Bustin' Out Boutique

This is always an area of bras that drives us a little crazy at Bustin’ Out Boutique. I’m going to start out by saying the word ‘nude’ irks me, because most people take the word ‘nude’ to mean beige and for a lot of women that color isn’t even close to what a ‘nude’ bra should be for their complexion. But let’s start with the reasons that a lot of women think they need a nude or white bra, for years we’ve been told that these are basics to have in your bra wardrobe. And depending on what you do and the clothing you have they can be an essential item to own. But for a lot of us they aren’t really vital.

When you’re looking for bras really think about your wardrobe and the colors you tend to wear, if you own a lot of white shirts or shirts that are on the sheerer side and wear them regularly, then go right ahead with your beige bras. But a lot of women, especially here in Alaska tend to wear thicker shirts or dress in layers which means that ‘nude’ or white bras aren’t quite essential. If you wear darker colors you can pretty much wear whatever color of bra you want under your tops.

White bras can be tricky to find in the US, especially in the size range we carry. This is primarily because a lot of UK based companies don’t produce a lot of white bras for the US market. When we can find them, they are usually marketed as a ‘bridal’ piece and tend to be more ivory in color and use materials that aren’t quite compatible with everyday wear and tear. White bras are actually more likely to show through your lighter clothing because they create such a stark contrast with our skin tone. Now if you wear a white camisole under everything anyway this isn’t as much of a concern, but for those of us that don’t do this it can make it harder to wear certain tops. In addition to this, lighter color and pastel toned bras are just harder to keep looking clean and bright in general as they can become dingy fairly quickly.

Now if a ‘nude’ bra is really what you are looking for we recommend finding one that is fairly close to your skin tone or the undertones of your skin. If you’re very pale or have a deep complexion a beige bra can heavily contrast with your skin tone and depending on the top you’re wearing the bra will stand out even more than if you were to wear a bra that has pinker or more reddish tones.

– Written by Hollis Kitchin, Co-Owner of Bustin’ Out Boutique and Bra Enthusiast (ok we admit it, she’s obsessed with bras), Photo by Hollis Kitchin.