Is this $178 bra actually life-changing?

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I can almost guarantee that you’re hunched over your phone , computer or tablet while reading this. We all do it (myself included) since so much of our world revolves around scrolling, tapping and typing. And despite how many years of ballet I took, how many barre, Pilates or yoga classes I do a week, or how much I remind myself to straighten my spine, I often find myself tilting my head forward, rounding my back and tensing up my shoulders like a curled up shrimp — that’s the best way to describe my default position.

I’ve always been curious about posture correctors , but since they typically look like back braces a doctor might prescribe, I’ve never found them appealing. Now, brands sell options that resemble sports bras , making them easier to incorporate into everyday life. Forme’s Power Bra is undoubtedly the most popular. The brand has been around since 2019, but it’s posture corrector exploded in popularity after Taylor Swift wore it while rehearsing for her world tour. It’s sold out multiple times since, according to the brand.

It seems great in theory, but can the Forme Power Bra really improve your posture? It hasn’t made enough of a difference in my posture to justify the almost $200 purchase, but it’s a solid short-term solution with a limited use case. Here’s everything else I learned along the way.

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What is the Forme Power Bra?

Forme Power Bra

The Forme Power Bra ($178) is a physical posture corrector, meaning a garment that helps you sit or stand taller by pulling your shoulders back and supporting your upper body, says Noam Tamir , a certified strength, conditioning and mobility specialist, and founder of TS Fitness in New York City. These devices prevent you from slouching and hunching, which can lead to better spinal alignment, less muscle tension and less back, neck and shoulder pain, he says.

The Power Bra’s unique construction is what allows it to improve your posture. Its eight panels and six fabrics vary in tension — some are looser, offering gentle support, while others are tighter, offering more intense support. Together, the panels and tension fabrics apply pressure to different parts of your upper body, which pulls your shoulders back, lifts your chest up and aligns your spine, according to the brand. The bra also has wide straps, which is a hallmark feature of posture-correcting bras, says Tamir. They better support the chest and more evenly distribute weight across the shoulders compared to thin straps.

Forme’s Power Bra is considered a low-level medical device and FDA-registered , according to the brand. In short, this means the FDA knows basic details about Forme, like the products it sells, what they’re intended to do and the brand’s contact details. That does not mean Forme’s Power Bra is FDA-approved or FDA-cleared, which involves a more intense review process of a product’s safety, quality and effectiveness.

You can buy the Power Bra in sizes XS to 3XL in seven colors. Forme also partnered with Flex , a service that lets you pay for eligible products like the Power Bra with your FSA/HSA card .

How I tested the Forme Power Bra

I tested the Forme Power Bra, which the brand sent me, for five months. During the testing period, I wore it while exercising at least three times a week for about two to four hours at a time. I wore the bra while walking and using the elliptical machine, as well as during Pilates, barre, yoga and weight lifting classes. I prefer wearing a more structured sports bra with a higher level of coverage to run, so I didn’t run in the Power Bra often. But I tried it a few times and it was comfortable and supportive. To clean the Power Bra, I followed the brand’s directions to put it in the washing machine with gentle detergent on a cold cycle and hang it up to air dry.

The Power Bra comes in alpha sizes (small, medium, large, etc.), so I used the chart on Forme’s website to find the one that most closely matched my bra size. It fits true-to-size, in my experience, but if you’re between sizes, I recommend sizing up because it has a compressive feel.

My experience with the Forme Power Bra

Is the Forme Power Bra effective? Yes, without a doubt, it improves my posture while I wear it. However, it’s not a long-term solution to slouching and hunching, so I’m not convinced it’s worth the almost $200 investment. That said, here’s everything I liked about the Forme Power Bra as well as drawbacks you should keep in mind.

What I like

Effective during wear

From the moment I first put it on, I could tell that the Power Bra improved my posture. I felt it pull my shoulders back, causing me to lift my chest up and sit or stand taller with a straighter spine. When looking in the mirror while wearing the Power Bra, my back didn’t look super hunched and my body didn’t seem like it was folding in on itself. When wearing it, my head, neck and shoulders stack neatly on top of each other, giving my spine a natural curve — it’s the posture my former ballet teacher would have praised, and what my current yoga, Pilates and barre teachers all want to see in class. It also gave me a more proud and confident overall stance.

I wore the Power Bra while exercising, and loved going into a workout knowing I’m holding my body in a more aligned position. Maintaining proper posture helps prevent injury and can make all the difference in an exercise’s effectiveness, says Tamir. Additionally, because I spend hours a day using my phone and computer, I admittedly have “ tech neck .” My worst habit is shrugging my shoulders up to my ears, which I tend to do whether I’m using my devices or not. Over the years, this has led to frequent pain in my trapezius muscles, and while I try to unclench my muscles and roll my shoulders back every so often, I always forget. Wearing the Power Bra made me more conscious of how I’m holding my body, and it’s a great reminder to check that I’m not shrugging, hunching or slouching.

All that said, after wearing the Power Bra for the past five months, I ultimately experienced similar results from some of my most supportive, well-fitting, much lower-priced sports bras, like the Spanx FlexFeel High Impact Sports Bra ($68), Lululemon Run Times Bra ($68) and Brooks Scoopback Sports Bra ($75). I appreciate that the Power Bra is specifically designed with improving posture in mind, however, and because I think about that while wearing it, I find myself more aware of how I’m holding my body.

No learning curve

There weren’t any instructions to review or steps to complete before I started wearing the Forme Power Bra. Once it arrived, I pulled it over my head and wore it just like I would any other sports bra. While testing it, I either put it on under a shirt or wore it as a crop top with high-waisted leggings . I never need to adjust straps and bands or do specific exercises while wearing the bra, making it a straightforward, low-maintenance garment that’s easy to incorporate into my everyday life.

Unlike many other physical posture correctors, the Power Bra looks like a standard sports bra, not a back brace, so I never felt limited in terms of how or when I could wear it.

Comfortable

When I think of posture correctors, comfort doesn’t immediately come to mind. After all, these devices are designed to change how you hold your body, so they’re bound to feel a little awkward, especially if you’ve never used one before. To my surprise, however, I’ve never found Forme’s Power Bra uncomfortable. It causes me to pull my shoulders back and lift my chest up so I sit and stand straighter, and the tension fabrics create an overall compressive feel. But these sensations aren’t too intense or forceful. Wearing the Power Bra feels similar to wearing an extra supportive sports bra.

The Power Bra’s arm holes were slightly small and restrictive at first, but once I took Forme’s recommendation of stretching them out a little, they felt better. It didn’t limit my range of motion or flexibility, so I practically forgot I have it on.

Maintains quality over time

Throughout my five months testing the Power Bra, which has included dozens of wears and washes, it maintained its compressive feel and didn’t stretch out much, if at all. It’s just as effective now as it was on day one. The only quality issue I noticed is that the small decals on my bra (the brand’s logo on the front and the word “Forme” on the back) recently started peeling off. That doesn’t impact the overall look or effectiveness of the Power Bra, but I expected the garment to remain in pristine condition so long as I cared for it properly since it’s almost $200.

Potential drawbacks to keep in mind

Expensive for a short-term solution

While the Power Bra is effective and makes me conscious of my posture while I’m wearing it, I go back to slouching, hunching and tensing up my shoulders when I take it off. I stop thinking about my body’s alignment when I don’t have the garment on, and since that’s the majority of the day, I don’t feel like my posture has improved greatly in the past five months. Although, that’s a common issue with all posture correctors, not something that’s specific to Forme’s. “If you’re wearing something that gives you support, it can temporarily reduce pain and help to encourage better posture habits that will lead to better body alignment, but it’s not going to be a long-term solution,” says Tamir.

Additionally, for it to work best, Tamir recommends wearing a posture corrector daily for two to four hours. But you shouldn’t wear it all day to avoid becoming overly reliant, he says. I typically wear the Power Bra before I exercise and during my workout, so keeping it on for two to four hours isn’t a problem. Wearing it daily, however, isn’t feasible. The bra gets sweaty while I workout, so I have to wash it between uses and I don’t do laundry every day. I also couldn’t invest in multiple Power Bras since each one is so pricey.

In short, the Power Bra isn’t a long-term solution and it won’t do all the work for you. It’s still important to do posture correcting exercises that target your core and upper body muscles to help keep your body upright in addition to wearing any posture corrector, says Tamir. This will help you become less reliant on the device over time. Given that the Power Bra is almost $200, it’s a big investment for something I can’t use as often as I need to for it to be truly effective and eventually want to become less reliant on.

Not adjustable

Other posture correcting bras like the Etalon Posture Bra have adjustable straps, which let you customize their fit and control how much they pull your shoulders back. For products like these, Tamir recommends starting with looser straps to get used to the feel of the posture corrector and making them tighter over time. The Power Bra is not adjustable. I found it to be true-to-size and compressive, so I never wanted to adjust the straps from a fit perspective. But it would be nice to control how much the bra pulls my shoulders back so I could build up to a more intense posture correcting experience over time.

Final verdict: Is the Forme Power Bra worth it?

I only noticed real results with the Power Bra during the limited time I have it on for. It absolutely causes me to hold my body more upright, pull my shoulders back and think about my alignment while I’m wearing it, but it hasn’t made enough of a difference in my posture long-term to justify the almost $200 purchase, in my experience. It’s a solid short-term solution with a limited use case — due to its high price point, it’s not within my budget to buy multiple versions to ensure I’m using it properly.

Because I got similar posture correcting results from wearing my most supportive, well-fitting, less pricey sports bras mentioned above, I’d recommend investing in a few of those if you’re looking for a discreet device to help align your spine before investing in such an expensive piece, like Forme’s bra. It’s also worth visiting a store in-person to get professionally fitted, in my experience. And while they’re not nearly as attractive as a posture correcting bra, many highly rated back brace style posture correctors, like those from ComfyBrace and Berlin & Daughter , can offer similar results to the Power Bra. They’re typically under $50, too. You only need to wear the posture corrector for a few hours a day, according to the experts I spoke to, so if you plan well, you can easily hide it under clothes or wear it around your home.

That said, if you’re considering buying the Power Bra, manage your expectations before you start wearing it. Also, consider paying with a FSA/HSA card.

Meet our fitness expert

At NBC Selected, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

Why trust NBC Selected?

I’m a reporter at NBC Selected who covers health, wellness and fitness, including topics like walking shoes , wrist weights , running sneakers , posture correctors and sports bras. To write this article, I tested the Forme Power Bra, which the brand sent me, for five months and spoke to experts about how it works, as well as what to expect while wearing it.