The History of the Bra

The history of the bra is indeed an uplifting story. And the facts here are backed with lots of support. These facts will keep you abreast of the lives and times of bras. There’s nothing to hide, so we’re revealing all the facts. There’s nothing unmentionable in this history. We’ll be up front with you when we present this interesting story. So let’s snap to reality and fill our cups with knowledge.

Ancient Greek bras – now you see them, now you don’t

Around 2500 B.C., breasts were being admired. And that’s no surprise when you look at the men’s view of the women of those days. They adored them. In fact, they all but worshipped them. And the women, in tribute to all this attention, wore bras that lifted their breasts so much that they exposed them in all their splendor (at least, that’s how the men saw them).

Later, as Greek and Roman society grew more male-oriented, breasts were wrapped and flattened to minimize their size. And not only the women, but the men, too. But a pattern had started to develop – the use of bras changed with men’s attitudes towards the female bosom.

This pattern continued throughout the ages, with breasts being bared, or not, in exact ratio to men’s attitudes of the times. Women were at the mercy of the fashion of the day – usually decided by men.

19th Century Paris brought upstart women

A therapeutic elastic breast girdle for 'breast hypertrophy', Catalogue of Leon Jules Rainal Freres 1907


During the 19th century, women were starting to “stand up” for themselves. They were tired of being told what they should or shouldn’t wear. They wanted freedom, and that included their fashion styles. So women began a movement for more comfortable underwear than the trussed and bound look of the corsets of the day. And as these new creations came on the market, patents ran wild. Since granting the first patent for a 'corset substitute' in 1863, the U.S. government has registered over 1,200 patents of breast supporters. That’s a lot of support for bras.

One example of those patents came in 1893 when Marie Tucek patented the “breast supporter”, which had separate pockets for the breasts, with straps over the shoulders, and fastened by hook-and-eye closures at the back. Sound pretty much like the bras of today, doesn’t it?

Another 19th-century development was “falsies”. The first ones were pads made of wool, which were put inside the boned bodice. Later in that century, French women were able to buy rubber breast pads, called “lemon bosoms” – their name describes them well. Padded bras were now accepted.

The modern bra emerges

Mary Phelps Jacob and her "Blackless Brassiere"

1913 saw the debut of the first modern brassiere. It was created by Mary Phelps Jacobs, who got so annoyed at the bones of her corset sticking out around her neckline that she covered them with a couple of silk handkerchiefs and some ribbon and attached it all together with some cords. Her friends loved the idea and those who expressed their admiration of this lightweight fashion were given one to try out.

Many people asked her to share her idea, but when she got a letter from a stranger, with a dollar and a request for her “contraption”, she drew the line. She immediately sent sketches of her design to the patent office. The patent was granted in November, 1914 for the “Backless Brassiere”. Mary named her new creation the Caresse Crosby. The bra was here to stay (even though it didn’t have stays, like the corset).

But Mary’s talents were in fashion design, not business, and she had a hard time managing her venture. So she decided to sell her patent to Warner Brothers Corset Company for $1,500. That turned out to be a pretty good investment for Warner because, over the next 30 years, it earned the company over $15 million.

The bra joins a line of intimate apparel

Up until the creation of the bra, “intimate apparel” had consisted of heavily-boned, tight-laced corsets. They may have been recognized as intimate to the men, but the women found them extremely uncomfortable. The bra brought with it a whole new attitude to women’s underwear. It was indeed now an item of intimate apparel.

Mary Jacobs had started the ball rolling. Innovations began to develop as women found their new freedom of movement very liberating. A bra, girdle and stockings were a very sexy look, and gave women a new self-confidence. Then, with the introduction of elastic fabric in the 1920s, the bra industry took off. In the 1930’s, the strapless or backless bra came out. And then it was the standardization of cup sizes – now women could get a bra that truly fit comfortably.

The woman who was responsible for sized bras was Ida Rosenthal, a Russian-Jewish immigrant. Her creation eventually turned into the start of one of the most well-known intimate apparel companies today – Maidenform.

During the roaring Twenties, with it’s flat-chested boyish look, Ida Rosenthal’s invention wasn’t too popular. However, Ida had spunk, and she continued to promote her bust-flattering bras. With her idea of sizing, she could now market bras to girls and women of every age, from puberty to maturity. A huge advantage to this plan was brand loyalty – if she could get teens to wear training bras, then they’d stay with Maidenform as they developed and grew. She’d have a customer for life! This idea became the foundation of a $40 million Maidenform industry.

Bra-burning slowed the industry down

In the 1960’s, with female emancipation rampant, and women burning their bras in revolt, the bra industry took a heavy hit. But Ida Rosenthal, with the same enthusiasm and stick-to-it-tiveness that she’d displayed before, wasn’t deterred. She was asked how this burning of bras would affect her business. Her reply was, “We’re a democracy. A person has the right to be dressed or undressed. But after age 35, a woman hasn’t got the figure to wear no support. Time’s on my side.” And indeed it was – look at the industry today.

Women dreamed of all kinds of things – in their Maidenform Bra

Maidenform led the way in the bra industry. Their ad campaign, “I dreamed I…” did very well. The seed was planted – women could be anything they wanted if they wore a Maidenform Bra. The image was secured. The bra had become not only a method of supporting the breasts, but of displaying them in a variety of stages of dress and undress, all with the goal of making a woman look sexier.

But practicality was important, too. Different types of bras were designed for different types of women’s activities. If you were pregnant, you could buy maturnity bras. After you had your baby, you could buy a nursing bra. After you finished nursing, and before you lost your “baby weight”, you could buy a full figured bra.

And for those women who were a little bigger than most, there were plus size bras. And not only plus size bras, but plus size lingerie and girdles – whole outfits for those voluptuous women who some men found so attractive.

For the active women, there were athletic sports bra, giving extra support. For those evening gowns, there were strapless bras and backless bras to complement the beautifully-adorned woman at the formal gathering. And the teenage girl could proudly say, “Hey, I got my first bra.” And training bras would help her adjust as she grew and matured and got ready for regular bras.

Women with darker skin were targeted in advertising, by being offered dark colored bras – tan, black, brown – to help them feel comfortable and natural. And for those women who like to step a little on the daring side, there are see through shear bras, and all kinds of sexy, intimate bras and apparel that could be used to complement sexy lingerie.

The list goes on. Women have indeed some a long way in their freedom for fashion. They had to live through the days of tightly-cinching themselves to look good. Now they can look good in any surrounding, in any environment. Wherever a woman goes these days, whatever she does, there’s a bra to suit her activity.

And as for the attitudes of men – well, they’re not really concerned about who created the bra – they just admire the way it looks and try to learn how to take it off!

Images Source: Wikimedia