Our experts’ personal favourite bras

No one knows the details of the fits in Miss Mary’s range better than this trio of women.

When they create the fit for a garment they do so for each different size. They see how the garment fits on all different body shapes in when our test models come to the studio for fittings. They also try every model themselves to feel the fit and comfort.

What type of bra do you personally like to wear?

Marie-Louise: I like stylish and stripped back bra models with narrow shoulder straps. I don’t mind if it’s underwired or non-wired; I wear both as long as the cups are padded. That’s my basic requirement for a bra. But in my role at work it’s most fun to work with unpadded cups because they’re more challenging and place greater demands on you.

Anne: I’m a size 80F, so I definitely prefer an underwire because it simply provides unbeatable support. I like wide and padded shoulder straps because they feel so comfortable on the shoulders. Narrow shoulder straps can easily cause marks if you have a large bust, even if you’re wearing the correct size bra.

Ing-Marie: I also always wear an underwired bra, and I want padded cups. I never wear unpadded. I prefer narrow shoulder straps.

Anne in Miss Mary’s workroom with one of her favourite bras, SMOOTH LACY

Do you prefer bright colours or base colours like white, black and beige?

Anne: I prefer black, but if I’m wearing light clothes I use white or beige. Base colours are easy to combine with anything.

Marie-Louise: Monochrome and black. I’m not much for colour personally.

Ing-Marie: I like to wear black, so I also choose black underwear. My bras simply match the rest of my wardrobe.

Do you prefer to wear T-shirt bras or cups with seams?
Anne: Personally, I prefer to wear T-shirt bras because I like moulded cups.

Marie-Louise: Same here. I prefer to wear a T-shirt bra because they’re stylish and stripped back. At work it’s most fun to work on cups with seams since they allow you to combine an endless variety of materials, which I love.

Ing-Marie: I prefer cups with seams over moulded cups.

Marie-Louise works in the bra workroom, planning the arrangement of the pattern pieces on the lace.

Do you have a favourite from the current Miss Mary collection that you like to wear in your personal life?

Ing-Marie: My favourite bra in the range is JOY. I happily wear it in my personal life. I like the style; it feels pretty and discreet with its narrow shoulder straps and has an elegant cut. And of course, it has padded cups and an underwire like all my favourites.

Marie-Louise and Ing-Marie both prefer padded cups, an underwire and narrow shoulder straps like on the bra JOY.

Anne: I have a stand-out favourite – SMOOTH LACY with an underwire. It’s a relatively new T-shirt bra which I personally designed and created the pattern for. I’m incredibly happy with it and have only heard positive feedback. I use it myself nearly all the time. It gives everyone who wears it wonderful shape and support. It has unpadded cups in a stiff material and the shape is perfectly rounded and provides excellent lift.

Marie-Louise: The Spacer bra CONFIDENT is my absolute favourite. It ticks all the boxes for what my favourite bra should have – moulded cups, light padding, breathable material, narrow shoulder straps and a typically Nordic minimalist no-frills design.

Pictured left is SMOOTH LACY, Anne’s absolute favourite bra in all categories. On the right is Marie-Louise’s personal favourite, the Spacer bra CONFIDENT, the model she most likes to wear from our range.

You must have had some favourites during the years that you’ve preferred over others for various reasons. If you could choose from our current and previous range, which bra would you like most? It doesn’t need to be one that you wear personally, it could be one that fits the typical Miss Mary customer or that you found particularly fun or challenging to work on.

Anne: I think my answer’s still SMOOTH LACY with underwire. Then I also like COTTON DOTS with underwire. I’m very satisfied with how it fits. The material is entirely stiff and unpadded, but it provides a beautiful round shape despite not being moulded. Creating a round shape from a stiff unmoulded material is a challenge I enjoy. I’m really pleased with the fit.

Pictured from left are COTTON DOTS with underwire and SMOOTH LACY with underwire.

Anne: Of all the products that I’ve made patterns for but not personally designed, FLORAL SUN from the VISIONARY collection (designed by Lars Wallin) is one of my absolute favourites. The VISIONARY products were truly memorable to work on; the collection differs a lot from our normal range in both material and construction. It was a fun challenge to create them and the final results were absolutely beautiful.

FLORAL SUN in two different colourways. One of Anne’s favourites that she’s made patterns for.

Marie-Louise: My favourite is the JACQUARD DELIGHT bra, for which I also designed a matching high-waisted panty. When I created it, I wanted to make a classic bra with a modern feel. The customer should feel that it’s a Miss Mary bra with the high quality and comfort that we’re associated with. Timeless, but still up to date and modern. The fit is just perfect; it lifts and shapes the bust elegantly and provides excellent support despite not having an underwire.

Jacquard Delight non-wired with high-waisted panties in a matching style.

Marie-Louise: I also really like the EXHALE sports bra with underwire. It was a really fun project to create a good sports bra. I’m super pleased with it. The patterned sport-mesh on the sides is really stylish. I know that some customers also like using it for everyday wear, a good sign for a sports bra. When I designed it, I wanted to create a sports bra that Miss Mary customers would recognise themselves in; it needed to have the same feel as the rest of the collection but in a sports version that meets the particular demands placed on a bra by sports activities.

EXHALE sports bra with underwire was designed and created by Marie Louise and is one of her favourites.

Ing-Marie: I love FLORA with underwire, as well as a now-discontinued underwired bra called HAPPY HEARTS. They are two different styles, but each one looks beautiful on and provides excellent support and comfort. Both of the FLORA colourways look excellent, but the black-pink is my favourite. It was really fun to work on creating these models.

Pictured from left are HAPPY HEARTS and FLORA with underwire. Both are favourites of Ing-Marie.

These were some of the personal favourites of our three designers and bra experts. How do you like your bra to look and what would you like to see in our range? Please let us know in the comment field below.