How To Fix Bra Blunders In A Jiffy

It's happened to the best of us. You're out and about and suddenly, your bra strap snaps. It's possibly the biggest fashion nightmare imaginable, because who carries a spare bra in their date night clutch? For those awful, awkward moments, learn how to fix a broken bra strap, because no one wants a nip slip. An unplanned one, anyway.

Bras are probably our most used and most mistreated fashion items in our closet. We mistreat our bras by washing and storing them improperly, over-wearing them, and not replacing them when they obviously need replacing. In addition to washing bras in cold water and hang drying them, you can lengthen the life of your bra by never wearing the same bra two days in a row.

But let's say you failed to replace your bra and now it's breaking down right in the middle of an important social event. What to do? I rounded up a few quick fixes for the most common bra nightmares.

1. If your underwire is poking you to death

You're at work and you have a big presentation in a few hours. Your bra's underwire chose today, of all days, to start poking you in the side and rubbing you raw right before you need to be your most confident. This is a quick and easy fix: grab a pad or panty liner and head to the bathroom. Stick it to your bra and fold it over the exposed wire. Done! This will give you relief for the rest of the day, so you can go buy a new bra asap.

2. If your bra strap snaps

This one is a doozy, but don't panic. If your bra strap goes kaput in the middle of a social situation, you have some options. You can use a safety pin to secure it temporarily. If you don't have a pin, you can always tie the broken strap around bottom of your bra's band. If neither of those options work, you can toss the bra completely in the bathroom trash (weirder things have been disposed of there, I'm sure). This is easier to pull off unnoticed than you may think, but if it makes you uncomfortable, grab a scarf to camouflage the free girls.

3. If your bra straps have lost elasticity and keep slipping off your shoulders

Hollywood Bra Converting Clip, $6, Amazon

Old bra straps won't stay where they're supposed to? If you don't have a bra clip on hand, the quick fix is to grab a paper clip and use it to clip the two straps together in racerback fashion. Works like a charm.

Image Credit: Isla Murray; Kate Edburg, Anita Canita/Flickr