The Bralette: 5-Year-Old Trend Becomes A Lingerie Standard

There’s a new trend that has actually been around for approximately five years that’s gaining more steam. It is called the bralette, and it offers a way for women to experience the best parts of a sports bra combined with the prettiness of a fashion bra in one item.

VS released their new bralette collection and I'm in loooooove ? pic.twitter.com/fiGGjd0J8l

— sofia mg (@itssofianicole) April 7, 2016

According to CNBC, the bralette could very well save the lingerie industry.

The best part about wearing a bralette is that it’s an undergarment that generally features the pretty and feminine aspects of bras and adds to them the lightweight support and comfort of athletic bras. With the “athleisure” trend taking off, the bralette is one form of that trend that first came to live about five years ago — and shows no signs of stopping.

Bralettes actually began when the less-experienced fashion houses used their know-how to create bralettes — since they didn’t have the capacity or knowledge to make more constructed bras. It was a form that took off in popularity, with the bralette moving into the mainstream.

Indeed, many of the bralettes featured on sites like Victoria’s Secret appear to be lacy, with gorgeous cutout designs and pretty backings — and seem to lack underwire. The benefits of bralettes can be traced to the fact that they often contain design elements that are so pretty that it doesn’t matter if they peek through other clothing — many times, that’s the point of a bralette.

Bralettes go well with shirts that fall off the shoulders or have exposed backs, because they appear to be another item of clothing meant to be seen in all its lacy glory. Bralettes might not have lots of support, so they tend to be purchased by either younger women just wearing their first bras — or those who don’t need lots of support due to perky or smaller breasts.

With the advent of explant breast surgeries and natural breast lifts featuring fat transfers, as reported by The Inquisitr, women of all ages will likely take to wearing bralettes, simply because of their simplicity and beauty. With the movement of more women opting to have their breast implants removed, in the wake of these surgeries, smaller breasts will call for more options like bralettes to be worn by women of all ages.

The Victoria’s Secret store known as Pink has begun to offer more bralette items, along with stores like Target and Nordstrom selling bralettes as well. On Instagram, the #bralette hashtag enjoys more than 162,731 posts, proving the popularity of bralettes on social media.

The amount of bralettes being sold online in the U.S. are double what they were in the previous year, with bralettes gaining steam in the teen market specifically. With photos of pretty bralettes showing new ways to wear them that are different than traditional bras, it’s no wonder women are taking to bralettes. Some of the bralettes feature wrap around straps whilst others have a halter style with clasps around the neck and the band beneath the breasts.

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Instead of the bras of old that weren’t as fashionable, and were meant to hide beneath clothes, the bralettes are being viewed as another part of a wardrobe that doesn’t mind being seen. Along with bralettes, bandeau bras have also become a staple in the wardrobe of women over the years. The chain store Aerie will come out with the bandeau with padding, which will offer extra volume to women who like to pair bandeaus beneath their clothing.

[Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP]