Nowadays, there's a bra to work with your outfit

1. Strapless Strapless bras provide support from the bra's underband and underwires. They're less reliably supportive than bras with straps, but work fine for their intended purpose to be worn for a couple of hours under a gorgeous strapless dress on a night out. Get a nude-coloured one so you can wear it with white or pale clothes, too. 2. Multiway Multiway bras have detachable, adjustable straps that let you customise the bra around your outfit. A godsend for tricky dressing, you can leave a strap on and get the benefit of more support for one-shoulder styles, or you can cross both straps over to match a racerback garment, to name just two uses. 3. T-Shirt T-shirt bras are full-cup, smooth-lined and seamless, so their outline doesn't show through thin t-shirt material. Get a couple of non-patterned, matte versions in black and nude and see the transformative effect: they're totally unobtrusive and give you a fantastic shape under everyday clothes. 4. Balcony With wide straps, demi-cups and underwire for uplift, balcony bras work a treat under shirts, round-neck tops and day dresses. This doesn't mean they're purely for functional purposes, though the flattering shape means the balcony suits sexier styles as well. Pair with matching knickers, suspenders and silk stockings for a seamless daytime-to-bedroom transformation. 5. Plunge Plunge bras provide half-cup coverage and are shaped to show off cleavage so match with a V-neck, scoop neck or low-buttoned styles. Plunge bras are meant to look fab whether you're dressed or undressed, so it's worth investing in brightly coloured, printed, lacy or ribbonned versions: chances are you'll be showing them off. 6. Backless Perfect for matching with low-backed or backless dresses, backless bras come in two styles. One's an adhesive pair of cups connected by an underwire that's carefully fitted and adhered to the chest to provide uplift and a smooth line under your party dress. The second is a haulter-neck style that, thanks to a clever mechanism of straps, fastens lower down on the back.