob learning, and we love to teach!

Bra reviews can be a handy time- and money-saver, but with great power comes great responsibility. Whether you’re reading them or writing them, you’ll get the most out of reviews by keeping these tips in mind.

P.S. While Sam wrote a lovely review of Bolero Beachwear’s full-bust-friendly dresses last year, we haven’t posted any bra reviews on the Broad blog. Is that something you’d like to see? Let us know in the comments!