Feeling:
powered by FreeFind
Over-the-shoulder boulder-holders
The corset was the standard undergarment for the well-dressed woman for many centuries before it eventually morphed into a more useful (from a practical point of view) piece of equipment. Since the earliest corset however, the shape of a woman's undergarments reflects the ideal breast of the period.
The bra as we know it was invented by a New York debutante who was unhappy with the cumbersome undergarments of the time and desired something lighter and less restrictive to wear under her dress to a dance in 1913. Mary Phelps Jacobs, with the help of her French maid, fashioned a bust halter from a pair of handkerchiefs and a length of baby ribbon. Over the course of the next 90 years or so, the bra has seen vast technological advances and variation in fashion.
The Roaring Twenties?
After the first world war, the 1920s emancipated woman sought a youthful, boyish look - which
required a minimal bosom. Flattening, 'bandeau' bras were worn to achieve the desired 'lean' silhouette.
This look reappeared forty years later in the 1960s.
The Thirties: Recession Hits
Economic depression has always been a good sign for the bust (no indication as to why - perhaps it's
fashion's attempt to return to the mother for protection against the cruelty of everyday life). And in
the 1930s there occurred something of a 'bosom renaissance'. Warner Brothers introduced cup sizes in 1935,
having finally noticed that women came in different shapes and sizes (duh). The 'alphabet bra' had four
named cup sizes: A-D (double-D appeared later, and double-A later still).
40s and 50s: Hollywood Glamour
If there's one thing that large breasts have always been, it's glamourous. Gwynneth Paltrow and Nicole
Kidman may be supremely trendy, but they'll never have the glamour of an enviable cleavage. Jane Russell
was the first to benefit from the advance of technology that was the cantilevered bra, designed for her
by aeronautical engineer Howard Hughes. The sought-after pointed breasts of this period were often achieved
with the help of an 'inflatable bra', designed by Frederick Mellinger (who started the lingerie company,
Frederick's of Hollywood).
60s and 70s: Innovations in Underwear
In the 1960s, the influence of the innovative British designer Mary Quant meant that bras were for the
first time being manufactured in a variety of colours. However, little else in favour of breasts came about
at this time: the 60s saw emphasis go lower down - the leggy supermodel Twiggy was the new feminine ideal,
and as a result, bras took a back seat to hosiery. The boyish look saw in the 70s too, and corsetry was
forced to go 'invisible'. Another technological advance made seamless bras the next step - they were
undetectable under even the tightest tank-tops or T-shirts, as was fashion at the time.
The Eighties and Nineties
Breasts made a comeback in the 1980s, sponsored by Madonna and her Jean-Paul Gaultier stage outfits.
Furthermore, in the early 90s came the advent of the Wonderbra, a padded push-up bra that would
revolutionise the lingerie industry. It has become the most imitated item of corsetry this century (bar
the original patented brassiere) and is still going strong, proving that, at the end of the day, women
want boobs.