KissMeGoodnight Article Series: Lingerie
Wearing Lingerie: Sizzling Secrets 

What Is The Evolution of the Bra?

Bras, or some type of device similar has been used as far back as the time of the Cretans. One can be assured it served a different purpose but never the less existed in some shape and form. The year 1907 was the first year the word “brassiere” or bra was ever used in the fashion world. It has never been any other way since. Good or bad the bra is always with women in some way. Brassieres were originally named from the French word for “support”, but since the word was completely out of use a new name was made. Even though these devices had been around thousands of years, they finally had a title that has lasted centuries. Women have never looked past a bra since and still try to figure out what is so fabulous about them.

The early bras of the 1910s were when many designers tried to lay claim on the new market trend. These companies spent their time promoting a breast garment that promised to retain and control the bosom. Most of these so-called bras were more like the camisoles of later years, not what we would think of as a bra today. It was Mary Phelps-Jacobs who patented the bra in 1914 that made the bra what it is today. It was a simple design of two silky handkerchiefs with baby ribbons for straps and a seam in the front. They didn’t sell as well as she thought they would so she sold the company to Warners who is still making bras to this very day. Shortly thereafter, breasts were now being measured as small, medium, and large.

Once 1918 came to pass, bras were now made of lace bands with straps. The best bra at the time was the Symington Side Lacer that was a reinforced bodice. The side lacing was meant to flatten out the bust when tightened. This was also the time period that bra became the appropriate term instead of brassiere. In the 1930s bras changed forever through the expertise of the chemists from Dunlop. They transformed latex into an elastic thread. This thread was woven together to form an elastic fabric that was washable called Lastex. There was no more need for uncomfortable boning and lacing in bras, girdles, and corsets. All the major support areas could now be made of this material. Women could now hold their stuff up and in with comfort instead of torture. During this time, all the well-known names we hear off today began producing and selling bras with specific cup for the breasts to fit in. They used cotton, lace, latex, and net fabric in their designs.

It was Warners production of the first actual cup sizes for bras in 1935. They had the four standards A, B, C, and D cups. This new method of describing breast fullness was the trend that followed worldwide. During the World War II era of the 1940s, bras were now being manufactured bearing a utility seal. These bras, known as Utility bras, were extremely limited and made of cotton backed satin that was a pinkish color. Padding in bras was also added at this time period. The pads were more of a way to cover the nipple more so than to make one look larger. These bras were very popular all the way into the 1950s. This time was also know for paper bra patterns that allowed women to make their own bras at home. As the 1950s went on, the changes in textile technology revolutionized the over all underwear industry. This is when costumes bras began to show up on the market. The conical shaped bras started to become the hottest trend as well during this time. This is time frame that bras became lighter, more attractive, and easy to wash.

The bras of the sixties took many twists and turns and even became non-existent for some smaller busted women. Going braless was not as common as we are led to believe. The women who still need support with larger busts still used theirs more than not. It wasn’t wearing bras that changed it was the attitude of women in the 1960s that changed. The concept of choosing when and what kind of bra rather than being told she had to was the main idea. Women were starting to remove their bras at night and no longer believed their breasts need support at night in bed. In 1964 the “no bra bra” that was made of see through netting. Smaller busted ladies as it had very little support mostly wore this. The first Wonderbra was also a product of the late 1960s that is still with us today. Since the 1960s and 1970s, bras have continued to keep the same designs. It is the addition of laces, color, and sexiness that have swept the market since.

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KissMeGoodnight.com : 2006

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