How to Buy a Girls' First Bra - Measuring for the Best Teens' Bralettes

How to buy a first bra for girls and teenagers?

The style that a girl or teenager needs for a first bra will be up to personal preference and depend on when they are planning to wear it. However, in general it needs to be comfortable, light, and easy to move in. When girls are looking for their first bra, it’s usually because they need some light support and coverage. 

Our organic cotton bralettes for girls were designed in collaboration with the daughters of a friend of mine who requested a girls' first bra style that was comfy, fun and something they actually wanted to wear. They weren’t impressed with the options they had come across on the high street which were often overly padded and made from scratchy synthetics, or 'boring crop tops!'. 

How should a girl's first bra fit?

Our girls’ bralette is designed to provide light support featuring a wide elasticated band that pulls over the head meaning no scratchy clasps that sometimes show through school uniform. The soft V-shaped cups provide coverage without unnecessary shaping or uncomfortable seams and sit snugly under the bust. The thin straps are adjustable and can also be unhooked and crossed over at the back meaning they adapt to different types of tops and can offer a slightly tighter fit. 

How to measure for a girl's first bra?

Since children and teenagers all grow and develop at different rates, we decided it didn’t make sense to use specific ages as sizes. Girls at this age are already facing body image pressure and confusing feelings as they grow and change. This is why we decided to use the names of different Ugandan towns for our four different size options.

To figure out your daughter’s bra size, the best place to start is with the under bust measurement. Use a tape measure around the ribs, just below the bust, noting the number in inches or centimetres where the tape measure meets. If you don’t have a soft tape measure, use a piece of ribbon or string, then lay it out next to a ruler to get the measurement.

From this, you can match the bust measurement to the size on our size chart below. 

Which is the healthiest bra for girls and teens?

It’s important that a first bra is comfortable and not restrictive. During this growing stage, most children have busy days with lots of moving around and their first bra needs to move with them. Our lightly supportive but soft style is quick and easy to pull on in the morning and won’t dig in or scratch during the day. Our labels are heat printed inside the fabric which means no itchy extra fabric irritating the skin.

As with all of our underwear and loungewear range, our girls bralettes and knickers are made with our signature Fairtrade and GOTS certified fabric meaning it is cool and breathable all day long. Cotton’s natural breathability is also great for sensitive skin and since it is grown and dyed without the use of harmful pesticides or heavy metals, it is gentle and won’t irritate.

How to choose the right colour for a girl's first bra

We have a range of colours across our girls’ underwear range with classic shades or cute prints. Our core colour collection includes black, white, and light grey for easy, everyday classics. The light blue and light pink options offer soft pastel shades and almond works well as a nude shade for some skin tones. We also have our pastel colour spring prints for a more unique option with a dainty pattern.

If your child or teenager is concerned about their bralette showing through school clothes, we’d recommend the light pink or almond colours rather than white for a more discrete shade under white shirts.

How to do a girl's first bra fitting?

Fitting for a girl's first bra can be tricky and it might be helpful to try on different options to see what works best. If you are local to Oxford, you can pop into our Covered Market YOU shop to see our entire girls cotton underwear range and try items on. Our friendly and professional team will always be happy to help you and advise on sizing - we can also take a measurement for you. 

If this isn’t possible or they would prefer to try on at home, you could order a few sizes and send back the ones you don’t need with our 30 day fuss free return or exchange policy as long as they are unworn and unwashed. 

If you need any further help with sizing, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email: info@youunderwear.com

Matching underwear sets for girls

As well as organic cotton girls’ first bralettes, we also have our organic cotton girls’ knickers in all the same shades and sizes. The cut is very similar to our women’s low rise bikini knickers - a classic pants style which sits low on the waist with a medium coverage bikini cut on the bottom.

Girls' underwear multipacks

Go for a super soft and breathable girls matching underwear set and save 10% off each girls’ item. Or double up on their favourite bralette in different colours. Add a matching scrunchie made from our cotton fabric offcuts to finish off the look!

Your impact with Y.O.U

At Y.O.U Underwear, we are a social enterprise company on a mission to end period poverty. For every item purchased across our organic cotton underwear and loungewear range, we donate one pair of underwear through our charity partners. Supporting different communities by providing access to underwear helps to keep girls in education and women in work - particularly during their periods. So when you purchase your daughter’s first bralette, you’re also supporting access to education in the UK and Africa!

Find our more about the causes we support here

 

Keep reading for more organic cotton underwear info:

Find out more about the design process behind our girls underwear range

Why organic cotton is the healthy choice for wearing next to your skin

Learn more about the work of our charity partner Smalls for All