Types of Bras or Brassieres

Push Up Bras

Push-up bras, once called padded bras, are a type of bra that lifts the breasts and add shape to them with extra padding, the most well known of which is the Wonderbra. Some more innovative push-up bras use silicone inserts or water sacks to imitate the fullness of natural breasts. They are said to "lift and separate", creating a full cleavage look on breasts of all sizes. These bras always offer lots of support.

Shelf Bras

Shelf bras are designed with cups that lift and support the breasts, but the cups come just under the nipples, putting the breasts and nipples on display.

Training Bras

Training bras, which are smaller than standard bra sizes, were invented in the 1950s in response to the desire of adolescent and pre-adolescent girls to "fit in" amongst their more developed peers who could fill a standard bra, but otherwise they serve no functional purpose. In reality though, "the 'training' that a training bra was supposed to accomplish was the first step toward motherhood and a sexually alluring figure, as it was defined in the 1950s...the invention of training bras loom[s] large in the history of adolescent girls because they foreshadowed the ways in which the nation’s entrepreneurs would accommodate, and also encourage, precocious sexuality."

Nursing / Maternity Bras

Due to the increase in size of the breasts at the final stage of pregnancy it is recommended that under-wired bras be avoided. A special bra (called a maternity bra or nursing bra, but not all of the former equate to the latter) may be worn when a woman chooses to breastfeed, allowing easy access to the nipple when the infant is to be fed.

Full Support Bras

Full support bras are a type of bra that usually has an underwire or plastic boning holding them up. They can be worn by women of any breast size, and are specially suited for those with larger cup sizes. These bras offer a shapely cut and are built more like bikini tops than underwear. These also come in padded or unpadded version and are flattering on any figure type.

Strapless Bras

Strapless bras, with no shoulder straps are designed for wearing with clothes that reveal the shoulders, such as halterneck tops.

Sports Bras

Jogging or sports bras are a more recent innovation for the woman who wants to work out, and some are meant to be worn as outerwear, though unlike training bras, sports bras do provide a functional purpose which is added comfort during high impact exercises.