When I want to buy a bra, the most important factors I consider are support and comfort. However, at some point in your life, you are likely to fall in love with a strapless dress. Or if you are like me, you may be forced to wear one as your best friend’s bridesmaid.

When it’s time to wear a strapless dress, you will need a strapless bra. If you are hunting for a plus size strapless bra that actually stays up, this article is for you.

[wps_table style=”default”]

	Elila Molded Strapless Bra	Fantasie Smoothing Seamless Strapless	Le Mystere Soiree Strapless Bra	Wacoal Women’s Plus Size Red Carpet Strapless	Delimira Women’s Full Figure Underwire Contour Multiway Strapless Bra Plus Size
Cup	Full, Molded with Boning	Full, Molded	3/4 cup, Molded	3/4 cup, Lined, Has boning	3/4 cup, Lined, Has boning
Convertible	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Max # of hooks	4	3	4	4	4
Fit	True to Size	Runs Large in Cup	Runs Small in Band	Runs Small in Cup	Runs Small in Cup and Band
Band Support	Excellent	Very Good	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
	Check Available sizes	Check Available sizes	Check Available sizes	Check Available sizes	Check Available sizes

[/wps_table]

 

The Challenge of Wearing a Strapless Bra

A well-designed and properly fitting bra with straps provides about 80 percent of the support through the band. If you have a large bust, you may have noticed that the bra bands tend to be thicker. This is because they offer majority of the support needed to hold your breasts in position.

The remaining 20 percent of the support is provided by the straps. If you take the straps away, the bra will lose its ability to shape and lift your bust.

Strapless bras aim to provide all the support and lift you need without any straps. To achieve this, the bras are made with a more supportive band, which is usually thicker than bras with straps have. Strapless bras tend to fit more snugly around the band to ensure the breasts stay in place. If you have a large bust, the band will have to do much work.

Since there are no straps to hold the sistas in place, s strapless bra band will struggle to keep heavy breasts in position. And sometimes, they will fail, to the point of completely flipping over!

In this post, I’ll be reviewing the best strapless bras for large breasts. I’ve also reviewed longline bras for plus size women in a separate post.

Should You Wear a Strapless or Longline Bra?

Your preferences should help you decide whether to wear a strapless or longline bra.

Generally, most people prefer strapless bras because with them, you only have to worry about getting them on the chest area. Therefore, these bras can fit various types of bodies and can be worn with different clothes.

For extra support, you might want to go with a longline bra. However, depending on the shape of your body and length of the bra, the garment may end at an awkward spot on your torso. You also have to check whether the long line bra will show through your outfit and whether it will fit around the midsection.

The best thing about longline bras is that they offer more support. Therefore, it is highly likely that you will find a plus size strapless bra that actually stays up. Moreover, depending on the bra you select, they may have shaping benefits like a corset does.

Best Plus Size Strapless Bras that Actually Stay Up

Elila Molded Strapless Bra

I have good things to say about the Elila brand, especially with regards to their plus size bras.

The Elila Molded Strapless Bra is made of spacer fabric and has side boning. The full coverage bra offers excellent support.

Cup

The bra has a full coverage cup with a three-piece sewn inner cup for shaping and lifting the twins. There is also a molded outer cup for smoothness. The result? The cup gets a little thick but you end up with the best of both worlds.

If you have FOB breasts, they will benefit from a sewn cup for uplift in a bra with straps. However, this may not always work out well with a strapless bra. I found out this when I wore the Elomi Maria convertible bra. Unless you have self-supporting breasts, it will be tough to fill out the cup really well.

This Elomi bra offers does more to shape your boobs, and even has some boning inside the cups.

Band

The Elomi Molded Strapless Bra is boned between the cups to create a sturdy supporting structure. The high underarm cut and boning on the sides of the bra keep the sistas from going to the sides. The band has four rows of hooks at the back and large elastic linings at the top and bottom to keep it in place.

The only thing I would have loved the bra to have are those rubbery strips that help to keep the band in place and prevent slipping.

Overall

The Elomi Molded Bra is the best plus size strapless bra that actually stays up. The bra is comfortable to were and despite all the boning, it does not poke into the flesh.

While I wouldn’t wear this bra every day, even with convertible straps, it would be perfect for an evening out. The bra offers excellent support and keeps your breasts in place without it slipping. Therefore, you can be sure of getting that cleavagely look without having to go to the bathroom all the time to pull the bra back up.

Available on Amazon

Fantasie Smoothing Seamless Strapless Bra

Another brand that produces an excellent strapless bra for plus size is Fantasie. The Smoothing Seamless Strapless Bra offers an amazing fit. However, the bra is not as supportive as the Elila Molded Strapless Bra. Moreover, as you go high in cup size, the band size options become limited.

Cup

This Fantasie wear is a full coverage cup bra. The bra has less structure compared to the Elila option but is still supportive thanks to its tall center panel that keeps your breasts in the cup. If you have an FOB bust, you will feel like everything is at the level it should be. Moreover, when wearing the bra, your boobs feel well-contained in the cup. You won’t have to deal with the flat, “on a platter” look.

The panel of the Fantasie Smoothing Seamless Strapless bra is a little wide. Therefore, you can be sure that there will be sufficient space between your breasts. Depending on how narrow or wide your breasts are naturally, or what you are wearing, this bra may not produce the best look.

Band

The band is wide but not as wide as the Elila bar, even in the bigger cup sizes. The band is elastic to help keep your breasts in position. There is also a gripper strip on the band that holds it in place. This feature is a plus as it makes up a bit for the thinner brand.

I would, however, prefer to have the gripper strips on both the top and bottom edge of the band.

Overall

This Fantasie plus size strapless bra is not as comfortable as the Elila. While strapless bra are not the most comfortable options, but with the Smoothing Seamless Strapless, you being to feel it by the end of the night.

All in all, the bra works and I did not need to readjust it. Moreover, since it is a full-cup bra, you can wear it under conservative necklines.

Available on Amazon

Le Mystere Soiree Strapless Bra

If you are a large cup size woman, you should get the Le Mystere Soiree Strapless Bra. The bra is an excellent choice when you want to wear a loc cut top or dress.

Cup

The Soiree Strapless Bra does not have a full cup. Therefore, you can wear it under various necklines that the other two plus size strapless bras we’ve reviewed above won’t cut it. If you are worried that this will make you pop out of a shorter cup, there’s a silicone lining on the top part of the cup that keeps breasts in place.

One thing you will love about this bra is the nice rounding shaping that it provides. You will love how your breasts look in this bra.

Band

The band is wide on the sides and underarms, and comes with four hooks for support. However, I feel that it could be wider on the back.

The bra has gripper strips both on the top and bottom of the band to prevent it from slipping. The strips make the bra stay in place better.

The band holds the back tightly, which is something you want in a strapless bra. However, I struggled a bit to turn the bra around since I’m used to fastening my bras in the front. With strapless bras, I usually go for my lower band size. But with this Le Mystere bra, I had to try on a 40, which still felt a little snug.

There is a lot of boning on the sides and the back of the bra. The larger sizes are even more structured. Therefore, while the bra isn’t full coverage, you won’t feel like the band is slipping or likely to slip over.

Overall

While I feel that this bra has a lot of boning, it is surprisingly comfortable. This would be a perfect bra to wear every day with straps without feeling uncomfortable. Since the bra has a lower cup, you can wear it with more cups. I actually prefer this bra over the Fantasie Smoothing Seamless Strapless Bra.

Available on Amazon

Wacoal Women’s Plus Size Red Carpet Strapless Bra

With some bras, you just wear them and end up falling in love with them immediately. One of the bras that I’m talking about is the Wacoal Women’s Plus Size Red Card Strapless bra.

One of the things that stand out with this bra is its incredible size range. You won’t find strapless bras goes all the way to an H-cup from most manufacturers. I’m usually looking out for full figure bras. However, the Red Carpet is also suitable for those with smaller band sizes.

Cup

The bra has a sturdy cup with a nice silicone strip at the bottom to keep the breasts in shape and line with the cup. However, the sturdiness of the cup means the bra will only work with specific shapes or types of breasts. FOT women are likely to have issues filling the bottom of the cup.

If you are a full on bottom, you will fill the bra okay. However, you may want to go for a bigger cup size if the breasts project a lot.

I did not have an issue with the gapping on the bra; it isn’t too bad. Therefore, I would confidently wear the bra with a dress that has a neckline that matches the level of the top of the bra.

I fiddled a little bit to adjust the bra and et it to fit me properly. Moreover, the gore does not tack completely, although it still holds in place.

Band

One thing you will notice about this bra is that the bottom band of the cup has been carefully crafted. Generally, strapless bras are designed to fit more snugly than everyday bras. As a result, you may hate wearing them the whole day as you may feel like you are being chocked.

I definitely won’t be wearing this Wacoal plus size strapless bra every day. However, its band is surprisingly comfortable, especially at the underbust/underwire. The band has also been reinforced with vertical boning along the sides and back.

Overall

If you have large breastss, you may have come to be satisfied with a bra when it simply holds your breasts in place. However, this does not have to be the case. This Wacoal plus size strapless bra will also give your breasts some lift, which is quite a nice surprise.

Available on Amazon

Delimira Women’s Full Figure Underwire Contour Multiway Strapless Bra

First off, this bra has quite a mouthful name! But that aside, it’s a solid plus size strapless bra that actually stays up. I’ve previously reviewed Delimira bras but hadn’t look at this solid strapless option.

Cup

The structure of this bra cup is impressive. On the inside, there is a wide underwire that keeps the breasts held from below. The inside of the cup is also well-molded and padded with a thick banding strip on the sides for supporting the breasts.

However, I found the cups to be a little bit shallow. If you have a large bust and are an FOB, there won’t be a lot of space for your breasts to go. Moreover, the bra will not tack properly. Finally, if you are not FOT, you may experience some gapping with this bra.

This bra would be excellent for anyone that is narrow-rooted and not too projected. Otherwise, you may want to go down in band size and up in cup size to find the perfect fit.

Band

A reliable grip strip is sewn on the top and bottom of the band. This band is adequately wide at the back and comes with four hooks and wide sides. On the sides, the band has been boned a little to prevent your sistas from spreading out to the sides.

Overall

One of the appeals of this plus size strapless bra is its low price. The bra does a great job of keeping your chest nice and supported. However, I found the lift a little bit wanting.

You can get away with wearing the bra the whole day without having to adjust it. This is something that is so rare with strapless bras. Moreover, since the bra is multiway, you can wear it every day or on various occasions when you are craving a molded look.

Will it last for years? Probably not. But if you are looking for an affordable strapless bra and know that you won’t be wearing it every day, I would recommend the Full Figure Underwire Contours Multiway Strapless Bra.

Available on Amazon

Editor’s Addition

If you are on a budget and would like a strapless bra that works, get the Vanity Fair Back Strapless Underwire Bra. This bra has great construction, especially on the sides and is a multi-way.

RECOMMENDED GUIDES

Best Bras for Large Breasts
Best Bras for Plunging Necklines
Plus Size Strapless Bras to Wear With a Wedding Dress