In an ingenious attempt to outsmart airline baggage fees, one traveller turned to an unconventional item of clothing to carry her possessions: a giant pink bra.
The Airport Transformation
Chelsea Dickenson found herself in Lisbon airport toilets in January 2025, performing an unusual pre-flight ritual. Standing before the mirror, she carefully stuffed a bikini top into the cup of her brand-new pink DD bra, followed by her unused gym kit and a multi-pocketed fishing vest.
"With every item, my reflection became a little… curvier," Chelsea recounted. "As someone who's never had much going on in that department, it might appear like a cheap boob job. But this wasn't vanity – it was strategy."
Flying home from Lisbon with Wizz Air, which only permits a small 40 x 30 x 20cm cabin bag for free, Chelsea had already mastered the outbound journey using a fishing vest with over 15 pockets. For her return flight, she wanted to test a different approach.
The €5 Brainwave
The unconventional idea struck earlier that day while Chelsea browsed sales racks in Lisbon's H&M. "I'd hoped for a hoodie with deep pockets or a slim bag I could tuck under my coat," she explained. Instead, her hands landed on a large bra reduced to just €5.
"I was about to push it away when an idea came to me: what if this bra was the answer to bonus luggage space?"
While the concept of wearing extra clothes to dodge fees isn't new – famously epitomised by Joey Tribbiani's layered look in Friends – Chelsea had never seen anyone employ a bra for this purpose. The logic seemed sound: airlines weigh and measure your bag, not your body.
The Daring Execution
On flight day, Chelsea wasn't planning to stroll through security sporting her unusual silhouette. "This was about getting through the scales and bag sizers," she noted, though she admitted concerns about a potential pat-down revealing wads of fabric.
She carried the empty bra in her bag through security, then made a beeline for the toilets to transform. "On went the bra – over my shirt for speed – and then the stuffing began," she described. "My bikini and gym kit slid neatly into one cup, my fishing vest into the other."
The process reminded her of childhood dress-up games involving toilet paper. Zipping her jacket proved challenging, and immediately the temperature began to rise. "Lisbon might have been in winter mode, but under my layers, I was experiencing my own private heatwave."
Her boyfriend James's silent, eyebrow-raised reaction spoke volumes about her unusual appearance.
Success With Side of Embarrassment
At the gate, Chelsea braced for confrontation, imagining horror scenarios of being called out for resembling "someone who'd swallowed a small rucksack."
In reality, nobody batted an eyelid. Boarding proceeded smoothly, though she couldn't wait to reach her seat to dismantle her makeshift luggage. The unzipping revealed another hiccup – she'd forgotten the bulging bra was worn over her shirt.
"Naturally, it took me an age to unclip the clasp at the back, much to the entertainment of my fellow passengers," she admitted.
Was It Worth It?
Reflecting on the experiment, Chelsea confirmed the hack worked – she avoided paying for extra baggage and passed through unquestioned. However, she noted significant drawbacks.
"You can't pack much without looking completely unnatural, it's sweltering, and you will inevitably embarrass yourself if you decide to take it off," she concluded. "Would I do it again? Nah. This was a one-and-done."
Instead, she recommends more practical alternatives:
- The neck pillow trick: Fill it with underwear or lightweight clothes
- The fishing vest hack: A wearable cupboard with deep pockets
- The duty-free bag dodge: Stroll on board with jumpers hidden in a shopping bag
- The large backpack gamble: Risk taking an oversized bag worn on your back
"All of these have worked several times for me without the heat, bulk, or awkward mid-flight unzipping," Chelsea confirmed.
Her final verdict? If you're truly desperate and have a spare large bra, the method might save you some money. But for comfort and dignity's sake, "a jacket with deep pockets will do the job just as well – so when you unzip mid-flight, you'll look completely normal and not like you got dressed in the dark."
