The Bra (Brassiere) History

The bra, or "brassiere,", is French for "support."

 

As women in the early 1900s participated in more sports and vigorous dancing, they began to throw out their corsets in favor of more comfortable brassieres. In 1913, Mary Phelps Jacob, later known as Caresse Crosby, felt the corset was too restrictive for dancing in the nightclubs and claimed she invented the bra by tying two handkerchiefs together with ribbons. In contrast to the Victorian whalebone bodices and corsests, Jacob’s brassiere was soft, short, and gave a clear, natural separation between the breasts. She later sold the patent to Warner Brothers. The tango craze in 1915--as well as World War I and, to a lesser and indirect extent, the woman’s movement--encouraged the demise of the corset. The farewell to tighter garments, however, was short lived as woman turned to the girdle to achieve the long, lean, and androgynous clapper look of the 1920s.

 

After the war, however, and during the Great Depression, bosoms returned. The “bra,” a shortened from of “brassiere,” changed from flattening breasts in the 1920s to accentuating them. In 1935, Warner Brothers introduced cup sizes, which acknowledged that women come in all shapes and sizes. The “alphabet bra” consisted of four cup sizes: A, B, C, and D. Double-D came along later and Double-A later still (Ewing 1976). During World War II, materials used to make undergarments, such as steel and rubber, were in short supply, so manufactures turned to synthetic materials which would eventually lead to Lycra, rayon, and Lastex.

 

The 1950s brought engaging and amusing bras due in part to the film industry. Stars such as Lana Turner became known as the “Sweater Girl” because of her famous cone-shaped brassieres. Jane Russell even had a bra designed by aeronautical engineer Howard Hughes that famously accentuated her bust. The glamor of the 1950s once again valued the hourglass figure, and lingerie manufactures began to flourish and were soon launching their own brand names to build customer loyalty.

 

But the feminist and hippie movements of the 1960s and 1970s denounced lingerie as conformist and artificial. Bras in particular were seen as restrictive, uncomfortable, and mendacious and, famously, bra burning became a symbol of women’s liberation. The 1960s brought back the young, free, androgynous figure of the 1920s with women often wearing skimpy briefs and little else which allowed them to wear mini skirts and jeans.

 

By the late 1970s, cleavage made a return and developments in technology and fabrics led to more intricate and mass-marketed lingerie, including the Wonderbra2 which gave a “push up and plunge” effect. During the 1980s, padded and wire bras became top-selling items. Victoria’s Secret and La Perla3 lingerie lines grew in popularity as women demanded a soft and sensual style.

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