A bralette is a lightweight bra without an underwire, designed primarily for comfort.[1][2] Bralettes are also sometimes worn as outerwear top,[1] and are also designed as undershirts for girls developing breasts.[3]
In the 2010s and early 2020s, bralettes and soft bras started gaining in popularity, at the expense of underwired and padded bras.[4][1] Some brands such as Victoria's Secret failed to follow this trend and adjust; as a result of which their sales decreased significantly.[5] In 2017, the sales of cleavage-enhancing bras fell by 45% while, at Marks & Spencer, sales of wireless bras grew by 40%.[6] Some have attributed the rising popularity of bralettes to a new focus on the "athletic body, health and wellbeing", more than "about the male gaze,"[7] while others suggest a connection to the #MeToo movement.[1]
Bralettes also became popular during the COVID-19 lockdowns due to a focus on comfort while remote working.[8]
