I have been looking for a strapless bra for YEARS. Well, I tell a lie, I’ve actually been struggling on with a ‘strapless bra’ for years now. It just happens that strapless bra is an M&S cast off from my mum, in the wrong size. I wasn’t fond of said strapless bra, as you can imagine. It looked wrong, felt wrong, and fell down an awful lot. Hence, when I was offered to review one of the Wonderbra Ultimate Strapless bras, I jumped at the chance—especially because I LOVE off the shoulder dresses and tops. I’d previously just been going bra-less (bad me) but this summer has definitely been the Summer of the Strapless since this little baby turned up in the post!

It turns up in quite hilarious packaging; promising to keep you strapped in by using ‘invisible hands’ moulded into the cups—this is no exaggeration. You really can see the hand prints in the moulding. At first, I’ll be honest, it felt a little…gropey…but I quickly acclimatised. And it works a treat.

As a wonderbra it also promises a good uplift, and therefore cleavage. Now, I have to say this doesn’t quite work for me (my magical cleavage-resisting-boobs strike again), but I’m sure it would for other people.

Appearance / Shape

I love the look of this bra, especially when it’s on. Personally, I love the look of longline designs, and this bra sits a little lower on the ribcage, giving that lovely longline appearance which is so flattering. It also has a really handy plunge shape, which makes it far more adaptable for different kinds of clothing. The fabric is a smooth satin, and looks really chic in black. I probably should have been sensible and gone for a nude colour which could have gone under white tops as well, but I couldn’t resist that glam black look. The moulded, slightly padded cups give a really nice shape, and the ‘invisible hands’ definitely do their job at holding up rather than dragging down. I didn’t need to readjust often during a day, even when I’d been out and about, moving around for a long time. The band is nice and thick, and gives a good amount of support.

Sizing, Comfort, and Fit

I had a little nugget of insider knowledge with the fit of this bra; although I’m usually a 30D, Sian demanded (with menaces) that I order the 32C. The band definitely runs tight in this product, and I’d recommend sizing up—although it is great that they size down to 30 bands, and I was loathe to not take advantage of it. The cups were just right at a C in combination with the 32. Obviously, you want it to be nice and tight to stop slippage, but you also don’t want your ribcage garrotted.

The cleavage difference – top is after wearing for a while, lower is when it has just been put on, and adequately ‘adjusted’!

Definitely very comfortable (as I keep saying, especially for a strapless!) and an extra level of safety comes with the silicon strips. The only negative I have for this one is that after a few wears and a couple of washes, the little piece of fabric that the silicon strip sits on started to rub. It got so bad that it left a little scratch mark on my skin which hung around for about a week, but that might have been because I wearing the bra A LOT. I really did get my use out of it all summer. When I’ve put it on for the occasional night or day since, it has been absolutely fine. I do have very sensitive skin, so again, that probably isn’t something everyone would experience.

I now know, after whipping it out to show off to a fair few friends, that a lot of women with bigger boobs have found this a tricky fit. As a 30D, I’ve found it pretty much perfect, but maybe that’s something to consider for ladies with a bigger bust. Try one on before you commit to buying! But I must say—as for the jiggle, jump, and dance tests—this bra passed every one with flying colours!

Now I just need another in nude so I can wear it under white…

The Wonderbra Ultimate Strapless is available at House of Fraser for £34 in Black in sizes 30D-F, 32-36 A-G. Also find it in Black Lace (for £26), “Nude” and Ivory Lace (for £26). Also find a larger size range (30DD-G, 32-38 A-G) in all the above colours and more at Figleaves.