Match Made in Heaven: The Lingerie to Wear Under 5 Dress Styles

There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who choose their lingerie based on what they’re wearing, and the ones who choose what to wear based on their lingerie. Yet whichever type you are, one thing remains the same – your underwear and outwear choices do need to work together.
You wouldn’t wear a ruffled bra or frilly knickers under a bodycon dress for example, and a backless gown doesn’t have quite the same effect when your bra band is in plain sight. Those two might be extreme examples, but picking just the right lingerie can really make or break an outfit. Here are 5 popular dress styles and the lingerie that’ll show them off to best effect…

Strapless 

Sometimes, you can get away with wearing a strapless dress with a regular bra, if your bra straps are pretty enough and you’re not that bothered about it being strapless in the first place. However, to go truly strapless you have a few options.
First, there’s the strapless bra. Sounds perfect, right? Unfortunately, if you’re a DD cup size or above, strapless bras don’t always offer the support they should and can gradually slip down throughout the day.
So a great alternative is a strapless bustier. A bustier extends further down the body than a bra, typically to the waist, which works to keep the cups in place. Alternatively, if you’re feeling adventurous, why not try a corset? Most corsets are strapless and there’s absolutely no way they’ll be slipping down!

Bodycon

A bodycon, jersey or other tight-fitting dress has the unfortunate effect of letting every tiny little lump and bump show through. Depending on how thick the dress fabric is, you may even be able to see the lace print on your lacy bra, and tie-side knickers, suspenders and anything else that’s not perfect sleek and smooth is a no-go.
This is where shapewear comes in handy. Even if you don’t actually need it to do any shaping, the majority of shapewear I’ve seen is designed to smooth and flatten common problem areas, meaning the lingerie itself is equally smooth.
If you find shapewear uncomfortable, a seamless t-shirt bra is your best friend. And if you dare, you could even try strapless knickers which are as invisible as they come!

A-Line

50’s inspired A-line dresses with their nipped in waists and flared skirts have never gone out of fashion. They’re incredibly flattering to any figure by creating the illusion of an hourglass shape.
If you don’t naturally have a nipped-in waist, or you want to enhance the effect, a corset is the perfect undergarment to wear with this dress. If you prefer to wear a bra, you can find beautiful underbust corsets or even waspies, which are like a miniature corset just for your waistline.

Backless

The simplest solution to a backless dress is to go braless, and wear a pair of nipple covers if the fabric is sheer and you’re worried about things showing through. Instead, why not wear a low-backed bustier? They offer support and shaping at the front, but at the back can finish as low as your waistline.
If your dress is really low-cut at the back, another option is to wear a stick-on bra which is literally just a pair of cups, sometimes joined in the centre by a hook, that attaches with silicon or an adhesive.

Plunge

At the other end of the spectrum from backless dresses are dresses with a plunging neckline at the front. In this case, you can’t really wear a bra unless you don’t mind the gore (the centre bit that joins the cups) being on show.
Instead, nipple covers will stop anything showing through, and double-sided lingerie tape can be used to secure the sides of the neckline firmly in place, so they won’t reveal anything if you lean forwards!