The Right Bra for Your Prom Dress

With all the attention focused on selecting the right prom dress, finding the right bra to accompany that dress frequently takes a back seat. Prom dresses often require specialized bras for the right look, and your regular department store bra will likely not make the cut. If you’re not sure what type of bra you should be wearing on prom night, look for your dress style below to find the perfect accompanying bra. Then, check out our tips for determining your bra size (you may just be surprised by your true size).
Strapless or Bandeau: A strapless prom dress generally requires a strapless bra to accompany it. Look for a bra that includes boning in the band and the sides of the cups. The boning will support your breasts without the help of shoulder straps. You may also want to look for a bra with adhesive strips to help keep the cups in place.
Plunging Neckline: Plunging necklines are very sexy, but they can make wearing a bra difficult. For the right look in your dress, find a demi-cup bra with an underwire and extra padding to enhance your cleavage. Be sure to bring your prom dress in with you when you are trying the bra on. You do not want any bra cups peeking out from under your dress on the big night.
Backless: If you are wearing a backless prom dress, you will need to look for a strapless, bandless bra. Because the bra has no straps or band to support your breasts, be sure that it contains adhesive tabs on the cup linings to secure it. A bandless bra will offer you support without ruining the image of your naked back.
Silhouette Hugging: If your dress hugs curves in all the right places, you might want to wear a full-torso bra. Look for a bra in a thick, tight microfiber that extends all the way from your breasts to your hipbones. The bra will smooth out your curves and keep you looking sexy and slender in your dress.
Halter Neck: A halter prom dress requires a halter bra for the right appearance. Look for a bra with adjustable straps that extend around your neck, rather than over your shoulders. The bra straps should be thin enough to slide under the straps of your dress for a completely hidden look. Although it's sometimes immediately obvious that a bra you're trying on doesn't fit right, there are less obvious signs that a bra is doing absolutely nothing for your shape, or worse, is doing lots of things wrong. Even a bra that 'feels right' initially may not be giving you proper support or enhancing your shape.
Familiarity with our Perfect Fit checklist will help you choose bras that flatter and support. Take a few minutes to understand what a perfect fitting bra should look and feel like, and to recognize whether your bra is the wrong size for you.
Here is a checklist of what to look for, or download it here for printing (PDF format requires Adobe Acrobat, available here).
Smooth fitting cupsIf you don't fill out the cups, you need a smaller size. If you are "overflowing" the cups, try a larger cup size or a style with a fuller cup design. The edges of the cups should also lie flat against your breast. If there is a gap (especially with padded bras), you should go down a cup size.
Center panel lays flat against your breastbone.If it does not, this could be a sign that your cup size is too small, or the panel is not large enough to accommodate the separation between your breasts. Note: Minimizers tend to not rest against the breastbone, and this is fine.
The bottom of the bra in the front and back is parallel to the floor or slightly lower in the back.The lower edge of the band should anchor below the shoulder blades. The lower the back fits, the better the support.
Straps stay put and don't dig into your shoulders. Consider a different bra style with straps closer together if straps keep falling. A smaller band size should reduce the strap's strain on your shoulders.
Cup fabric should be stableThe fabric should give support as well as a good breast shape.
An underwire should encircle your breast. It shouldn't poke, protrude or pinch.
Good breast upliftThe apex of your breasts should be mid-way between your shoulders and your elbows. Uplifted breasts look more youthful and give a slimming appearance.
Breasts face the front and do not sag or fall to the sides. This breast position allows you to freely swing your arms.
A finger can be run under the front band. Your bra should be snug, but not too tight. If it's tight, you need a larger band size or a looser hook placement.
Feels comfortable when sitting. Our ribcages tend to expand when we are seated. If you're not sure your band is big enough, this quick test will answer your concern.
Consider an alteration. Still not the perfect fit? We alter our clothes for a better fit, why not a bra? One woman in our office really measures to a 35 band size. She therefore buys a 36D and has a dart put in at the sides.
An important point when zeroing in on your correct bra size is that when you try on a bra and go one cup size larger, you are keeping the band size the same and increasing your bust line by 1". However, when you go up a band size (keeping the cup size the same) you are increasing your band circumference by 2" AND increasing your bust line circumference by 2" as well. The point here is that changing a cup size within a band size is fine-tuning your bra size. Changing a band size is a much more significant size change.
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