Yep…today I am going there – I’m talking strapless bras and Nippies!
Rachel and I are both huge silk camisole fans…it’s a staple in our wardrobe. In fact we’ve talked endlessly about our love for Zadig Christy camisoles! And one of the questions we get most often is what to wear underneath! No one really loves to show their bra straps, and strapless bras have a reputation for being challenging. And I am a 32DDD so it felt like an almost impossible task!
STRAPLESS BRAS
I get it! I didn’t start wearing strapless bras until 4 years ago. Until then I either skipped most camisoles or I wore a matching bra strap (aka usually black). It was during a Nordstrom Anniversary sale and I saw a lot of bloggers raving about the Wacoal Red Carpet Convertible Strapless Bra (on sale again right now as it is every Anniversary sale)!
So I placed an order for the bra in my standard bra size…waited for it to arrive, and it was horrible on me! So I took it back to the bra section and asked what they suggested. Enter a good bra fitter! If you have not been fitted for a bra, it’s a must!! Sadly they stopped doing bra fittings for most of Covid times, so I’m not 100% if they’ve started up again, but it’s worth asking. And typically I do get fitted every year because our bodies DO change.
So she measured me and helped me put the proper size on, and guess what? I still hated it. That bra is HUGE…so much fabric! It wasn’t for me. Even the fitter said nope, too matronly on you. So she went and grabbed several different brands, but ultimately the winner for me was Natori. And that’s what I’ve been wearing ever since. And I ALWAYS try on new strapless whenever I find them and I still haven’t found one I like better.
But every body is different so I think you really need to go in store and try them all on. It’s a process, so just plan to be there for a good while.
The Natori Feathers is my absolute favorite and I buy new ones each year because I wear them so much and they do wear out. The things that I like about this bra: 1. it has a plunge front (best for the type of camisoles I wear like Zadig & Voltaire Christy), the padding isn’t thick (I do not want to make these things look even bigger than they are, haha!), and it is low enough around the body that it doesn’t usually show under even my lowest back tops.
Strangely I do not like the super popular Natori Feathers Contour bra, which just proves you need to go in store and try a bunch of bras to find the best ones for your body and needs.
NIPPIES
I asked Rachel what strapless bra she wears…she doesn’t! She wears Nippies, and honestly she just doesn’t need the same kind of support that I do. We argue back and forth about this because she says most women would kill to have what I have…I say I’d rather have less, which goes to show the boobs aren’t always better on the other side of the bra, ha!
So I ordered these Nippies many months ago and they just sat in the box. I got them and thought “oh gosh these will not hold me up”…so I ignored them. Until this weekend when I decided I was finally going to try them.
I had just showered so I didn’t have any oils or creams in that area (Nippies don’t stick well over other product so just wash and dry first). I read how to apply them and stood in the mirror and went for it expecting to hate them…spoiler alert – I LOVED them. Nippies have officially changed my life!!!
Okay, so I didn’t expect that! I figured my breasts would just hang there, only with my nipples covered. But it was how I applied the Nippies that made all the difference (and it was based on instructions that I got directly from the company).
I pushed my breast up as much as I could, then stuck the Nippie on the bottom of the breast first, making sure the center of the Nippie was applied on the center of the nipple (I got it right the first time so it isn’t too hard I promise)! Then while still holding the breast UP, I kind of pulled the top of the Nippie as high as I could and stuck it down. The instructions say to use the warmth of your hand to press down around the edges to make sure it seals better and that worked perfectly.
Then the other side…and I couldn’t quite believe the results. Now I wouldn’t go out jogging with these on, but for everything else, they are pretty freaking AMAZING!
I called Rachel immediately (and sent her a picture, ha, closer than family!!) and told her I had never felt so FREE! I put a Zadig camisole on (my favorite!) and that was the day we went shopping for my husband’s anniversary picks. Let’s just say, I walked around a little taller that day. Walking around without a bra but feeling perfectly supported…FREEDOM!!!
To say I was obsessed with them would be an understatement. I could not shut up about them. It was basically “where have you been all my life??” No worries about my bra showing or falling down even a little bit.
And confession — I NEVER go without a bra. Like never EVER. I always wear underwire bras when I’m out. At the gym I wear Lululemon longline sports bras, and at home I wear a stretchy soft sports bra. So this was a very new experience.
Anyway I wore these things ALL day. The instructions say wear for 6 to 8 hours max. I definitely hit that and maybe even a bit more and I even forgot I had them on (except that I didn’t because I was so thrilled with not having to wear a bra). Also I have the most sensitive skin and they came off with nary an issue.
When I reached out to the company asking about a product that would provide more lift (before I even tried these) they said they have a new product coming out that will have a tab so that it would lift even more…I promise I will be the first one to try it out and report back. However, that product would probably be visible under my favorite Zadig camisoles, so I say that each product will have their place in my wardrobe.
