5 Reasons Women Over 60 Are Throwing Out Their Bras This Year (#3 Is the One Nobody Expects)

Most of a bra's hold comes from a tight elastic band pulled round the ribcage. At 30 you hardly notice. After 60, when skin is thinner and ribs are tender, that band presses into you every time you sit, bend or take a deep breath.

The women making the switch all say the same thing first: "I didn't realise how much it hurt until it was gone."

Twisting both arms behind you and pinching a tiny hook by feel is one of the hardest movements you can ask of a stiff shoulder or arthritic fingers. Occupational therapists say it's one of the first everyday tasks women start needing help with.

Plenty of women quietly stop wearing a bra at all, then stop feeling dressed enough to answer the door.

This is the one that surprises people. The old "shelf bra" camisoles had a strip of elastic and a loose foam pad in a pocket. The pad folded in the wash and supported nothing.

The new built-in-bra tanks are made differently: shaped cups are stitched permanently into the lining, so they hold their shape and hold you in place all day. There's no band, no wire and no clasp. The tank itself does the work.

A square neckline, wide flat straps and a long cut with a finished hem mean it passes as a simple, smart top. Wear it alone around the house, or put a cardigan over it for church or lunch, and nobody knows there's a bra built in.

No band means no back bulge and no lines under a blouse.

No hooks, no adjusting, no reaching behind. The arms barely lift. Ten seconds and you're supported for the whole day, and at night there's nothing to unhook.

The tank most readers are choosing is the Freeform Tank.