This would be in 2016, when a global pandemic was something that only happened in Hollywood movies. The Victoria’s Secret empire was already struggling, along with the idea of women buying underwear for the male gaze, but this was still a prediction. Three years later, Kim Kardashian would launch the Skims clothing and lingerie brand, now worth $3.2bn (£2.6bn), so when Covid brought the world to a standstill a few months later and sales of traditional bras plummeted by 16 per cent (according to US market researcher NPD), both it and M&S were well placed to benefit from our rapidly changing lifestyles. So what’s it like to wear this hero bra? I tried the AE-cup version in a C-cup, as Halima had advised me to size down (there’s also an FH-cup style, as well as minimiser, post-op and nursing versions). For starters, the fabric is really soft: there’s no mistaking the feel of it when you’re blindly rummaging through your underwear drawer without your specs. Nor is there irritation from scratchy laces or tags. And the band doesn’t wrap – the perennial problem with sports bras. Plus, it looks stylish enough to wear as a crop top on its own. I wore mine on holiday in Italy last week with high waisted linen shorts and a matching shirt on top, worn open. I’m not alone: M&S has sold almost half a million of these bras to date. I’m late to the party. M&S isn’t the only lingerie maker tapping into this demand for non-wired bras that cover larger cup sizes: Bravissimo has pretty lace bralettes that support up to a J-cup, from £36. John Lewis’ affordable Anyday range includes the Willow wireless bra, which goes up to an E-cup, £20. The most competitive seems to be the Zero-Feel bralette by Sloggi, £35 and the Spanx Bra-llelujah! non-wired bralette, £36. My only minor complaint is that while it’s supportive, the Flexifit doesn’t keep the breasts separate like a wired bra, which makes a difference to how your clothes hang. While there’s nothing stopping you from wearing it all day, every day, I’m most likely to wear it to a pilates class, walking the dog, or just around the house. When it comes to work or hanging out with friends, I still want that lift and separation to make my shirts and dresses look their best – and that, as far as I’m concerned, can only be provided by a traditional underwire bra. She proved me wrong about non-wired bras, though. They can be supportive and comfortable – even if you have a chest in the middle of the alphabet.
