Anyone who’s ever worn clothes knows what it feels like to play backseat designer: I wish this cropped top wasn’t cropped. This dress would be perfect if it was an inch shorter. If only these pants had an elastic waist, I would want to wear them every day.
Bras and underwear are no exception. As you can readily see from review after passionate review, the Bare Necessities community has strong opinions on all things intimate apparel and, refreshingly, is not shy about sharing them.
We value that unvarnished honesty more than you know. In fact, let us tell you: We’ve been culling your insights for years. (Twenty-four of them to be exact; that’s when we sold our first bra on the web.) We hear you loud and clear on which bras you never want to be discontinued, what style of lingerie always gets your significant other’s attention, what irks you to no end (two words: side boob). We’ve come to know exactly what you love, what you loathe and what you feel is missing out there.
Over the years, we’ve incorporated some of your insights into select designs. But with the brand relaunch, we knew it was time to take it to the next level, to really use the feedback you’ve freely and generously given us.
So we enlisted world-class bra designer Eunice Lee-Meldahl to create Bare by Bare Necessities. She’s the one you’ll want to thank when you find your new everyday faves. With over 20 years’ experience at Victoria’s Secret and Gap Body before coming to Bare Necessities, Eunice’s passion is innovation in a category as long unchanged as bras. Invented from the ground up, our new label takes to heart everything you’ve told us time and time again, weaving it into each and every bra, pair of panties, bathing suit and pajamas set.
That’s why these bras have features like a fourth hook-and-eye that lets you wear the same bra when you’re premenstrual and your boobs swell, and lightweight yet strong clips that won’t dig into your skin after a 10-hour day yet make a satisfyingly audible ‘click’ so you know they’re securely fastened.
Eunice conceptualizes intimates based on the look we’re after when we reach for a given layer: There’s the Seamless collection for a minimalist finish, Everyday Lace with added femme flourishes and the Smoothing collection for 24/7 figure flattery, another thing you asked for. The Flirty collection caters to those who need support but want a low-key look at a commensurate price. Every bra style was designed with a matching panty because Eunice heard that you like to feel put-together like that. And there are so many more sizes that you aren’t finding in stores: bands 30 to 42, cups A to I, and separates spanning XS to XXXL.
“Bare is for everyone,” says Eunice. “While Bare Necessities has always served full-busts and full-figures like none other, Bare has a wider size range, an inclusive aesthetic that everyone can find their style in and the most possible adjustability so everyone can find their best fit. ‘Comfort’ is the one word I heard all the time, so it’s all meant to be worn every day.” In developing Bare, Eunice—who is self-described as being “obsessed with boobs”—and a design innovation team studied our customers, dug into reviews, scoped out the competition and even asked women on the street about their bras, body types and breasts. The challenge was to go from blue-sky thinking to “something we could produce.” “I knew that a style with crisscross straps would give better support, and I knew she wanted a cup-size bralette for bigger busts. So I designed one, with side support and inner slings based on the cups in our bras.” Sounds simple, but it so isn’t...
Most brands check the fit of new designs on two different fit models. Eunice insisted on five. Instead of working off your average 34D and scaling the blueprints up or down for expediency, Eunice designed—and redesigned, and fitted on models, then redesigned again—every size combination individually for a like-custom fit.
“It takes more time and effort, and it’s more expensive, but you have to check to find the challenges,” says Eunice. “When I get those first prototype samples, I already know if it’s going in the right direction. It’s all about whether it meets the design intent or not. I keep rejecting it until it does.”
As you might imagine, panties are slightly easier to get right. Eunice focused on elevating our prints and materials, keeping the variety high and the prices low. At the end of the day, Eunice really designed Bare for women exactly like her: “I don’t want to have to worry about what I’m wearing. Give me concealment and comfort so that I feel confident.”
Something we all can agree on, no?
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