Behold, the Best Bra Solutions for Every Kind of Hard-to-Wear Dress (2024)

Idk about you, but I’ve got a love-hate relationship with bras—at least when we're talking about the stiff underwire ones, that is (gimme all the comfy bras!). While I love to let the girls free at home, I hate going in public without a real bra on. (See? Love-hate.) And because I prefer not to go braless, I always pass on all the cute backless, plunging, or cutout dresses and tend to stick with the same old silhouettes over and over again.

If you also adore complicated, strappy dresses, but need a bra or some sort of coverage to feel comfortable, join the club. With the right bra, we, too, can wear those asymmetrical dresses with all the slits and ties and not be stressed about popping out of ‘em. (!) Got your eye on a couple of dress options? Take the risk and go with the jaw-dropping, fun one—just make sure to get one of these types of bras to go with it.

Here, we've listed some tricky dress examples and the practical, functional undergarments to wear under each. We've got sticky bras for backless dresses, strapless bras for sleeveless ones, push-up bras if you like a little lift, and even some options for bras for larger busts. For all those times when your bralette won’t cut it, try one of these instead.

For a naked dress or other completely sheer pieces, try...

A basic bra and underwear in a contrasting colorway, if you really want to commit to the fall/winter 2023 runway trend that celebrities including Emma Chamberlain and Emily Ratajkowski recently embraced at the iconic Vanity Fair Oscars Party. So for example, pair light-colored naked dresses or sheer rhinestone ones with a seamless black bra and underwear combo. It's ideal for a night out on the town. But! If you want to rock your sheer look in a more subtle way—for a dinner date, perhaps?—wear undergarments in a similar colorway underneath.

Any style of underwear (thong, cheeky panty, high-rise brief, or something else) works well, it just depends on how much coverage you want. As for bras, choose something with a classic shape that's free of lace or other design details. Remember: The dress itself will be the focus, so anything underneath should be sleek and simple.

Whether you style your sheer look with undergarments that barely show through or bold contrasting ones, both are great ways to make this daring runway and red carpet trend more wearable. Just make sure your undergarments are matching, and steer clear of skin-colored bodysuits, bras, and undies if you want the styling to feel modern and fashion-forward!

For a strapless or spaghetti strap dress, try...

A strapless bra, bodysuit, or bustier. A strapless bra is an obvious choice if you don't want your straps to show, but if you're larger than a C-cup, try a bodysuit. These full-body bras for strapless dresses will prevent the band from sliding down and offer the kind of support you usually can only find in a bra with straps—super important if you're gonna be wearing it allll day. But if you're worried about the going-to-the-bathroom sitch, opt for a longline silhouette or bustier instead that has boning and silicone to keep it up.

For a low-back or backless dress, try...

A sticky bra. Strapless and backless adhesive bras that connect in the middle work especially well to provide coverage and a little lift when you can't have a band in the back. Sometimes these bras for backless dresses can be a little fuller coverage, especially if they have adhesive side wings, so they probs work best if the open-back dress has a higher neckline and doesn't show a ton of side boob. And if you like a little cleavage and have a dress with a bit of a lower neckline, go with a lace-up version, which allows you to adjust the drawstring in between the cups to push 'em together.

For a sleeveless or racerback dress, try...

Bra converters, a racerback bra, or a T-back bra. As long as there's enough material on the back of the dress to cover up the straps, a racerback or T-back style bra is the perfect fix. Don't have one? You don't need to buy a whole new bra to make it work with your sleeveless dress. Converters help pinch your bra straps together in the back, while simultaneously giving you a lil' extra lift and cleavage, too.

For a plunging neckline dress, try...

A plunge bra or boob tape. Plunge bras are perfect for low-cut dresses—even necklines that extend below your sternum are no match for bras like these that have a deep "U" shape between the cups. And if all else fails, there's always boob tape. With thick tape like this, you can customize your "bra" any way that you want, but it's especially perfect for maintaining lift in low-cut dresses that cover your shoulders, and yup, it even works on larger chests. Just make sure to spot-test before committing for the night, and protect your nips from the strong adhesive by placing a circle of tissue between it and the tape.

For a strappy dress with cutouts, try...

Adhesive nipple covers and lifting tape. Take all the good things we said about boob tape and condense it down into a smaller version when you're workin' with less fabric and showing way more skin. Dresses with lots of slits, holes, cutouts, and straps make bras near impossible, but adhesive nipple covers and boob-shaped lifting tape that you can trim down to fit the shape of your dress are game-changers.

For a low-cut and low-back dress, try...

Nipple petals. Sometimes all you want is to prevent a nip slip, in which case breast petals will make you feel covered even in the most revealing of dresses. The most minimal of low-back bras, pasties are also painless to take off (i.e., they're sticky enough to stay on, but won't leave any red marks) and usually sweat-resistant, so they won't budge even if they get wet.

For an asymmetric dress try...

A convertible or adjustable strapless bra. Whether the back of the dress is asymmetrical or it has only one sleeve, you'll need a bra that can adjust and hide underneath, like one of these. Some convertible bras come with additional elastic bands that you can wrap around the front of your torso to make the back dip lower, while others come with a variety of shoulder straps. Either way, make sure all the straps and bands are adjustable and removable so you can customize your bra exactly how you want it at that very moment.