Getting Started with Intimate Apparel (Lingerie, Corsets, & Bras, Oh My!)

Intimate apparel also known as lingerie encompasses all women’s undergarments. Night gowns, robes, corsets, panty hose and most other hosiery excluding socks, leggings, panties, and bras all fall under the lingerie category. It’s a big topic and while I won’t go too far into each, let’s get started on basics!

Bras
Bras are an essential part of the female wardrobe, providing support and creating the perfect silhouette. But it can also be very tough to find the right fit and figure out how to clasp a bra from the back, so let’s hop to it!

If you’re just starting out, definitely get a training bra. They look like sports bras and pull over without needing to use a clasp and can offer support for your budding breasts while you grow. Many who begin hormones skip this step in favor for jumping right into the lacy, sexy, lingerie but then usually have to buy new bras to fit their growing breasts. If you really prefer to wear the sexy stuff, you can always get a bandeau, which is another pullover style bra that is stretchy, does not have straps, and comes in a whole variety of fun colors and fabrics. I suggest bandeaus and training bras for the first few months of transition because they come in stretchy fabrics and general sizes and support you while you grow. A “high neck bralette” can also be used to help get you used to wearing a bra without the hassle of clasps but all the prettiness of a lacy bra.

The next step up from training bras and bandeaus are front clasp bras. These clip together in the front between the cups and are a great transitional step so you get used to the way bra clasps work without having to deal with doing it behind your back. Start transitioning to these types of bras when the training bras fail to support you or you have just grown out of them.

Of course whenever you feel comfortable and your breasts have finished growing, it’s a good time to transition to the back clasping bras. There are a lot of different kinds of bra shapes that do all sorts of things for your breasts. But let’s tackle some definitions to help you wrap your head around the big world of bras. You’ve probably seen these advertised and wondered what they were and why you need them.

• Underwire
  • There is a wire in the bottom seam of the bra used as a support. They are very common and are the “norm” for most bras, but I would usually suggest getting underwire only if you have noticed sagging in your bra or if you’re above a B-cup. Of course you can get a bra with underwire if you are smaller, but it’s a definite need if you’re above a B-Cup.
• Padding
  • Padding is something that is also very common in bras. Most people think that they want more padding, but it can actually be a hindrance and make your boobs pop out the top or bottom of your bra if you don’t need it. Padding should really only be used if you have uneven breasts and need padding in one cup and not the other. Light padding is good for hiding hard nipples in cold weather, but this can also be fixed by wearing nipple pasties.
• Push-Ups
  • A push up bra will help your breasts appear fuller by adding in more padding into the 7-o-clock on the left and 4-o-clock on the right in order to push your breasts together and lift them up. These are not always necessary with larger breasts, but can definitely help to give you the cleavage you want.
• Sports
  • A pullover bra without clasps in a stretchy fabric that can support any high impact use. Running a little too fast down a flight of stairs can be a pain in the tits if you’re not wearing a bra, but wearing a sport bra compresses your breasts in a way that becomes a lot less of a distraction when you’re on a jog. Wearing a regular bra while working out isn’t the end of the world, but definitely won’t give you the support like a sports bra will.

Tips: White shirts can show off your colored bra through your shirt easily, many make the mistake of wearing a white bra with a white shirt, but it’s actually best to wear a nude/skin tone colored bra to have a seamless look without showing off your bra.

If you’re on a budget and can only afford a few bras, I suggest getting a sports bra, a nude/skin tone colored bra, and a bra in a neutral color like black or white or gray depending on your wardrobe. It can be tempting to get that hot pink lacy bra, but if you need a daily bra to wear at work, that hot pink bra easily turns into the most annoying brightly colored bra you own that doesn’t go with anything.

Bra Resources:
A great resource is r/ABraThatFits where they have articles that delve deep into sizing, here is the link for their beginners guide, an MtF guide, and an easy sizing calculator.

Corsets & Shape Wear
Nowadays, when we wear corsets it’s usually for the sake of fashion, so many of the materials now are silky and lacy and lack boning. But if you are wanting to wear a corset for body training purposes, want a nice tight fit, or as an alternative to a bra, always opt for steel boning to provide high quality structure. Another commonly found term when looking for a corset is a “modesty panel” this is a small piece of fabric (usually sewn to the corset in a matching fabric, but can be a separate piece meant to be tucked in) behind the lacing that covers any skin or undershirt that may peek out from under your laces.

I am a frequent corset wearer myself, and have picked up a few tips over the years. Firstly, quality matters when it comes to corsets. You can get corset-styled lingerie with laces and eyelets down the back, but the fabric isn’t the same as a real corset and they usually don’t have any boning or structure. Corsets are not easy to wash, most of the high quality ones are dry clean only, so whenever I am wearing a corset, I wear an undershirt just to keep it a little cleaner. A regular t-shirt that you lace your corset over is fine, but if you’re looking for the strapless look and don’t have a strapless undershirt on hand, I suggest putting on a camisole or other spaghetti strap style undershirt lacing yourself into the corset, then unlooping your arms from the straps and tucking them away into the corset.

The other style of corset is a waist cincher (sometimes called a waspie) which does not cover the breasts and works exactly like a regular corset, but only shaping the waist. These make a fun addition to a plain dress and really accentuate the hourglass figure.

Shape wear has come a long way in recent years and is now made with all types of stretchy fabrics. A popular brand you may have heard of is Spanx, made of spandex and nylon to tuck away loose skin and create a smooth silhouette. Whether you are looking to boost your bottom or suck in that tummy, there is shape wear for every body part. When looking to purchase shape wear look for the quality of fabric and be sure to get the correct size, the fabric stretches quite a bit, so the sizing is always true to size, but scale up rather than down if you are having trouble finding your exact size. It is also best to purchase shape wear in a nude/skin tone color to hide it better under your clothing.

If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask in the comments! Mind your Mistress and remember to always stay beautiful!

Follow this link to a full list of articles!

xoxo,
thelibrarian