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A woman wearing a brassiere.

A brassiere or bra is a foundation garment for women which covers and supports the breasts.

Need for brassieres

The female breasts have very little internal support, being composed largely of adipose tissue. It is believed that the primary anatomical support for the breast is provided by the Cooper's ligaments, with the skin covering the breasts offering some additional support. However, this anatomical support is usually insufficient to hold the breasts up (especially in older women), and to prevent movement of the breasts, which can cause pain and discomfort. The primary reason for wearing a brassiere or similar foundation garment is thus to provide external support for the breasts, both to increase comfort and to provide a sexually alluring figure.

Bras are believed by some to help preserve the youthful shape of breasts (which naturally sag as women grow older), an opinion which is unsurprisingly promoted by bra manufacturers. However, there is some doubt over this amongst the medical community, and while a woman may choose to wear a bra for comfort or for social reasons, there is no conclusive evidence to support the notion that a woman's breasts will sag lower over her lifetime if she doesn't wear a bra.¹

Some medical professionals believe that wearing a bra can actually increase breast sagging later in life because the chest muscles that support breasts are used less and atrophy from lack of use. Health benefits of breast motion and sagging have also been suggested but not substantiated — for example, some researchers claim that breast movement, which is restricted by a brassiere, stimulates the lymphatic system and helps remove toxins from the body ².

History

The concept of covering or restraining the breasts dates back to 6,500 years ago in Greece. Minoan women on the island of Crete 4,500 years ago wore brassieres that revealed their bare breasts. A binding known as an apodesmos, or mastodeton was worn by Greek women for exercise in those city-states that supported women's sports, e.g. Sparta. It is said that these early restraints were invented by men so that women's breasts would be smaller, and thus more like a man's.

A bra-like device to give a symmetrical rotundity to the breasts was patented (nr 24,033) in 1859 by Henry S. Lesher of Brooklyn, New York; although it is recognisably a bra, the design looks uncomfortable by current standards. In 1889 Herminie Cadolle of France invented the first modern bra, a two-piece undergarment called le bien-être (the well-being). The lower part was a corset for the waist, the upper supporting the breasts by means of shoulder straps. By 1905 the upper half was being sold separately as a soutien-gorge ("breast-supporter", using a euphemism for breast that usually means "throat"), the name by which bras are still known in France. Cadolle's business is still going strong.

In the United States, Mary Phelps Jacob was granted the first U.S. patent for the brassiere (nr 1,115,674), in 1913. She was aided in this work by her French maid, Marie. Her invention is most widely recognized as the predecessor to the modern bra. She sold the patent to the Warner Brothers Corset Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for $1,500 (or over $25,600 in today's money). Warner eventually made an estimated $15 million off Caresse's patent.

In 1922, Ida Rosenthal, a seamstress at the small New York City dress shop, Enid Frocks, along with shop owner Enid Bissett and husband William Rosenthal, changed the look of women's fashion. The "boyish figure" then in style downplayed women's natural curves through the use of a bandeaux brassiere. Their innovation, designed to make their dresses look better on the wearer, consisted of modifying the bandeaux bra to enhance and support women's breasts. Hence, the name "Maidenform". A later innovation is the development of sized brassieres. The company they founded became the Maidenform manufacturing company.

In 1943, Howard Hughes designed a cantilivered brassiere for Jane Russell for her appearance in the movie "The Outlaws". The "lifts and separates" design went on to influence later commercial brassieres.

During the Civil Rights Movement, as the "monokini" came into play in Europe and free love became more popular in the United States, many women publicly discarded their bras as an anti-sexist act of female liberation. The act of "bra-burning," however, in which crowds of women would make a trash-can bonfire, line up, and take off and discard their bras one by one into the fire, was not a widespread practice, although it did get quite a bit of video coverage from the mass media at the time.

Bra sizes

The size of a bra is commonly described by two values: the band size (the circumference of the chest at the bust, excluding the breasts), and the cup size (given by a letter, and relating to the volume of the breasts themselves). The size of women's breasts is often expressed in terms of bra size.

Bras are commonly available in cup sizes A-DD, and one generally has to go to a specialist lingerie store to find larger cup size bras. The sizing of cup sizes can be confusing, since some manufacturers use multiple letters such as AAA or FF. A common cup size system amongst European manufacturers, in order of increasing size, is: AAA-AA-A-B-C-D-DD-E-F-FF-G-GG-H-J. It is important to note that the actual size of bra cups vary with band size. As an example, the cup in a 34B is smaller than the cup used in a 38B.

Any system for determining bra size is not without its problems, and the only real way to get the right size is by trial and error or more effectively to visit a certified specialist. However, there are several methods which may be used to provide an approximate size by measuring alone. Bra sizing systems differ widely between countries, and also between companies. Some countries use the metric measurement system rather than the Imperial system used in the UK and U.S.

Band size is usually determined by measuring body circumference under the breasts and then adding a specified amount to account for the fact that the ribcage is generally wider at the height of the breasts than at the point one measures at. An alternative method to determine band size involves measuring under the arms and across the top of the breasts. In the United States, various manufacturers and boutiques recommend adding different numbers to the measured circumference to determine band size, generally from 4 to 6 inches. A further complication is that some manufacturers say that when the under the bust measurement is 35" (89 cm) or more, only 3" (7.5 cm) should be added to determine the band size.

The cup size is worked out from the difference between the band size and a measurement of the chest circumference over the fullest part of the breasts. A common, though not universal, method suggested by many manufacturers is that a difference of 1" (2.5 cm) requires an A cup size; 2" (5 cm) a B cup, and so on (see below).

Sister size

It is stated that sizes have a "sister size" where by moving down one band size and up one cup size would be an equivalent fit (34C to 32D for example). This is true to some extent in that many people are able to wear both sizes. However, there are slight differences in the cup and band that may prove problematic as the bra begins to wear.

Determining bra size

One common way of determining bra size is described below (all values measured in inches).

First measure tightly around the torso, directly underneath the breasts. This is the frame size. To calculate the band size add 5" if this measurement is an odd number add 6" if it is even (the difference accounts for the fact that bras are only available in even sizes).

Next measure directly across the fullest part of the breasts over the nipples, while standing straight with arms to the side. This is the bust size. The cup size is then the difference between the bust size and the band size, converted into a letter using the following table:

For example, if a woman's frame size is measured at 30", then 6" would be added to give a band size of 36".
If her bust size measured 40", that gives a difference of 40" - 36" = 4", which converts to a "D" cup size.
So her final bra size would be 36D.

Construction and Fit

A bra consists of shoulder straps at either side, cups for the breasts, a center panel, and a band running around the body under the bust. They are typically made of a fabric such as cotton or lace, with the cups for the breasts given shape by underwires or plastic reinforcements. The bra is usually fastened a hook fastener on the band, typically at the back, but in some bras the fastener is situated at the front, in between the cups. Some bras contain padding, designed to improve comfort and provide a more flattering shape — this is sometimes in the form of silicone gel packs. Push up bras, designed to enhance cleavage, usually contain padding.

It is important that a woman's bra fits correctly, both to ensure a flattering shape and to avoid discomfort. Back pain is particularly common amongst large breasted women who wear bras which offer insufficient support. In extreme cases, such discomfort can lead to a woman seeking breast reduction surgery. It is estimated from the result of surveys that up to 70% of women in the United Kingdom wear incorrectly fitting bras, which is perhaps due to a lack of understanding about the fitting of bras, as well as the difficulty in obtaining larger bras.

It is a common misconception that the shoulder straps should bear the weight of the breasts, in fact the strap around the body should provide most of the support, it should be firm but comfortable.

• When viewed from the side, the strap that runs around the body should be horizontal and should not ride up at the back at all.

• The underwires at the front should lie flat against the rib cage and should not dig in, rub or poke out at the front.

• The breasts should be enclosed by the cups and there should be a smooth line where the fabric at the top of the cup ends.

• There should not be a ridge or bulging over the top or sides of the cups, even with a 'balconette' style or lower cut shape.

Correct bra size depend on factors including bra manufacturer, and change as the size of her breasts fluctuates with weight gain/loss and stage in the menstrual cycle.

Breast pads or "falsies" are sometimes worn underneath the bra to give the appearance of larger breasts — this requires that the wearer wear a larger size of bra than actually required by her breasts.

Types of bra

A range of styles of brassieres exist, to be worn in a variety of situations. The degrees of support varies between styles, with some being designed from a highly practical point of view, and others to provide a deliberately sexually alluring form.

• Full support bras are a type of bra designed to offer good support for whole of the breasts, and as such are a typical, practical bra for everyday wear. Balconette or demi bras are similar, but have lower cut cups, covering approximately half the breasts. These offer less support, but enable low cut garments to be worn without the bra being seen.

• Shelf bras take the balconette concept to its logical conclusion, with cups covering only the bottom part of the breast, putting the nipples and breasts on display. Peep hole bras have cups which loosely cover the breasts, but holes around the nipples. These kinds of bras do not give the breasts much support, and are generally intended for wearing in sexual situations.

• Training bras, which are smaller than standard bra sizes, offer very little support and are generally have a simple fabric construction, without underwired cups. They are intended to be worn by girls in the early stages of breast development during puberty, and allow them to get used to the feeling of wearing a bra before their breasts develop to the point where significant support is required. Training bras were invented in the 1950s in response to the desire of adolescent and pre-adolescent girls to "fit in" amongst their more developed peers who could fill a standard bra. The acquisition of a training bra by a girl is often seen as a significant turning point in her development, and a first step toward motherhood and a sexually alluring figure, at least as it was defined in the 1950s. Some observers believe that training bras serve no functional purpose, and are exploitative in that they allow entrepreneurs to benefit from, and even encourage, precocious sexuality in young girls. ³

• Nursing or Maternity bras are specifically designed for breastfeeding mothers. Unlike most bras, they have cups which fold down allowing easy access to the nipple when the infant is to be fed. Many women find underwired bras uncomfortable during breastfeeding and the latter stages of pregnancy due to the increase in both size and sensitivity of the breasts, and so most, though not all, nursing bras are constructed of fabric only.

• Push-up bras, are a type of bra that has additional padding, and is structured so that the breasts are lifted and the cleavage emphasised. The best known brand of push up bra is the Wonderbra. Minimizer bras have the opposite effect to push up bras, and are worn by large busted women who wish to make their busts appear smaller.

• Strapless bras, with no shoulder straps are designed for wearing with clothes that reveal the shoulders, such as halterneck tops. Convertible bras have straps which may be detached and rearranged in different ways depending on the outfit.

• T-shirt bras are designed without raised seams, so that a tight t-shirt may be worn without the bra being visible.

• Built-in bras (also sometimes known as shelf bras, although entirely different to those mentioned above) are a supportive brassiere like structure on the inside of another garment, such as a swimsuit or tank top, which provides support for the bust without the need for a separate bra. In most such garments, these consist of a horizontal elasticated fabric strip, although some do have cups and underwires as with other bra types.

• Jogging or sports bras are for women to wear during exercise. They are more sturdy in their construction than regular bras, and offer greater support for the chest, thus increasing comfort and reducing the chance of damage to the ligaments of the chest during high impact exercises such as jogging. They are usually made of a stretchable, absorbant fabric such as Lycra, and may be designed to draw perspiration away from the skin to reduce irritation. Many women, particularly those with large breasts, find sports bras essential for exercise, as breasts bouncing can cause pain and discomfort, as well as embarrassment. Some sports bras are meant to be worn as outerwear.

• Mastectomy bras are designed so that a prosthesis may be held in place and are intended for women who have lost one or both breasts in mastectomy treatment for breast cancer.

Culture

Statistics show the average American woman today owns six bras- one of which is a strapless bra and one a color other than white.

Indeed in many Western cultures, it is often considered more noteworthy not to wear a bra. Much of the TV presenter Charlie Dimmock's fame may be attributed to her reputation for gardening without a bra. [1]

Although similar in appearance to the upper part of a bikini, it is not generally considered suitable to expose one's brassiere in public in western cultures, and to do so is usually considered sexually provocative. A famous example of a bra being exposed for shock value is the conical bra outfit (designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier) worn by Madonna on her 1990 tour.

Even considering this relative cultural taboo, however, full display of a woman in only her bra is still vastly more socially acceptable than a woman's open display of her bare breasts. As an example of the relative acceptability of bra-only activity, bras have recently been used by operations like breast cancer charities to raise money, either by sponsored walks by women wearing exposed bras [2], or selling bras owned or decorated by celebrities.

The oft-repeated story that the brassiere was invented by a man named Otto Titzling (phonetically, the humorous tit-sling) who lost a lawsuit with one Phillip de Brassiere is an example of an urban myth [3].

Terminology

The word brassiere derives from bracière, an Old French word meaning "arm protector" and referring to military uniform (bras in French means "arm"). This later became used for a military breast plate, and later for a type of woman's corset.

In modern European French, the word for a bra is soutien-gorge, (breast support) and 'brassiere' refers to a baby's vest, although it is sometimes used for the "bra-top" without formed cups. In Quebec, soutien-gorge and brassiere are synonyms.

See also

• Bikini
• Edible Bra
• Underwear
• Breast

References

• Maidenform Inc., company website, company history section. Retrieved Jun 2004 from http://www.maidenform.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?sectionId=33
• Note 1: Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, by Dr. Susan Love
• Smithsonian Institute, Museum of American History Archives MAIDENFORM COLLECTION, 1922-1997 #585. (35 CUBIC FEET: 54 DB; 10 [.5] DB; 19 F/O; 4 card-file boxes; 1 O/S Fldr.) by: Jennifer Snyder and Mimi Minnick, August 1997-July 1999. (Revised: February 3, 2004). Retrieved Jun 2004 from (http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d7585.htm#top. E-mail: archivescenter@si.edu.
• Note 2: Bra free = Pain free
• Note 3: Brumberg, Joan Jacobs (1998). The Body Project : An Intimate History of American Girls. Vintage Books. pp. 117-118. ISBN 0679735291.

Patents

• US24033 — Combined breast pads and arm-pit shield
• US844242 — Bust supporter
• US1115674 — Brassiere

External links

• International bra size calculator and converter
• Brassiere Sizes

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