Sorry to break this to you, but people know you're wearing a bra

This t-shirt was a Dorothy Perkins hit

Living in Canada there are lots of occasions where I feel conspicuously English; every time I say lift and not elevator, bin and not garbage, cooker and not stove. In the world of bras the time I feel most English is when my clients say they don't like "bra seams you can see under clothes." Bra seams being visible under clothing was never something I was aware of when I lived in the UK. No one passed comment on it, to me at least. Here in North American it's evident that visible seams are a big concern as though women feel it would be an embarrassment if other people knew they were wearing a bra?

Are You Hiding More than Just Seams?
Almost every lingerie rep I've spoken to in Canada and the US has told me that North American women like seamless, neutral colour bras. There has to be something deeper at the root of this 'seam-phobia'. I think it has something to do with the sheer lack of bra size choice North American women have experienced that has bred a continent-wide disillusionment with bras. Canada and the US have a disproportionate lack of readily available bra sizes in comparison to the UK and Europe. Add to this the giant influence of the t-shirt bra from huge manufacturers like Victoria's Secret and women have been trained away from the benefits of other shapes of bra.

It's no wonder that generations of women forced into bra sizes that were available rather than ones that fit have learned to hate bras. There is a distinct lack of Big Bra Celebration in North American compared to the UK and I think the knock-on effect is this desire to blend into the background and hide your breasts, hence the epidemic of seamless bras.

I love that the seams are part of the design on this bra from Freya (Lyla 2011)

Are Seams Really That Big a Deal?
I always think of these two things when someone says they don't want their bra to be visible:

1. Everyone knows you're wearing a bra, especially when you're busty
2. No one who matters is looking directly at your bra seams and judging you

People are definitely going to notice that you look better in the right bra but people aren't looking directly at your boobs or even more specifically, your bra seams. What makes no sense to me is choosing to wear an ill-fitting seamless bra that causes sagging and spillage rather than wear a seamed bra for fear of it being embarrassing. For women with heavy breasts you need seamed bras because the seams are what give you shape and support. The seams 'direct' the breast tissue up and away from your waist to give you definition and lift. Don't get me wrong, seamless bras are great, but they're not for everyone and they're not the only option.

My Outfits and Seamed Bras
I mostly wear seamed bras because my boobs are side heavy so they need some forward propulsion and I never feel that my outfits look compromised by my seamed bras. Here are some fabrics, styles and designs that I think are completely compatible with seamed bras:

1. Patterned Clothing - patterns distract from any seam underneath
2. Dark Fabrics - black, navy, charcoal and brown sweaters (or jumpers in my world) hide seams perfectly
3. Ruched Tops - Lots of busty friendly clothing has ruching at the neckline which detracts from underlying bra seams

I'm wearing a seam-free bra in only one of these outfits - can you tell which one?

I own seam-free bras which I wear with some stretch jersey fabrics, but that's about it. I find that seamless bras tend to spread out my bust more than a seamed bra. I prefer a narrower look from my bras so I mostly wear seamed bras.

Feeling happy and confident in your bra depends a lot on bra style and it has to feel right for you. Being trapped in one style of bra because of some mental barriers about your body image is quite a different thing. Are you someone who used to be seam-phobic but got past it? I'd love to hear your story xx