Co-founders Heather Eaton and Jane Dong began the brand as a class project while attending business school at Stanford in 2019. They spent two years perfecting their designs in order to make the world of braless fashion more inclusive. “I was coming off a particularly frustrating commuter summer where I was officially at my wits’ end with my itchy, uncomfortable bra,” Eaton says. “I wear an F cup, but I have a teeny waist, so anything I tried on that flattered my figure gave me way more cleavage than I was comfortable with.” To buy: $88, franklyapparel.com. One thing that makes Frankly unique is its mix-and-match sizing that allows customers to find their perfect fit. For example, you can get the bodysuit above in size L/M, which means it fits like a large around the bust and a medium on the waist and hips. While the brand currently only goes up to size XXL on top and XL on the bottom, it plans on expanding up to 4X with the fall collection later this year. “The challenge with creating braless clothing is that boobs come in so many shapes and sizes, and they all have different needs,” Eaton says. “This is especially true for larger breasts, and we were adamant that we would not try to make a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution that didn’t really work for anyone.” To buy: $190, franklyapparel.com. Although still in its infancy, the company has already achieved TikTok fame, with one video garnering over 3 million views in late 2020. I put two Frankly dresses to the test to see how comfortable they really are, and TL;DR, they didn’t disappoint. The first dress I tried, The Rachel in Royal Blue, proved to be a learning curve—I had initially ordered a L/M, but making the exchange to a M/M was a breeze and absolutely worth it because the medium top fit my 34D chest more comfortably. I rarely wear strapless dresses out of sheer spite toward strapless bras, so it was so freeing to wear the Rachel without constantly reaching into my dress and lifting up a boob torture device. The built-in chest support system helped keep the girls up all day and didn’t feel uncomfortable in the slightest. The second dress, the recently released The Eddie in Coral, officially convinced me. This dress flattered my shape, and not once did I fear my boobs would pop out. My one note for this dress is that the back tie could be a little longer to make a cute bow, but the open-back concept is especially cute knowing you’re showing off a totally bare back. Thanks to Frankly, I may never wear a bra again. In fact, I’d go as far as to say braless fashion is the future—and it’s about time.
