1863: The "Breast Supporter" was invented by Luman Chapman in. It was like a corselette; a sort of half corset, that ended a few inches below the cups. Its selling point claimed that it would decrease friction from corsets. For a while, his invention posed no threat to the corset, since it was believed that only, "loose," women, and prostitutes, went in public without a full corset. By the 1890s, stores were selling them through mail-order catalogs, and by the 1910s, they were sold in stores.
1913: Mary Phelps Jacobs had the first patented brassiere, after she (with the help of her maid) helped her sew together two handkerchiefs to wear under a sheer evening gown. The publicity wasn't there, however, and she sold the patent in 1914 to Warners, for $1500.
1918-1924: Flat chests and boyish figures were at the height of fashion. Many young women bandaged or taped their breasts, or, if they could afford it, there were items such as the Symington Side Lacer. This trend seemed to begin in France during WWI; at that time, Germans responded by promoting bras that enhanced breasts, saying it was unpatriotic to buy the French minimizing bras.
For more on 1920's fashion
1924: This trend begand to wane, however, and instead of binding undergarments to achieve the flat effect, women began to want support.
1935: Warners introduces cup sizes A, B, C, and D
During the Second World War and after, women were increasingly entering the public sphere along with their traditional place in the private. Many were working outside the home, and along with this newfound freedom came restraints; women belonging to every class were expected to look attractive in both spheres. Even young girls were interested, buying into the new training bra after its invention in the early 1920s.
Picture Courtesy of Classicphotos.com
Of course,
the popularity of curves skyrocketed parallel to the fame of
such sex symbols as Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe. During
the early 1950s, bra manufacturers designed all sorts of sexy, sensual
creations. Lace, satin, and fur were all the rage in bras, and
certain designs were given exotic names such as, "Cleopatra," and,
"Candlelight." Erotica was everywhere, and brassiere companies
didn't hesitate to capitalize on the zeitgeist.
Of course,
there were many new, innovative bras designed during the 1950s that had
multiple purposes. Below, there are ads for the Inflatable
Bra, the Mon-E-Bra, and even the, "Bleumette Bra, " a set of two
stick-on cups.
Ad courtesy of Uplift
Ad courtesy of Uplift
Ad courtesy
of Uplift
1968: As an important part of bra history, it needs to be stated that the feminist, "bra burning," never really happened literally. In reality, in 1968, women gathered to protest the Miss America pageant and threw bras, girdles, and nylons-- and any other restrictive apparel-- into trash cans. The rumor seemingly started from a journalist making a sensationalized comment to the public. Many women did foreogo the use of bras to protest male domination. Unfortunately, men just sexualized the breast more and enjoyed the sight of unconstrained breasts under clothes.
1990s: After the breast implant scare in the 1980s-1990s, the Wonderbra got its second wind of fame in the U.S.
Nowadays, there are too many different bra styles to count. Underwire, lace, denim, leather, jewel, no wire, cotton, sports, mesh--- creating cleavage is a multi-billion dollar business. We have to remember the cultural values (at least in America) go along with cleavage, and connect that with the fact that corporations spend fortunes trying to get women to buy them. Large breasts (accompanied by considerable cleavage) is portrayed in the media as sexy, and feminine, in a positive light. Yet, as pointed out in the freeessays.com site listed befow, women with large breasts are often represented far more negatively than those with smaller ones. The writer gave the example of Audrey Hepburn vs. Marilyn Monroe. Hepburn was usually quiet, intelligent, and innocent in her films. Monroe, on the other hand, played roles of less-than-intelligent, gold-digging bimbos. These are examples of a phenomena that is happening still today. These major industries, owned and operated by men, are spending millions to keep us in the role of dumb, dependent sex objects.
Additional sources for this page:
www.fashion-era.com/bras_and_girdles.htm
www.womenshistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa010329b.htm
http://www.freeessays.cc/db/27/hec56.shtml
Farrell-Beck, Jane, gau, Colleen. Uplift: The Bra in America. Philadelphia, University of Philadelphia Press, 2002.