The Best Bras for Women Over 60, Ranked
We ranked the five kinds of bras women over 60 actually wear, from the one that hurts the most to the one most women never take back off. Here's how each did on what matters after 60: bands, wires, hooks, and how you feel at 4 PM.
The Underwire Bra
It's the bra most of us were fitted for at 25, and the one most women over 60 still own. It holds you up by squeezing: a tight band around the ribs, a wire under each breast, hooks behind your back that get harder to reach every year.
By 4 PM it's the first thing you take off when you walk in the door. The red lines on your shoulders and under your bust are still there at bedtime.
- Band squeezes your ribs all day
- Wire under the bust
- Hooks behind your back
- Real support
The Shelf-Bra Cami
Soft and easy to pull on, which is why it looks like the answer. Look inside: the "bra" is a strip of elastic sewn in a circle around the bottom edge. That's a band, and a band has to grip your ribs, or the whole thing rides up.
Fine for an A cup on a quiet Sunday. For anyone fuller, it flattens more than it holds.
- Elastic band around the ribs
- Little real support
- Nothing to hook
The Sports Bra
No wire, which is why so many women switch to it after 60. But it was made for running: tight all the way around, and you have to wrestle it over your head and shoulders every morning.
Many women sleep in an old one. Most will tell you it digs just as much at night.
- Tight all the way around
- Hard to pull on and off
- No wire
The Wire-Free Bralette
Lovely fabric, no wire, and some even pull on. It's the most comfortable of the "real" bras, and it earns its B.
What keeps it from the top: it still has a band, often still has hooks, and a fuller bust gets very little hold from thin lace.
- No wire
- Soft
- Still a band, often hooks
- Little hold for a fuller bust
Nobody earned an A
We looked for something that was almost there. Everything else on this list either squeezes your ribs or doesn't hold you. Which is why the top spot isn't really a bra at all.
The Tank With the Bra Built In
It's a soft ribbed tank top with two padded cups sewn into the front. The support comes from the front panel, not from a band around your back, so there's nothing around your ribs at all. Run your thumb along the bottom edge: it's flat the whole way around.
No hooks, no wire, no band. Wide flat straps that stay on your shoulders. You pull it on like a t-shirt in the morning, and at 4 PM there's nothing to unhook.
Sizes M to 4XL, four colors: beige, white, black and blue. The size guide asks for your cup and your weight, and if the size isn't right, the exchange is free.
- 2 padded cups sewn in
- No band, no wire, no hooks
- Wide flat straps
- Sizes M to 4XL
- 60-day fit guarantee
How They Compare
| Bra Tank (A+) | Underwire (E) | Shelf Cami (D) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real shaped support | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| No band around the ribs | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| No wire | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Nothing to hook | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Padding stays put | ✓ | — | ✗ |
| Smooth back, no lines | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
