Even as recently as 35 years ago nuns forbade girls attending Catholic schools from wearing bras, instead they had to use strips of material tied tightly around the breasts to try to make them smaller! Nowadays, even nuns wear bras.

Bras come in all shapes and sizes; from tiny soft bras for girls of 10 to very supportive under-wired bras designed for the fuller figure.

Did you know that 90% of women find their bras to be uncomfortable? This may be because research has shown that a similar percentage have poorly fitting bras, because they have never been properly measured.

Bras come in a very wide range of designs. Large breasted women find it difficult to buy attractive and feminine bras because manufacturers have been slow to provide a wide range of bras for this market.

Many sexy bra designs are primarily designed to be attractive to men. You can now buy translucent and transparent bras, wet-look bras and bras that are hardly there at all. Peephole bras allow the nipples to stick out.

Bra design has also changed to accommodate strapless and backless dresses and tops. After all it is pointless buying a low cut evening gown, with no back, and then spoiling the appearance with bra straps on shoulders and back.

Sports bras are basically highly elasticised skimpy tops, with no seams to rub. They are designed to provide support and stop the breasts bouncing around during exercise. They come in the various degrees of support necessary for different activity levels.