The £500 Bra Drawer of Shame: Why Every Woman's Underwear Collection is Full of Expensive Mistakes

And the surprising discovery that's finally changed everything

July 4, 2025 By Sarah Mitchell

I'm standing in my bedroom at 7am, staring into what I've come to call my "drawer of broken dreams."

 

Thirty-seven bras. I've just counted them. Thirty-seven expensive, uncomfortable, disappointing pieces of fabric and wire that represent nearly £500 of wasted money and shattered hope.

 

There's the £85 Marks & Spencer "miracle bra" that digs into my ribs like a bear trap. The £120 designer number from Selfridges that gives me a uniboob so aggressive I look like I'm smuggling a football under my jumper. The £75 wireless wonder that promised "all-day comfort" but left me looking like a deflated balloon by lunchtime.

 

Sound familiar? You're not alone.

 

According to shocking new research, the average British woman owns 16 bras but only wears three regularly. The rest? Expensive mistakes gathering dust in drawers across the country while we suffer through our daily routine of choosing between pain and looking properly dressed.

 

After 20 years of this torture, I'd given up hope of ever finding a bra that actually worked. I thought I was asking for the impossible: proper support that doesn't feel like wearing a medieval torture device.

 

I was wrong. And what I discovered has changed everything.

The Daily Prison Sentence

Let me paint you a picture of what mornings used to look like in my house.

 

6:45am: Alarm goes off. First thought isn't about coffee or breakfast, it's about which form of daily torture I'm going to strap myself into.

 

The underwire that promises to lift and separate but actually pokes and punishes? The wireless option that's comfortable for exactly 20 minutes before gravity takes over? Or the sports bra that flattens everything into submission?

 

This isn't normal. But we've been told it is.

"Most women think bra discomfort is just part of being a woman," says Dr. Lisa Thompson, a physiotherapist who specializes in women's health. "They've been conditioned to accept pain as the price of looking 'put together.' It's madness when you think about it, no other item of clothing is expected to be uncomfortable."
 

By 3pm every day, I'd be making secret trips to the loo to readjust, pull down the underwire that had crept up to my armpits, and massage the angry red marks on my shoulders. The highlight of my day? That moment of pure bliss when I could finally unhook the contraption and breathe properly again.

 

If this sounds like your life, keep reading. Because I'm about to tell you about the discovery that ended my 20-year bra war.

The Fitting Room From Hell

Three months ago, I hit rock bottom in the John Lewis fitting room in Oxford Street.

I'd gone in with hope. Again. Armed with a professional bra fitting (£30, thank you very much) and three "perfectly sized" bras in my "correct" size of 36DD.

 

Twenty minutes later, I was sitting on that little bench in the cubicle, nearly in tears, holding three bras that didn't fit despite being exactly the size I'd been measured for.

One was so tight I couldn't breathe. One gaped at the top like I was a teenage boy playing dress-up. The third, a £95 "luxury comfort" option, gave me back fat rolls I didn't even know I had.

 

The shop assistant knocked on the door: "How are we getting on in there?"

 

"Fine!" I lied, buying the least awful option because I was too embarrassed to admit that nothing worked. Again.
 

Sound familiar? Here's the shocking truth: 8 out of 10 women are wearing the wrong bra size, not because they've been measured incorrectly, but because the sizing system itself is completely broken.

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Why Nothing Ever Fits (And It's Not Your Fault)

Here's something the lingerie industry doesn't want you to know: modern bra sizing was invented in the 1930s and hasn't really changed since.

 

Back then, the average bra size was 34B. Today, the average is 36DD. But instead of redesigning bras for modern women's bodies, brands have just made bigger versions of 90-year-old designs.

 

It's like trying to fit a Range Rover into a garage built for a Mini Cooper.

 

"The fundamental problem is that we're using a two-number system to fit something as complex as the human body," explains Karen Koviva, a former Victoria's Secret insider who got so frustrated with bra shopping that she decided to solve the problem herself. "It's like buying shoes based only on length and ignoring width, arch height, or the fact that your feet are probably different sizes."

 

This is why you can be a 36DD in one shop and need a 34E in another. Why wireless bras turn you into a shapeless blob. Why even expensive bras from fancy shops leave you with red marks and a bad mood.

 

The system is broken. But I've found something that isn't.

The Wireless Lie That's Fooling Millions

After years of underwire torture, I jumped on the wireless bandwagon like millions of other women. Finally! Freedom from metal digging into my ribs! No more bathroom adjustment sessions!

 

What a joke that turned out to be.

 

Don't get me wrong, wireless bras are comfortable. For about half an hour. Then gravity kicks in and suddenly you're carrying your chest somewhere around your belly button, looking like you've given up on life entirely.

 

The "uniboob" effect is real and it's devastating. You know the one, where your two distinct breasts merge into one sad, droopy mass that makes every fitted top look awful.

I tried everything. Bralettes (useless for anything bigger than a B cup). Sports bras (hello, compressed pancake chest). Expensive "molded cup" options (comfortable but about as supportive as a piece of tissue paper).

 

The message was clear: you can have comfort OR support. Never both.
 

Or so I thought.

Left: The Wireless Bra from a brand I will not name ... 

  • Underband felt too loose and wanted to ride up
  • Straps had a lot of stretch and did not feel supportive 
  • Little support  slowly migrating toward my belly button

Right: Modara's Wireless Comfort Bra 

  • Clear separation, finally! 
  • Thick, wide supportive straps
  • Double fabric back panel to smooth rolls

The Accidental Discovery That Shocked Me

I found Modara completely by accident. My sister, a biomedical researcher who's even more cynical about marketing claims than I am, mentioned it over coffee.

"I know how this sounds," she said, looking almost embarrassed. "But I think I've found a bra that actually works."

 

I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly pulled something. "Yeah, right. What's their miracle claim this time? Scientifically proven comfort? Revolutionary design? Engineered for the modern woman?"

 

"Actually," she said quietly, "I keep forgetting I'm wearing it. Not because it's forgettable, but because it's actually comfortable. With actual support."

 

That stopped me in my tracks.

 

My sister isn't someone who gets excited about underwear. She's the woman who once spent three months researching the best dishwasher and created a spreadsheet to compare options. If she was recommending a bra, something serious was happening.

The Engineering Breakthrough That Changes Everything

What I discovered about Modara completely changed how I think about bras.

The company wasn't started by fashion designers or marketing people. It was founded by Karen Koviva, a former Victoria's Secret insider, who had grown horrified by what she witnessed behind the scenes at the world's most famous lingerie brand.

 

Here's the brilliant bit: instead of fighting your body, Modara works with it.

 

Traditional underwires concentrate all the weight onto tiny pressure points on your ribs, points that were never meant to bear that kind of load. It's like hanging a heavy picture on a single nail instead of using proper wall anchors.

 

Wireless bras just give up on structure entirely, leaving gravity to do whatever it wants with your chest.

 

But Modara's SoftLift™ technology spreads the weight across multiple support zones, like a properly fitted backpack distributes weight across your whole back instead of cutting into your shoulders.

 

The result? Support that you feel the benefits of without feeling the mechanism.

The Real Test: 12 Hours of Real Life

I'll be honest, I was still skeptical when the package arrived. How many times had I opened a promising bra box only to be disappointed within days?

 

But something felt different from the moment I put it on. Not dramatically different, no angels singing or life-changing moments. Just... normal. The way a bra should feel but never does.

 

Then came the real test: a proper 12-hour day.

 

Client meeting at 9am (no tugging at straps during presentation). Desk work until lunch (no underwire migration issues). Afternoon school pickup and kids' activities (no bathroom readjustment breaks). Evening dinner with friends (no desperate counting down until I could get home and take the thing off).

 

At 10pm, getting ready for bed, I had a shocking realization: I'd completely forgotten I was wearing a bra.

 

No red marks on my shoulders. No angry lines across my ribs. No blessed sigh of relief when I took it off. Just a normal day in normal clothes feeling completely normal.

The Wardrobe Revolution I Didn't See Coming

Here's something I didn't expect: finding a comfortable bra has completely changed how I dress.

 

Those fitted blouses that had been banished to the back of my wardrobe because they showed every bra line and bulge? I'm wearing them again. The silk dress that required specific (and inevitably uncomfortable) underwear? It works with my everyday bra now.

I've essentially doubled my wardrobe overnight because I'm no longer choosing clothes based on what will accommodate my uncomfortable underwear.

 

It's given me back clothes I'd forgotten I owned.

The Money Truth: What This Actually Costs

At £40, or $60, Modara isn't the cheapest option on the market. But compared to my £500 drawer of disasters, it's practically free.

 

More importantly, it's the first bra I've bought in 20 years where I felt confident about the purchase instead of hopeful but worried.

 

I've now had my first Modara bra for three months. It gets washed weekly, worn daily, and still looks and feels exactly like it did on day one. No sagging, no stretching, no gradual decline into disappointment.

 

I've bought three more. In different colors. Because for the first time ever, I know exactly what I'm getting.

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Why This Matters More Than You Think

Look, I know this is "just" underwear. But when you think about it, a bra is probably the item of clothing you wear most often and for the longest periods of time.

 

If you're uncomfortable for 12+ hours a day, every day, that's not a small problem. That's a quality of life issue that affects how you feel, how you move, what you wear, and how confident you feel in your own body.

 

We've been conditioned to accept discomfort as normal. It's not.

 

The fact that it took a former employee from the world’s largest lingerie brand to solve this problem shows how completely the fashion industry had given up on actually engineering solutions. They were just making prettier versions of the same old mistakes.

The Bottom Line

After 20 years of bra battles, expensive mistakes, and daily negotiations with uncomfortable underwear, I never thought I'd be writing about finding the "perfect" bra. I'd given up on perfect. I was aiming for "tolerable."

 

Modara isn't perfect. But it's something better: it's forgettable.

 

It does its job so well that you stop thinking about it. You can focus on your work, your family, your life, instead of constantly managing your underwear situation.

 

For women who've resigned themselves to choosing between support and comfort, between looking professional and feeling human, this proves you don't have to choose.

 

The cage was never necessary. We just needed someone to build a better door.

For readers interested in trying Modara, the company offers a 30-day trial period with full refund guarantee. Details available at modaracare.com.

Experience the Support You'll Forget You're Wearing →

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Reviews from 1,700+ Happy Women

I’m a H cup and amazed!

I’m a H cup and this bra is so comfortable. I struggle with wired bra’s as the wire is always the wrong shape for my body and either cuts into my breast tissue or arm pit. The adjustable straps make a huge difference from the usual crop top style pull on bras I’ve tried. 10/10

-Jen.

Verified Customer

The best Bra I have ever had

After years of uncomfortable bras that cause rashes and soreness and just so uncomfortable; I now have found the right bra for me. They are so comfortable, no fastener at the back makes them so easy to put on and the removable breast pads means that you wash and dry them quickly ready fast.
Believe me you won't be sorry if you choose these bras they are liberating.

-Wendy H.

Verified Customer

The customer service was exceptional

I bought 2 bras that where 1 size to small. I emailed them to ask for return address so I could change to the next size was emailed back saying they would replace mine at no charge to me and I could keep the others to pass on to someone that they would fit.
I have now got my new size and they feel amazing! I will definitely be buying some more in every color that they have super comfortable I couldn’t be happier

-Dianne.

Verified Customer

Comfort, fit and support!

I never thought I’d find a comfortable, well fitting bra that also gives great support, but these do all of that. I have four bras from this company now, and I love them.

-Alison L.

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INFINITE STRETCH for all-day wear

ADJUSTABLE STRAPS for custom fit

SEAMLESS LIFT for a natural shape

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