At 62, the first thing I did every time I came home was take my bra off
At 62, the first thing I did every time I came home was take my bra off
Six things the Selina tank gets right that forty years of bras got wrong, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.
Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read
Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about underwear. But I will tell you how my days used to end. I would come through the front door, put the shopping down, and before I had even taken my coat off I was reaching up the back of my jumper to undo my bra. Every single day. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally found something she forgets she is wearing, saying so.
What I found is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is called the Selina, a smooth, soft tank top with a bra built right into it. Mine is the black. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
One layer. Nothing to do up. Read on.
Here is how it happens, and I suspect it happens to most of us. Somewhere along the way a bra stops being something you wear and becomes something you put up with. The hooks are fiddly behind your back, the straps slide off or dig in, the wires poke, and by the afternoon you are counting the minutes until you can get home and take it off.
I did not want to go without. I just wanted to stop noticing it.
The Selina is the first thing I have worn that gives me shape and support without me thinking about it all day, and having worn it most days since it arrived, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The afternoon it came. I could tell how soft it was the moment I took it out of the bag.
The bra is already inside it
Sewn into the front are two soft, moulded cups. No wires, nothing to poke or pinch, just smooth, gentle support and a nice shape. It is one layer instead of a bra, a vest and a top.
The inside. Soft cups, no wires, nothing to dig in.
So comfortable. I honestly forget I have it on.
Margaret H., BeestonNothing to do up behind my back
There are no hooks and no clasps. It goes on over my head like a vest and that is me dressed. No more twisting my arms round behind me first thing in the morning, or doing it up at the front and spinning it round.
No more fiddling with hooks. I just pull it on and go.
Jean T., ArnoldWide straps that sit flat
The straps are wide and soft, and they sit flat on my shoulders all day. They do not slide off, and they do not leave those red grooves I used to have every evening. The neat square neckline is flattering too.
On its own on a Sunday. It looks like a proper top, not underwear.
The wide straps are the best bit. They stay put on my shoulders.
Pauline W., HucknallSmooth under a cardigan or a jumper
The stretchy fabric smooths and shapes gently without squeezing, so my cardigans and fine jumpers lie flat over it. There are no bra straps peeping out and no lines at the back. Now the weather has turned it is under something every day.
Lovely and smooth under my jumpers. Everything sits better.
Sheila M., Long EatonLong enough to stay put
It comes down to the hip, so when I reach up to a shelf or bend to the oven it stays where it is. No tugging it down, and no cold back when I lean over.
Reaching for the spare blanket. It stays exactly where it is.
Good length. It does not ride up when I am bending and reaching.
Brenda P., CarltonSoft, stretchy, and your choice of shape
The pads inside can come out if you prefer a more natural look, or stay in for shape. The fabric has a four-way stretch and goes in the washing machine on a cool, gentle wash. It comes in eleven colours and in sizes UK 6/8 right up to UK 24/26.
Soft and easy. I have bought the black and the nude.
Christine R., West BridgfordThis, against my old bra
Most of us have a drawer full of bras we do not like and one we put up with. I know, because I had that drawer for forty years. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Hooks behind my back
Wires that poked
Thin straps that slid off
Straps showing under tops
Off the minute I got home
Pulls on like a vest
Soft moulded cups, no wires
Wide straps that sit flat
Smooth under everything
On from breakfast to bedtime
About the price
The Selina is £24.95 at the moment. It was £50.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that the middle sizes are going first, and once this batch has gone it can be a long wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and after weeks of wearing it, I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I bought a second one. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
If the first thing you do when you get home is take your bra off, I would start here. Not because you need more underwear, but because you deserve to be comfortable all day, not just after six o'clock. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
SELINA | Sculpt Tank With Built-In Bra
- Built-in bra with soft moulded cups, no wires
- No hooks or clasps, pulls on like a vest
- Removable pads, in for shape or out for a natural look
- Wide, soft straps that sit flat on the shoulders
- Gentle smoothing fit and a flattering square neck
- Hip length, stays tucked in, UK 6/8 to UK 24/26
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The sale is on now, half price. In eleven colours, from black and nude to teal, burgundy and dusty rose.