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Tips for Packing Bras for Travel (Without Destroying Them)

tips for packing bras

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Whether we like it or not, most of us ladies can’t go anywhere without our bras. They can be annoying to deal with when it comes to travel as it’s hard to know how many to pack, yet they also have their perks because we can use them for storage and protection with items like bra stashes.

Packing bras can sometimes get tricky as they might get crushed in your suitcase or backpack. And it’s not like we can ditch them altogether, even in humid destinations like Southeast Asia. So how does a female traveler pack bras without them getting destroyed and without damaging our fancy lacy bits?

A few products exist to keep them from being smashed, and we have additional tips for packing bras all to follow.

Products for Packing Bras

Cup Case

If you’re concerned about keeping your delicates in their original shape, there are a number of products that exist solely to protect your bras while traveling. They’re usually rounded and have a hard outer shell with zippers. We’ve talked about the Cup Case here on the site, which puts your bra into a protective case that is about the size of a toiletry bag.

Neewer

There are also larger ones that allow your delicates to lie flat instead of folding in half. You can store multiple bras and they have cute designs. Many companies make them, including Wrapables* and Neewer*, all for less than $20 USD.

Another design* by EVTECH more closely resembles a packing cube, but has compartments for your bras as well as rolled up underwear. It can hold up to six pairs of underwear and six bras.

You can also try wash bags that are made for bras as packing aids, like this one from the Container Store, or packing cubes with a protective fabric and space for your bras to lay flat. The shoe bags and tube packing cubes from Eagle Creek* can be used for bras as well.

These bra cases could certainly help if you travel frequently with many bras and use a suitcase, but may take up unnecessary room if you use a backpack.

Other Ways to Pack Bras

While these systems are great, most of the time you won’t need to pack four or more underwire bras for a trip. In fact, you may only pack one at a time and wear the other. Another issue is the space they take up and the lack of flexibility they offer, which could be problematic when you’re trying to fit other items in your bag. It’s also just another product to buy that you may or may not need, especially as the amount of time you’ll actually use it is limited.

So what’s the alternative? The first is to fold it gently, overlapping the cups but without crumpling it. If you have a fancy, expensive bra then you might not go for this option but it’s what I usually do, especially as I travel with no more than two bras, including the soft cup underwire variety. I’ve never had trouble with my bras getting warped or smashed or bent in my years of travel.

Another option is packing your bras using items and systems you already have at home. For example, a ziploc bag. You can gently place them inside but leave some air so that it will be cushioned instead of flattened.

Another option is to pack your bra in the zippered lid of your suitcase, but this option doesn’t work if you travel with a backpack.

You can also lay your bra flat at the top of your suitcase and place socks or other items underneath to keep the cups from getting smashed. But again, this has issues if you travel with a backpack.

Also consider packing sports bras, which can be folded easily, as well as items to help you wash your delicates on the road. This might include a clothesline, sink stopper and soaps.

>> You might be interested in our podcast on How to Pack Bras.

Do you have a special way that you pack your bras when you travel? Share it below!

How to Pack Bras

Written by Caroline

Caroline Eubanks is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, but has also called Charleston, South Carolina and Sydney, Australia home. After college graduation and a series of useless part-time jobs, she went to Australia for a working holiday. In that time, she worked as a bartender, bungee jumped, scuba dived, pet kangaroos, held koalas and drank hundreds of cups of tea. You can find Caroline at Caroline in the City.

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Travel Resources

HPL Learnables

Handbag Packing Masterclass – Learn to pack your lightest bag ever in this revolutionary packing class run by HPL founder, Brooke.

Creative Ways to Minimize Your Toiletry & Beauty Kit – Practical tips alongside DIY recipes designed to help you pack lighter, smaller & with fewer liquids. (Also included as a bonus to Handbag Packing Masterclass.)


Book Your Trip

Viator – Enhance your trip experience by booking from thousands of tours across the globe.

Booking.com – Search for hotels, hostels, and apartments using this one resource. Use it for flights, car rentals, and airport taxis as well.

Trusted Housesitters – Save money on travel accommodation by becoming a housesitter. Housesitters often have extra duties, like caring for pets and gardens.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathryn says

    I”m not so worried about crushing my bras as the space they take in my luggage. I just fold them in half and then fill the cup with underwear and put them in a packing cube with other underwear around them.

  2. Xenia says

    I agree with Kathryn. I have a large chest, so I can only really use hard cup, underwire bras – soft cup gives me too little support, while sports bras tend to either smoosh my breasts into a monoboob, or in the case of underwire sports bras, well personally I’ve never seen one in my size that I could afford.

    So, anyway. I take my hard cup bra, fold it in half to make a full cup. Then I fill the empty area with socks, tights, anything until it’s full (it takes a lot to fill mine – yours might just take a sock, or it might take a whole pair of jeans). Wrap the whole thing in a t shirt and bam! Full protection for your delicate hard cups. Because as anyone who’s ever wrecked an expensive bra knows – one wrinkle in the cup that won’t come out, and the bra’s ruined! Fill those cups!

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