The Language of Lingerie Series: Parts of a Bra

The Language of Lingerie Series: Parts of a Bra

Ladies, we have to continue talking about how we talk about our bras!  What better place to start than with the parts of the bra? 

So many parts go into making a bra that it can be hard to describe what you are looking for when bra shopping if you can't verbalize exactly what it is that you want or what you don't like about your current bras.  As fitters, we want to make sure you are as comfortable as possible in your bras.  We can let you know if a bra fit is correct, but what we can't tell you is your comfort level in that specific bra- that important info has to come from you.  If an underwire is poking you, or a side seam feels rough, or the under band hem is bothering you, we rely on you to let us know.  We're going to give you all of the bra lingo you need to do so!

The diagram above is a great depiction of this.  Not every bra will look exactly like this, this one happens to be a cut and sew (or seamed cup) bra as oppose to a T-shirt bra (which includes contour cups and molded cups). Every bra will have most, but not necessarily all, of these components.

As you can see from the diagram, what we commonly refer to as the "band" (the part that straps around your torso) is actually made up of several parts- the wings, the hook & eye tapes, a side seam (if there is one present) and so forth.  The cradle is the base that the cups sit upon, and the bridge brings the two cups together.  The height and angle of the "cup neck hem" determines the neckline of a bra, or the amount of cup coverage you will get.

Now that you've got an idea of the basic components of a bra, in the next part of the series we'll focus on the language used to define levels of cup coverage.  


Best Rack Around is a lingerie & bra fitting boutique located in Market Station in Leesburg, Virginia in beautiful Loudoun County.  We proudly serve women of all ages, body types, and stages of life.  In addition to the selection of every day bras and special occasion bras, we also have nursing bras, sports bras, mastectomy bras & forms and post-surgical bras.  Call us at (571) 918-4738 to schedule a fitting or visit our website to book an appointment online!