“A dyslexic man walks into a bra” Tommy Cooper
It seems women’s breasts have always been a focal point of fascination. With the exception of the 1920’s flapper style and the 1970’s Twiggy uber thin aesthetic, the preference has been for abundance. So, what to do when one’s cup overflows?
Ironically, the first modern bra was created during the flapper craze for a flat, boyish silhouette, by a woman frustrated with the stiff corsets of the time. In 1913, Mary Phelps Jacob, used sheer fabric, ribbons and elastic to replace the bulky corset that ruined the silhouette of the straight flapper dresses. But, like the bust flattening design, sales also fell flat and Mary went bust. She ultimately sold her patent to the Warner Brothers Corset Company, who then made $15 million on the bra.
In 1922 Russian immigrants, Ida and William Rosenthal, founded the Maidenform Brassiere Company and created some of the most enduring bra designs. Their “Uplift” bra was patented in 1927 and in 1949 the so-called “Bullet Bra,” a pointed, cone shaped cup design with a swirling pattern was a bullseye hit! Elsa Schiaparelli put it on the exterior of her couture dresses and Jean-Paul Gaultier took the cone to pointedly new heights for Madonna in 1990.
Ten years after Maidenform began, competition arose from Playtex, founded in 1932. Aggressive with its advertising, Playtex was the first to use live models in underwear, featured in full page ads in Life magazine. As if this was not shocking enough, the company followed up with television ads featuring bras and girdles. Today, Playtex is still known for its “Cross Your Heart” bra and the “18-Hour” bra.
Howard Hughes, magnate, aviator, aerospace engineer, film producer and playboy, designed a bra to play a “supporting role” for Jane Russell in the movie “The Outlaw.” His half-cup design pushed her very ample bosom into a revealing, literally over-the-top shelf, which created a scandal — a very successful one for Hughes and made Russell an overnight celebrity.
All this emphasis on supporting women, left out the chest-challenged, underdeveloped unfortunates. So, in 1952, a sympathetic inventor created an inflatable bra. One unfortunate customer, Betty Jenkins, donned the bra and inflated it to her desired size 32 before boarding a plane. As the unpressurized airplane gained altitude, so did the bra until it reached it’s maximum size of 48, at which point it exploded with a loud BANG! The worried pilot emerged, gun in hand, fearing a hi-jacker was on board. Though no one was hurt, including Betty, she was taken into custody, searched for weapons and fined $400.
A niche emerged for women joggers in 1977 when two enthusiasts, Hinde Miller and Lisa Rosenthal (no known relationship to the earlier Rosenthal’s), decided they had endured enough bouncing around on their runs. They stitched together — and I’m not joking— two jockstraps and created the prototype for today’s sports bras. (Try it for yourself: invert two jockstraps, stitch together and Voila. However, I suggest a walk not a run!).
Our northern neighbor, Canada, was not to be left hanging and in 1964 the Canadian designed Wonderbra lifted all women to new heights with its plunging neckline and push-em-together design. International licensing restrictions prevented sales in the United States, so the Sara Lee Corporation — the cheesecake irony is not to be overlooked— bought the license and was soon selling one every fifteen seconds.
Today’s thoroughly modern Millies can literally take heart. A British designer has created a high-tech bra to detect an elevated heart rate with built in GPS and cell phone to automatically call police, if the wearer is attacked!
But, if you prefer your unmentionables to remain feminine and mysterious, the French — toujours les français — have a bra that releases a fragrance when stretched or — oh-la-la — when caressed!
Whatever your Purely Personal Under Style, I thank you for your support.
NOTA BENE: When in France do not confuse Brassiere with Brasserie!
And, if some dyslexic man walks into your bra, buy the poor, confused soul a drink!
