A bralette: This word seems to be jumping out of most fashion pages of late. It has neither history nor grammar backing it; it sounds like the offspring of a bra and is barely a toddler while behaving like a precocious teen. So what exactly is a bralette?

The emergence of this term is a wonderful illustration of a simple marketing gimmick. When sales are stagnant and markets are down, simply re-naming an existing product can often kick-start sales. Gullible consumers get taken in and rush to buy what they think is a new addition to their wardrobe, little knowing that it’s the same old wine, not even in a new bottle.

It’s the same with a bralette really.

It’s a bra, with absolutely no new or additional features than that of …well, a bra. The only specificity of the bralette is that:

• It is a normal support bra, and
• It is wire-free.

In the absence of any credible data on the quantum of underwired vs wired bras sold in India, I can — with three decades of experience in both manufacturing and retailing bras in India — safely state that almost 99% of bras sold in India are in any case wire-free and normal support.

When the term bralette was first used around 2003, it was known in India as a “sports bra” (quite distinct from the gym bra, by the way). Slip it over your shoulders and be done with any hooking and strapping. But over the years the word bralette gained popularity and with the pandemic-induced work from home, it simply emerged as a go-to bra for everyone. Except that it was no more than just a “sports bra”.

Today, a bralette may or may not have contoured cups. It may or may not have elastic adjustable straps. It may or may not have hooks at the back. What it will, though, definitely have is this: a striking similarity to your existing bra.

So, what was it about the lockdown that brought the bralette into prominence? Well, since the western world has predominantly been soaked in the culture of the underwired bras, the lockdown came as since the majority of mass narratives about fashion and bras emerge from the West, the bralette too became a cool word. Never mind that the other half of the population in the eastern hemisphere was already living in wire-free bras — aka the bralette — since they first discovered bras!

Of late the terms bralette-blouse and bralette-top are doing the rounds. God alone knows what else will emerge out of the mish-mash. Maybe many more bra-nds!

The columnist is the founder-CEO of Necessity-SwatiGautam, a customised brand of brassieres. Contact: necessityswatigautam@gmail.com