Basic Designs
They began in the 14th Century with female Minoan athletes, otherwise, you didn't have one. The female athletes wore what now equals a tight tube top. Before that, well, let's hope your sheath dress covered everything and no one got handsy.
From there we get corsets, harmful in my opinion, but considered high fashion for centuries. They became popular in 1500 France. Imagine an inverted cone that flattened your breasts and pushed them upward, maybe even spilling out of your dress. They were made of whalebone sometimes. They remained popular for four centuries because they shaped women into specific figures.
1869 was the year the corset split into two parts. The "corselet gorge", or the "well being", was basically a modern bra with a waist corset. 1905 they started selling the top by itself, with no waist corset.
In 1914 a woman invented the modern bra, or backless bra, with two silk handkerchiefs and pink ribbon. That patent was sold to Warner Brothers Corset Company, eventually.
Without further ado, I present the 1920s trend of flat chests and flapper dresses. No corsets, just tight tops that created boyish shapes.
Sports bras started in 1977. Fitness and sports were becoming a trend at this time, so women needed the support. "Jogbra" was just the start. We still use these in modern society. This year also began Victoria's Secret, now famous for a fashion show of mostly lingerie. It was created because bras made men uncomfortable in department stores, and women's' only stores were a relief to some men.
2009 revealed memory foam bras. Today you can find a lot of styles out there, from sports to training bras. All vary in support. You can even use paper or gel bras for strapless gowns. If any men are reading this, I am not blaming you for the invention of underwire, but I do say the person who invented it did not have any women in his life to test the comfort of it. That said, underwire has been used for support in bras.
 |
| French 1500 Corset |
After that girdles became a thing in the late 19th Century. A girdle forced a curvy figure. It made your chest go forward and your hips go out. Curvy women were the thing and you could see the small of their back more often, as opposed to stiff corsets. Imagine an "S" like figure.
 |
| Corselet Gorge model |
In 1914 a woman invented the modern bra, or backless bra, with two silk handkerchiefs and pink ribbon. That patent was sold to Warner Brothers Corset Company, eventually.
Up until the 1920s, there were minor adjustments for comfort, but no major shifts in design.
Cup sizes were created in the 1930s, along with eyehooks and other adjustment straps.
Trends
As most women know, fashion is a fickle, changing trend and has been for so long that some of us no longer care and do our own thing for our own comfort. Keeping that in mind, the bra has changed for that purpose since.
 |
| Bullet Bras - the most flattering picture I could find |
1940s created a torpedo style, which has been nicknamed "bullet bras". The old movies are full of this, if you look close enough. (Frankly, it looks really bad. Let's not bring it back, ladies.) WWII was when this started. It claimed to offer protection on production lines during a time of women in the factories. Men, no surprise here, invented the padded bras that showed more cleavage in 1947.
The 1950s came with Marilyn Monroe, a woman I've mentioned before, who wore a sweater. That gave the appearance of larger breasts, a trend that didn't end. 1964 came soon after, making looking larger even more popular with the invention of push-up bras. 1967 made fancy designs popular with the premiere of the movie The Graduate, which included lace and printed designs on the main actress' lingerie.
Sports bras started in 1977. Fitness and sports were becoming a trend at this time, so women needed the support. "Jogbra" was just the start. We still use these in modern society. This year also began Victoria's Secret, now famous for a fashion show of mostly lingerie. It was created because bras made men uncomfortable in department stores, and women's' only stores were a relief to some men.2009 revealed memory foam bras. Today you can find a lot of styles out there, from sports to training bras. All vary in support. You can even use paper or gel bras for strapless gowns. If any men are reading this, I am not blaming you for the invention of underwire, but I do say the person who invented it did not have any women in his life to test the comfort of it. That said, underwire has been used for support in bras.
Corset Types
 |
| Queen Elizabeth I Corset |
Corsets changed with fashion, as well, so let's dive into that by itself. We know what 1500 French corsets look like, but they weren't the first to use them. Minoans invented them before that, for both men and women, because they wanted to stop waist growth and have small waists. Women used them for support and it showed their breasts.
Queen Elizabeth I created a style of corset in the 16th Century that was less rigid and emphasized waist. Tudors had a style that was iron and for both genders. Italy liked wider hips and created a corset that created that image.
19th Century was the start was less rigid corsets and more curves. Remember S shaped bodies? That goes here on the timeline. Also, women could put their own corset on when front-fastening became a trend, creating more independence. It followed the body curves and created comfort.
The Edwardian era, 1904 to 1911, was a redesign era and created less harmful corsets that didn't harm internal organs. It gave an upright posture. The idea of hourglass shape was started here, and so was the idea of corsets as lingerie.
1912-1919 long corsets were the start of girdles. These ended below one's bust line and minimized the abdomen and hips. Some ended at your mid-thigh. The waist of the corset was just above the waist.
 |
| 1920 Corset |
Are there still more corset styles? Are we really still talking about this? Yes, believe it or not. We're at 1920 styles. War created looser shapes, with a lack of supplies towards fashion. Pin-ups show stockings and garters. Boyish was the trend, as well, so to achieve that corsets slimmed thighs and hips. Also available were "hip confiners" and "sports corsets".
1930 and 1940 brought back hourglass shape. Full body corsets were popular. They had to get creative. War was still in session and fashion wasn't a high priority, so no zippers allowed and eye and hook were limited. Lace-up and elastic were the solution.
 |
| 1950's Spencer ad (Spencer is a brand of girdle) |
1950 was the girdle time period, where women were warned about not wearing one after childbirth and seen as less for not wearing one at all. Shape was important. Just look at the ads in the 50's and tell me how much body-shaming was aimed at bigger women. You'll find so much of it; it's a wonder women didn't combust between the stress of looking good and raising 2.5 kids! The war over and all, zippers were back and lace was out.
Today it's mostly used for the stage, cosplay, and historical films. Some may buy them for support, still, but most of us don't use them except for costumes, or at all. With that, we are done with our history lesson.
Pictures:
BT.com
BT.com
History of Corsetry
wikipedia commons
scoopwhoop
new york post
pinterest
wikipedia commons
scoopwhoop
new york post
witness2fashion
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment