From time to time, we’ll have clients ask us whether a bra with more hooks provides better support than a bra with fewer hooks. The short answer is no, but there are a few related ideas at play here, so I figured we’d dive into what exactly matters when it comes to “support”, bra bands, and the hooks that fasten them.

As we’ve written about previously, support is a funny word that gets used, and occasionally misused, to refer to a bunch of different bra functions. For the sake of this discussion, though, it isn’t important whether we’re concerned with stability, lift, or shaping. The actual number of hooks on your bra won’t directly affect any of those attributes. Here’s the thing: a well-fitting bra functions by holding your breast tissue up from underneath, and the band is the part of the bra intended to do that work. It requires tension- enough tension in the band to keep the structure of the bra stable- and it is assisted by surface area for traction. As long as the hooks are keeping your bra band securely fastened (and snug), it really doesn’t matter how many of them there are.

Now, some of you might remember that I have a beef with single-hook bra clasps. This is true, but my primary complaint with single hook bras is that they’re less durable. Comfort, and indeed support, can also be issues, however, if the band itself stays narrow around its circumference. A wider band has more surface area in contact with your body, which helps to keep everything anchored and to distribute & dissipate tension, hugging you rather than cutting in. A wide bra band that’s overly loose-fitting still isn’t going to work as intended, but a wide and appropriately snug band may hold you better and feel a lot more comfortable than a similarly tight band that’s much thinner and applying all of its pressure across a narrow band of your torso.

I believe that equating number of bra hooks to band stability is where this misunderstanding originated. BUT, there really is no direct relationship between the number of hooks on your bra and its band width! Many… maybe event most… modern bras are wider where they rest along your sides than they are as they approach the clasp.

There’s a tremendous amount of variation across styles, though, and no universal rule that every bra complies to. You’ll see significant differences in band design and construction, whether you’re comparing bras with 2 hooks:

Or 3 hooks:

Or more, or fewer. Every bra style is doing its own thing. For that matter, the spacing of the hooks can vary as well. This is especially common on 2-hook styles.

Lastly, the number of hooks on a given bra style frequently increase as you go up in sizes. For instance, below are the clasps on an Elomi Charley Spacer Bra in size 40E on the left, and 40F on the right. Why? As the volume of the bra cups increase, many designers will increase the size of other components, like the clasp and the straps, to keep the bra proportional and assist in that pressure distribution.

So there you have it! As long as your bra fits well and is comfortable, there’s no reason to worry about the number of hooks it happens to have.