In 1863, Luman L Chapman patented a corset substitute with breast puffs and shoulder-brace straps that tied in back. The first bra was born.
Most of the major designers of the era have tried to lay claim to designing the first bra. Poiret probably had the strongest claim. What is certain is that all the designers promoted a simple breast retaining garment as better for the newer simple straight dress styles.
Illustration on the left is referred to a Reform Bodice Bra. This is the early supposedly healthier Reform Bodice Bra with mesh net cups that gave virtually no support.
In 1889, Corset whiz Herminie Cadolle put together the very first bra that resembles those worn today. Instead of strapping a contraption around the midsection, Cadolle thought it would be better to use straps around the shoulders because doing so would reduce the stress on the stomach.
In 1893, Frenchwoman Marie Tucek (or Tucke) patented the “Breast Supporter” – the first garment similar to the modern-day bra that used shoulder straps with a hook-and-eye closure to support the breasts in pockets of fabric.
In 1904, the Charles R. DeBevoise Company first labeled a woman's bra-like garment a 'brassiere'. It was a actually a lightly boned camisole that helped stabilize the breasts
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| Corset substitute with breast puffs 1863 |
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| Brassiere 1904 |
In the costume history of bras these early bras were similar to camisoles tops of the 1980s and 1990s. Initially at the turn of the 20th century even the word camisole was used too, but replaced by 'Bust Bodice' by 1905.
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| Wrap around camisole style bra |
By 1907, the term “brassiere” began to show up in high-profile women's magazines like Vogue especially in America and eventually, around 1912, “brassiere” appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary.
In 1913, New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob created Mary’s Secret, her own corset replacement out of two silk handkerchiefs tied together with baby ribbon sewn on to make straps and a seam set in the center front.
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| Phelps |
Her friends were sold on this innovative idea and her backless brassiere was patented in 1914 by Mary under the name of Caress Crosby. It is not thought to be the first bra ever, but it is the first patented record and that gives her the credit. Mary could not get much interest for her idea and sales were minimal, within a short period of time, she sold her patent to Warner Brothers Corset Company for $1,500. Within a year, breasts were measured in inches rather than being categorized small, medium or large. Today, Warner Brothers is a leading name brand manufacturer of bras.
Meanwhile, the corset sang its swan song in 1914 when World War 1 loomed large and women had to enter the workforce, where the tight nuisances were deem too restrictive for such laborious duties as sweeping floors and assembling bombs. In 1917, the government got involved, asking the gentler gender to eschew corsets altogether because they used up too much precious metal – metal that was badly in need of to make tanks and fighter planes. Women consented and 28,00 tons of metal were save in a year – enough to build tow battleships, can you believe it?
By 1928, Russian-born entrepreneur Ida Rosenthal took the bra to its next stage by introducing cup sizes and bras for all stages of a women's life. She and her husband William started making bras through their New Jersey-based company Maidenform.
The Bra history took on a new dimension when in 1935, Warners introduced four cup sizes called A, B, C and D, but it was well into the 1950s before Britain followed this American standard. The British corset manufacturers were still using coy descriptions like junior and medium to describe breast fullness. Bosoms were dethroned and separate breasts were really acknowledged.
After 1930 all the brand names we know well in lingerie and corsetry today began manufacturing bras with quite separate cups. They used quality cotton lace and net. One famous bra designed in the 1930s was the Kestos bra and later the Kestos Utility Bra. Its simple seaming looks classy and could be effective today.
In 1947, Frederick Mellinger, founder of the Frederick's of Hollywood, began selling intimate apparel in his Los Angeles stores.
In 1949, Maidenform introduced its famous 'I dreamed' ad campaign. Advertising Age named the 'I dreamed' ads No.28 of the top 100 most memorable advertising campaigns of the 20th century! The earliest ads were drawings of women that were wearing just a bra above the waist in a variety of dream sequences. Tag lines included such greats as, 'I was an Eskimo in my Maidenform bra' and to the updated versions from the late 60s like, 'I dreamed I had the world on a string in my Maidenform bra'.
Fashion history has shown that by the 1950s glamour was what women wanted most. They had been deprived in the war and they had seen the Hollywood stars that had uplift that almost reached their necks. Brand names like Maidenform, Berlei, Triumph and the British Marks & Spencer bras under the St. Michael label all sold excellent bras that gave the correct pointed circular stitched conical shape of the era.
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| 1950's stitched longline cone bra |
The conical bra was the bra that gave the support silhouette for girls who longed to emulate the curves of film star sweater girls like Lana Turner and Jane Russell. Bra history changed for the better as bras began to be revolutionized by the use of nylon, making them lighter, prettier and easier to wash. Right - 1950's Stitched Longline Cone Bra.
By 1959, Warners and Dupont had produced Lycra, the renowned stretchy fabric. The result was the true appreciation for jiggle decrease! However by the late 60s, women were burning their bras. When Yves St. Laurent designed a sheer blouse worn without a bra, feminists demanded women burn their bras. It was all metaphoric and only a dustbin was ever used to dispose of bras. In fact, one such bra burning was staged near the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1968. However this claim has gone down in bra history despite the fact that so few women really abandoned their bras. Those who needed support knew they could never seriously do without a bra. But many smaller breasted women did stop wearing bras beneath opaque garments. Few were really brave enough to do it with a sheer top, but it did herald changes for the decade.
By the 1960s well designed bras by Exquisite Form, Berlei, Twilfit, Lovable, Silhouette, Playtex and the Marks & Spencer St. Michael range were thought ideal under knitted sweater dresses.
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| Berlei Bra of 1965 |
Soon Elastomerics transformed foundation garments with power net fabric. Early styling found in bra history became out of tune with modern sixties bra design. The old elastic bra backs and straps were replaced by the newer Courtauld's Spanzelle or Lycra fittings. Overstretched rotted rubber bits that made bras lose their grip were gone forever.
By 1964 Rudi Gernreich designed the 'no bra bra' which was light, made of see through stretch netting and very simply shaped, but only really suitable for the small breasted woman. But from this, the idea of a body stocking in transparent material was developed by Warners in 1965.
The concept simply fitted in with the woman of the 1960s wanting to choose what she did, rather than be told she must wear a bra. Old habits were changing. Many older women had worn bras to bed believing breasts should be supported during sleep, now bras were removed at night or abandoned altogether as attitudes changed.
Corsets such as those by Spirella were still worn and were still available. Longline bras to the waist from Marks & Spencer were very popular to keep that midriff in control. Re-designing the body contours in the gym was rather unusual then. To control wayward lumps and bumps one dieted and bought the correct power elastic foundation garments.
In the 60s many bras like those by Lovable had a very fine layer of foam latex rubber bonded to the top lace fabric and which made the cups stand up on end. They were comfortable bras that gave a good reliable rather pointed firm shape fashionable at the time.
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| Ah-a Bra 1972 |
The 1970s saw the development of the Ah-h Bra (1972) from Sears, and the sports bra in 1977 created by Lisa Lindahl and Polly Smith who sewed two jockstraps together and named it the Jogbra!
And then in the 1990s, the bra industry leaped to a new level in the quest for cleavage by utilizing water, air and silicone pads. Improvements in these developments take us on into the 21st century with companies like Fashion Forms which are mostly about breast management and enhancement.
Stay tune for next story on bra, in the ever changing fashion industry
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