It took a pandemic to make me realize how much underwire bras suck, and I'm not the only one

• In the year since the coronavirus pandemic hit, my relationship with bras has changed.
• I buy bras with comfort in mind instead of how they make me look.
• Other bra-wearers and industry experts told me I'm not alone in my new approach.

I've been wearing a bra every day since I was 10 years old.

I was an early bloomer, searching through the racks of the training-bra aisle while most of my friends were worry-free on the playground. Underwire became a normal part of my day-to-day routine by the time I was 12, just like brushing my teeth or putting in my contacts.

As someone with a larger chest, I often felt unsupported or too exposed in sports bras or bralettes, and resigned myself to the underwire life. I put one on to go to work, on dates, and even just to run to the grocery store.

But my reliance on "real" bras changed after March 11, 2020, when Insider employees started working from home full-time.

In the year that I've been working remotely, my relationship with bras has changed drastically. I only wear an underwire bra once or twice a week at most. Now, I find myself opting for more comfortable alternatives.

A year at home, it turns out, forced me to reexamine why I ever felt like I needed one to begin with.

Many people see underwire bras as a necessary evil

Holland Eichorn, a PR manager and new mom from Austin, Texas, started wearing underwire bras when she was 12. She told Insider they felt like the best professional option for her business-casual wardrobe.

Shirley Joffe, a master intuitive healer and instructor from London who has been wearing bras since she was 15, turned to underwire for support, as she has a fuller bust. One year into the pandemic, she ditched underwire completely.

And Nicola Blackburn, a student also from London, has been wearing underwire bras since she was 11. She felt like it was expected of her, she told me.

Kimmay Caldwell, an undergarment specialist who made a work-from-home bra guide, said the underwire bra's status as the only socially acceptable undergarment is a common misconception. Since their inception in the late 1800s, underwire bras have been marketed as the go-to style for most bra-wearers in the Western world.

Caldwell said underwire styles are so popular in part because they help create the look of two separated breasts that are lifted and rounded - a common pop-culture ideal.

While Caldwell said bralettes or wireless styles can still provide a similar look, many people continued to rely on the structured styles they long had in their wardrobes - until they found themselves spending most of their time in the living room instead of the breakroom.

Many bra-wearers felt the pandemic was the first time they had permission to ditch underwire

Increased time at home gave bra-wearers the rare opportunity to wear undergarments they wouldn't normally wear to work or in public. And for some, that meant no bra at all.

Holland Eichorn exclusively wore sports bras and athleisure when she was at home, while Joffe and Blackburn stopped wearing bras altogether when they were in lockdown. Joffe had to change her bra-wearing habits because her underwire bras started giving her welts on her side when she was sitting at home more often.

And Riikka Heinaaho, Roisin Furlong, and Clara Pérez Miñone - three women who work together in the UK - said they all stopped wearing wired bras in the last year, too, because they're just more comfortable without them.

Likewise, New Yorker Melissa Vitale typically wore bodysuits or bralettes in place of traditional bras before the pandemic. As she isolated at home, she realized she had only been wearing the undergarments to detract from unwanted male attention while in public.

She said that in the absence of the male gaze in the year she's been working from home, she hasn't felt compelled to wear any sort of bra.

The stories of these women represent a small snapshot of changes that have happened across the larger bra industry in the last year.

Vanessa Dusold, the senior vice president of merchandise and design for Soma, told me that customers' interest in wireless bras has boomed since April 2020.

"We have not been able to keep up with the demand since," she told Insider.

Andrea Jagaric, the senior vice president of design for Aerie and its OFFLINE and Unsubscribed collections, said that Aerie has seen a similar demand in the past year, particularly since the brand is known for its comfortable bras.

My own experience fits with the data, too. The one wireless bra I own has become a staple of my wardrobe since March 2020, as have sports bras, bralettes, and athleisure tops with built-in bras.

Many bra-wearers may never wear underwire regularly again

The bra-wearers I spoke with said they think the pandemic impacted their bra habits long-term, with many telling me they don't plan to wear underwire bras full-time ever again.

"I'd be shocked if I'm ever back at full-time bra-wearing," Eichorn said. "I can look just as professional with a non-underwire bra."

Professionals in the undergarments industry said that moving forward, they think the comfort aspect will continue to take priority for bra shoppers.

"Generally, a trend in the fashion industry is comfort, and that's a trend I think that is not going to go away," Aerie's Jagaric said.

Experts also said that they predict underwire isn't going to be off the shelves completely - it's just going to be less prevalent.

Soma's Dusold said that she thinks bralettes and sports bras will still be more popular than underwire styles for the foreseeable future, but that people will still want options for more structured styles.

"I think that there was a huge pendulum swing during the pandemic, and I think it will level out to a certain extent," Soma's Dusold said.

Kimmay Caldwell also said that even people who now love sports bras, wireless styles, and bralettes will still likely return to underwire bras at some point - and when they do, they're going to be pickier about the fit, size, and feel.

"If you are in the right size and style for your body, then it can actually feel really great," Caldwell said of underwire bras.

I'll be thinking of bras differently for the rest of my life

Although all of the bra-wearers I spoke to told me they don't want to wear underwire bras daily again, some told me they feel like they'll have to because of societal expectations.

Their worries mirror my own. When I have worn an underwire bra in the last few months, I've struggled to fathom how I used to force myself into the constricting garment nearly every day for 15 years.

I'm still not totally comfortable with my nipples being visible through my clothes in public, nor has the internalized belief that my breasts need to be perky and separated vanished.

However, those feelings have become less central when I think about bras now, with my own comfort taking on a more important role than it ever did before.

Before the pandemic, unhooking my bra when I got home was often the highlight of my day.

But spending the majority of my year "unhooked" made me realize my happiest moments shouldn't be dependent on whether I'm wearing a bra or not.

To me, my breasts are slowly but surely becoming just another part of my body, rather than an inherently sexual or shameful entity. I hope that's a feeling everyone else can relate to someday, too.