A cupless bra is a brassiere design composed of a frame with no support cups, or a bra which exposes the nipples with notched or contoured support cups. Usually worn as erotic lingerie, a cupless bra can cause the shape of the nipples to be prominently visible on an outer garment.

The most common variant is a shelf bra, which is essentially a rigid band (underwired) along the inframammary line, that pushes up without actually covering any, or only a thin strip of the breast.

A brassiere with partial cups that don't cover the nipples is called an open cup bra.

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