Smart Spending: 4 tips on saving money by making lingerie last longer

Smart Spending: How to save on bare necessities

CHICAGO — Every woman’s got a stash: bras discarded in the back of a drawer after just a few weeks of wear because their underwires pinch, their clasps are warped, their lace is pilled or torn, or their elastic simply admitted defeat.

American women spent $5.7 billion on more than 425 million bras last year, according to market research from The NPD Group. And experts estimate half of those undergarments — which can cost anywhere from $5 to nearly $200 — went unworn within months because of wear and tear.

“Ninety-five percent of all women have no idea how to care for their bra properly,” says Susan Nethero, the founder of Intimacy, an 11-store chain that specializes in helping women find the right size undergarments. “Women are so frustrated by their bras, and most women are not getting the value or the performance.”

Taking proper care of a bra can double its life span, making it last years instead of months. So the savings can add up fast.

Here are four tips.

FIT: Most lingerie stores and some department stores offer free bra fittings. Nethero says women should get fitted once a year because breast sizes change along with diet, age, weight, pregnancy and even medications like hormone replacement therapies and birth control. And a better-fitting bra will last longer than one that is stressed and strained each time it’s worn.

ROTATE: Once you know your size, experts recommend having a selection of five to seven bras to wear regularly, about half of them microfiber bras with seamless cups that can be worn under thin fabric. Rotating among them is a key way to save because bras stretch more if they’re worn even two days in a row.

“You wear a bra and then you let it rest,” says Bernadette Wallace, a spokeswoman for Hanesbrands Inc., which makes Hanes, Wonderbra, Bali, Playtex and Just My Size bras lines. “It keeps all the elastic from getting too stretched out.”

If you find yourself wearing the same bra over and over, experts recommend buying several to cut down on overuse. For the pragmatic, Nethero suggests two bras the color of your skin, one black and at least one with convertible straps.

WASH CAREFULLY: Follow the laundering instructions on a bra’s label. If you have a pricey, lacy garment that requires dry-cleaning, then do. If the label calls for hand washing, you should oblige. But most bras can be placed in the washing machine — just not with your jeans and gym socks.

To preserve the life of a bra, place it in a lingerie bag and wash it on your machine’s gentle cycle with cool water. Make sure the hooks are clasped together to keep the metal from catching on other clothing and torquing the bra. And use a “sensitive” detergent like those for baby clothes — Nethero recommends Dreft or Ivory Snow — or a special lingerie wash less likely to harm elastic, Lycra and the other synthetic fabrics.

DRYING: The final, cardinal rule of bra care is simple.

Never, ever put a bra in the dryer. They air-dry quickly, anyway.

“Heat and elastics are a bad combination,” Wallace says.

Online:

www.myintimacy.com

www.hanesbrands.com