Bustiers

A bustier is a strapless top with the structure built into it. It starts above the bust and stops at the waist, and that is the whole thing that makes it a bustier and not something else. A bra stops under the bust. A corset keeps going over the hips. This one lands in the middle, so it holds you without squeezing you, and you can wear it all night without thinking about it once.

Two things are doing the work. The cups, underwired or molded, handle the bust. The bones, thin strips sewn down the seams, keep the rest of it standing up on its own instead of leaning on you. Be clear about what that buys you though. It lifts and it smooths. It does not take inches off a waist. That is a corset's job, and no bustier is going to do it however tightly you hook it.

It earns its keep three ways, which almost nothing else in lingerie does. On its own. Under something low cut or sheer, where strapless is the entire reason it works and a regular bra is no use to you. Or over jeans or a high-waisted skirt, where it stops being underwear and starts being a top. On fit, the hooks down the back run in columns, two or three rows of them, so you have somewhere to go if you land between sizes.

Grouped by fabric and cut, with the rest of each one next door.

• Lace and satin: the traditional end. Soft over the boning, and the version that reads as lingerie first.
• Crochet and fishnet: open knit and net, often with rhinestone detailing. Shows more skin at the same structure.
• Patent vinyl and faux leather: hard-finished with lace-up fronts and back zips. The most outerwear-capable of the group and the most dressed-up.
• Open cup: structured everywhere except the cups. All the shaping, none of the coverage, and a completely different intent from the rest.
• Bustier sets: bustier plus a matching thong or G-string, and sometimes a shrug or stockings. A full look out of one order.
• Corsets: longer, stronger and built for actual waist reduction. Where to go if smoothing is not enough.
• Bras and bralettes: if you want a cup and a band rather than a whole structured torso.
• Bra and panty sets: matched pairs without the boning, for wearing under clothes rather than over them.
• Bondage lingerie: the strappy and hardware end, which several of these cross over into.
• Festival tops: what a vinyl or lace-up bustier gets worn with when it is doing the top's job.
• Plus size lingerie: extended sizing on its own page so the fits are easier to find.
• All lingerie: the full range, if structure is not what you are after.