Bras: a century of support

By Sharon Fink, Times Staff Writer
Published November 24, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT 1907: When Vogue used the word "brassiere," this was what it was talking about. [UPI (1969)] 1969: A San Francisco woman takes off her bra on an "Anti-Bra Day." [Associated Press] 1983: Madonna's first album is released, and so is her penchant for wearing bras like any other kind of top.

It's time to mark two important milestones in the history of underwear.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the popular coining of the word "brassiere." And 2008 will mark 25 years since Madonna began publicly exposing hers.

The significance of the first is more apparent than the second, but both have left indelible prints on our undergarments' evolution from bone-filled torture devices to outerwear worn loudly and proudly.

In 1907, Vogue used "brassiere" to describe a type of bust supporter-protector. Little information is available on the context, but the magazine's position as a fashion arbiter even then pushed the word into wide usage. By 1911, brassiere, a French word that in early origins referred to a soldier's arm guard or shield, was in the Oxford English Dictionary.

The modern bra itself didn't start taking shape until about 1910. That's when New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob,wanting something to replace a whalebone corset underneath a sheer evening gown, enlisted her maid to help her stitch together two silk handkerchiefs with pink ribbon and cord.

In 1914, Jacob received a patent for her "backless brassiere," and the world was on its way to the bra as we know it.

Over the years, NASA is possibly the only entity that has poured more money and brain power into research and development than the bra industry. From the practical - the invention of cup sizes and adjustable straps, fabric improvements, the sports bra - to the gimmicky - the bullet bra, the Wonderbra, the water bra - bras are constantly evolving.

Although it often may not feel like it, the industry's No. 1 goal is comfort, said Norah Alberto, senior style director at Maidenform.

"You kind of want to forget you're wearing a bra," she said. "When you're comfortable, you're happy."

Fabric is the biggest comfort focus. The latest trend in that area is bamboo, said Suzanne Gleason, manager of Maison Rouge, an intimate apparel store in St. Petersburg.

"Bamboo is more comfortable than cotton is," she said. "It's naturally antibacterial."

And because bamboo is a quickly renewable resource, it's eco-friendly. "I think that's a huge issue with a lot of people," Gleason said.

The low points of the past century of bra history include the fads, Alberto said. (The water bra, which had pads filled with water to lift and separate, was immortalized in an episode of TV's Will & Grace when Grace wore one to a class reunion and it sprang a leak.)

"Water bras, air bras . . . they arrive, they were here, and they left," Alberto said. "We don't want that anymore."

Many thought Madonna started nothing but a fad when in 1983 she surfaced wearing a bra like it was no different from any other top.

"I remember thinking, 'Man, that girl's got guts,' " Gleason said, laughing.

It was the first style moment that got the cultural pot-stirrer as much attention for her image as her music. As she skyrocketed to fame over the ensuing months, Madonna set off a fashion movement that swept into small-town junior highs and big-city dance clubs, and set the tone for a decade that became known for outside-the-box clothing choices, to put it mildly.

Except parachute pants faded from the mainstream. So did acid-wash denim, shoulder pads and accessorizing with safety pins.

Wearing underwear as outerwear hasn't.

"By doing that, (Madonna) made herself an icon," Gleason said. "And to this day, I find it remarkable that she's still an icon. . . . And women look to that and think, 'Hey, I can do that, too.' You can be as sexy as you want to be."

Madonna's timing was also perfect. She was baring more skin just as the fitness boom had women aerobicizing themselves into shapes they were eager to show off.

Bras as outerwear were eventually joined by bustiers and corset tops (without bones in them). Then slips started being worn as dresses. Camisoles became a dressier kind of tank top. And underpants started peeking out of outer pants.

Thankfully, that last revelation is fading into fad territory. Credit the return of higher waistlines on regular pants. And perhaps Britney Spears, whose predilection for skipping underpants entirely has given us more respect for their proper role.

But the visible bra seems here to stay. No one blinks when they see Ashley Olsen wearing a black bra under a sheer white T-shirt or Victoria Beckham with a lacy pink bra peeking out of an animal print camisole. And lingerie dressing was a big trend in the spring-summer '08 runway shows.

"People are buying bustiers and corsets . . . to wear with jeans, or slacks or skirts," Gleason said. "In Florida in particular we can wear these things year-round, with a jacket or sweater over it as well, and it looks fabulous.

"It's very fashionable."

Sharon Fink can be reached at (727) 893-8525 or fink@sptimes.com.

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A time line

1907: Vogue uses "brassiere'' to describe a type of bust supporter-protector. 

1910: An early version of the bra as we know it is introduced.

1920s: The flapper era had women binding themselves for a flat-chested look.

1928: Cup sizes developed.

1930s: Advertisers couldn't show a photo of a woman in a bra, so all lingerie ads had to be drawn.

1942: Strap adjustments developed.

1943: Howard Hughes designs a cantilevered bra to better show off Jane Russell's cleavage in the movie The Outlaw. The movie becomes embroiled in a censorship battle, and Russell becomes a pop culture icon.

1947: Frederick Mellinger of Frederick's of Hollywood introduces the padded bra. A year later he introduces the pushup bra.

1950s: An ad is produced from Maidenform's ''I dreamed . . . '' campaign, which pictured women dreaming of doing different things wearing just their bras as their top. The campaign ran from 1949 to 1969 and became so iconic that Bing Crosby sang about a woman who "looked so dreamy in her Maidenform Bra'' in his 1960 song Dardanella. The bullet bra was popular, thanks in part to celebrities such as Jayne Mansfield.

1959: Warners and Dupont produce Lycra.

1964: The Wonderbra is created in Britain.

1969: A San Francisco woman takes off her bra on an "Anti-Bra Day.'' The societal revolts of the late 1960s extended even to bras. "Women wanted to be free, not feel constricted, especially coming out of the bullet bra era,'' said Norah Alberto, senior style director at Maidenform.

1977: Lisa Lindahl and Polly Smith sew two jockstraps together and call it the Jogbra, bringing the sports bra into existence.

1983: Madonna's first album is released, and so is her penchant for wearing bras like any other kind of top.

1990s: The desire for cleavage leads to the use of water, air and silicone pads.

1994: The Wonderbra is introduced in the United States, quickly becoming the nation's top-selling pushup bra. The company says that at the height of the Wonderbra's popularity, one was sold every 15 seconds.

2007: Victoria "Posh Spice'' Beckham uses bustiers, corset tops and bras as outerwear wardrobe staples.

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Buying a bra 

- Suzanne Gleason, manager of Maison Rouge, an intimate apparel store in St. Petersburg, tells her customers to get sized for a proper fit every six months. "Because your body changes, no matter what you think," she said. "You lose weight, you gain weight . . . You get older, metabolism affects you."

- In 1996, the average bra size was 34B, according to Maidenform. In 2006 it was 36C. The size range is also bigger today because of the popularity of breast implants, which Gleason said has made it hard for the industry to provide the size range needed. For example: She has seen slender women seeking size 32DDD. "That's man-made. That's very hard to be naturally," she said. "And that's somewhat difficult (for) a retailer to try to carry so many different sizes."

- The average woman owns 14 bras but wears maybe six regularly, according to Maidenform's research. Norah Alberto, senior style director at Maidenform, said every woman should own four basic styles: A seamless bra to wear with T-shirts. A plunge bra for low necklines. A tank-back bra for tank and similar tops. A strapless bra, or one with removable straps.

[Last modified November 23, 2007, 12:17:09]