The Bra- A Brief History

It’s a lot to ask from one small piece of fabric. Conceal but also entice. Not to mention enhance or minimize, flatten or uplift. Contained in just 2 cups and bit of strapping are the vanities of millions of women, not to mention the fantasies of countless men. We just got a recent reminder of those fantasies when an Australian banker was caught ogling pictures of Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr on live TV.

The odds a sexually active woman picks at least one occasion to wear something sexy for her partner are 1 in 1.41 (70%). There’s no better occasion than Valentine’s Day, but for the guys about to venture into Victoria’s Secret to buy something red and lacey for their Valentine, a bit of advice: you might want to factor in some comfort along with sex appeal.

It was a personal revolt against her own very uncomfortable corset that spurred 19-year-old Polly Jacob of New York to whip together the first modern brassiere in 1914. Frustrated that her bulky undergarment was ruining the lines of her delicate evening gown, Jacob announced her intention to go without, prompting her scandalized maid to point out that the eyelet fabric would leave Jacob’s nipples exposed. Undeterred, Jacob quickly stitched together two pocket handkerchiefs and some ribbon, while conceding the point that no one should suspect an unmarried woman was possessed of breasts.

Those two hankies caused an immediate sensation, and Jacob’s friends—and soon total strangers—began to clamor for their own homemade brassieres. Before the end of the year, Jacob had obtained a patent, and fearing the invention would deprive them of business, the Warner Brothers Corset Company promptly paid her $1,500 to acquire the rights. Those rights have since been valued at $15,000,000.

The war effort accelerated the push to substitute bras for corsets. When the US War Industries Board calculated that American women required 28,000 tons of metal for their corsets—“enough to build two battleships”—patriotic American women were encouraged to embrace the bra.

Over the years, bra shapes have changed as different breast profiles have gone in and out of fashion. During the flapper era, the vogue was to appear flat. By the 1930s, womanly curves had made a comeback, and the Maidenform Company had pioneered individual cup sizes. By 1937, Warner was offering the A, B, C, and D cups women are familiar with today (thanks to implants, the range has recently expanded to cover AA all the way to JJ). The late 1950s and early ‘60s brought us the “sweater girl” bra, torpedo-shaped cones that were stiffened into sharp points by circular stitching. Today this shape is best enjoyed by watching the television show Mad Men.

Alas, nature did not give every woman either the shape or the substance to fill out such spheres, and at a 1955 conference of underwear manufacturers in Great Britain, a public estimate was given that 3 out of 4 women had resorted to wearing falsies—some of them inflatable devices. In fact, breast enhancers have been around since the 1850s, the earliest made of wire or rubber. Almost a century and a half later, in 1994, the first Wonderbra® was marketed in Britain, and suddenly even flat-chested women had cleavage. Seven years later, the Air Wonder model promised every woman “high altitude cleavage” through an old idea—special shaping enhanced by air pumps.

Today, 16 billion dollars a year are spent on brassieres. And there are still plenty of new ideas, and new patents—sports bras with built-in heart monitors, bras with radiation detectors in case of nuclear war, and after 2001, special wireless underwire bras, designed not to set off airport security alarms.

Mastectomy Bras

Losing one or both breasts to breast cancer is probably one of the most painful moments in the life of a woman. There are many reasons why some women lose hope when they lose their breasts. First, their social life will be greatly affected and secondly, their self confidence will significantly diminish. There is actually no reason to lose hope if you are facing these problems. That’s because there are modern mastectomy bras today that can restore your perfect figure. You can also use strap on breasts enhancers so you can face the future with confidence and vigor.

Mastectomy bras have numerous unique features that are helpful for breast cancer survivors and for women who have unusually small breasts.

This type of special bra is made from smooth and fine materials so they are very comfortable to wear. In fact, doctors would recommend the use of mastectomy brassier for patients who are recovering from breast surgery. The soft and elastic material will protect your tender skin. This type of bra also features wide soft straps that will not dig in to your skin. Most importantly, a mastectomy bra is perfectly compatible with strap on breasts forms and other prosthesis. The built-in pockets of the bra ensure that the prosthesis will stay in place. The pockets also prevent the prosthesis from slipping off the bra.

The pockets of a mastectomy bra separate it from other types of enhancement bras. The bra pockets are especially designed to hold the prosthesis. Some of the best designed mastectomy bras have multi-way pockets. This special design facilitates easy insertion of the breast forms. The pockets can accommodate silicone pads or a full cup breast form. No matter what size or shape of prosthesis you want, your mastectomy brassier will be compatible with it. So this gives you greater flexibility in choosing how you can reconfigure the shape of your breast. That is why you need not lose hope if you’ve lost your breasts to cancer. There is still a way to enjoy an active social life and wear whatever dress you fancy.

Mastectomy bras and strap on breasts could complement each other. Two months after your breast surgery you will be ready to wear a mastectomy brassier. In order to get the figure you want, you could use the breast forms and insert them in the pockets of the bra. After you have fully recuperated from the operation, you should be ready to use the strap on breasts enhancers. These strap-on bras have invisible straps so you will get the chance to wear your backless and sexier dresses once again. It is also possible to enjoy water sports and swim again because the strap-on breasts forms are waterproof.

So when you shop for mastectomy brassier, make sure that it has the right features that will make you comfortable and sexier. The bra should be made from soft materials. It should have a wide strap so you can avoid skin injury and irritations. Most importantly, it should be compatible with breast forms and breast enhancement prosthesis so you can regain your figure and live a happy life again.

My Pointy Bra: Fashion, Fetish and Femininity – Essay

I’m wearing a pointy bra, like Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and the women on the cover of old pulp fiction novels used to wear, not like Madonna in Truth or Dare. For as long as I could remember I wanted to wear a pointy bra, I couldn’t wait to grow breasts and own an arsenal of those dangerous things.

When I was a little girl growing up in the Dominican Republic I remember seeing my Aunt Alba wearing pointy bras.  In the 70’s the Caribbean was still very much in the late 50’s when it came to women’s roles and how a ‘lady’ should dress; so Tia was always in stockings, tacones (high heels)and ‘foundation’ garments such as corsets-like girdles you’d see in old Sear Roebuck catalogues.  Tia Alba was gorgeous, Rubenesque with a tiny waist and long straight black hair; looking every bit the Taina goddess she would’ve been way back before 1492.

Tia Alba was a seamstress and would make all of her and my fluffy girly dresses (I guess this is where my obsession with always dressing up began.) I was in complete awe of her, her straight hair; her old fashioned Singer® sewing machine with the big pedal that kept her working even during the infamous ‘apagones’ (blackouts) Santo Domingo was known for; and most importantly her pointy bras.  She was a divorced mother of three which gave her license to be more sexual and seductive than her never-been-married-virginal younger sister; even though a lady was never sexual or seductive in those very repressed puritanical Caribbean times. She was the only person I knew that wore pointy bras and I was always amazed and how powerful and sharp her profile looked. I was too young to know who Marilyn or Jayne were, but I knew who Tia Alba was and I wanted to grow up and look, dress and read Vanidades (the Spanish version of Cosmo) just like her.  I wanted THAT power even though I had no idea what that power was.

When I finally started to grow my own breasts, a boy in the 7th grade called me torpedo tits.  He thought he was insulting me but it was the best compliment ever! I thought I had willed my breast to grow like that, like some crazy form of evolution so I wouldn’t need the actual point bra.  As they grew rounder, I became obsessed with them and was always looking for the perfect bra.  I no longer thought of Tia Alba and her pointy bras since I thought they went the way of the Dodo; and I wasn’t blessed with her ebony straight hair.  Yet whenever I’d see old movies with the likes of Ann-Margret, Rita Moreno and Dorothy Dandridge I wished the point bra would resurrect or that my boobies had stayed torpedoed.

I’ve had wonderful relationships with bras throughout the years, bras that made me feel amazing and that turned many heads. On my 18th birthday I wore a blue and black corset to school with garters and stocking under a poka dot skirt and black gap t-shirt.  I also cancelled my subscriptions to Teen and Seventeen and started reading Cosmopolitan; all steps towards being more Tia Alba-like and recreate what I thought were the effects of the pointy bras.  I would sometimes wear bras a few sizes too small hence pushing my breast so far up under my chin I looked like I had the mumps.

When cancer caused my right breast to be amputated (the word ‘mastectomy’ doesn’t really communicate the severity, mourning, pain and finality of the procedure) my relationship with bras obviously changed.  Finding the right bra is an issue for all women, so imagine what it must be like for someone like me with a reconstructed breast.  Now I dream of being able to one day commission custom made bras, bras with two different cups sizes and different support for each breast.

I have found a few bras that make me look like the old ‘breast under the chin me’, but they don’t feel as comfortable so I don’t enjoy wearing them like I used to.  Bras are now practical cotton, and lycra undergarments, something I need, like a bottle of Mr. Clean or light bulbs, not the sexy pieces of wearable art I hid under my sweatshirts or chose to display under a semi sheer top and always matched to my panties even if there wasn’t any chance of someone seeing them.  They made me feel womanly and cancer robbed of some of that.

Then one night, in Syracuse NY after having performed my play about breast cancer at the university I asked where the nearest Wal-Mart was.  I have a secret (ok it’s not a secret) fetish for Wal-Mart.  As a New York City girl I don’t have Wal-Mart’s and I’m fascinated by the low, low prices, the extra wide aisles and the fact that I could go shopping there at 3am.  My cart was filled with flannel sheets for my bed; a 500 count box of Q-Tips; a buy one get one free box of Herbal Essences hair color; $7.99 mascara that would cost $14.99 in NYC; a dish towel with a little monkey on it (I LOVE monkeys) and ten $4.00 knock off Hanky Panky® panties when I saw it…black, lace, extremely pointy and $12.99.

I stared at it for a long time, felt like just like Jeff Goldblum looked when he saw his first dinosaur. It was extremely padded and a work of art. Wow! Would my frankenboobie fit into it?  Would I look and feel like I thought Tia Alba felt?  Why couldn’t I find this bra four years ago?

I took a leap of faith and bought it, there were other colors but I didn’t know if it would, A) be a comfortable fit; and B) look good, Tia Alba good, so I only bought one.  It sat in my drawer for a long time.  I was so afraid of it.   So afraid it wasn’t going to be all I thought it would be; after all, Tia Alba is now over weight and diabetic (the beautiful raven mane is still there, though) and I had to find the right outfit.  I needed to look (or at least feel) like Marilyn, Ann-Margret, Jayne and the pulp fiction girls.

Finally I decided to take it for a test run, I wore a tight pencil skirt, stilettos and a boobielicious top. When I looked down and saw these grand Tetons leading the way into every room I stepped into all I could think of was the old Singer® sewing machine. I had just been recreated, reconstructed for $12.99.  I loved seeing my profile’s reflection and feeling like I should be sitting at the counter of a pharmacy ordering a Coke Float waiting to be discovered by a talent agent with my stocking encased legs crossed.

I felt whole, I don’t know how else to explain it, but I felt whole.  Losing a breast is devastating and no matter how much people tell me I look great, I sometimes feel less than the woman I know I am. Please don’t tell me I shouldn’t feel this way; that I overcame so much; that I’m fine and need to move on, because I know all of this.  And saying that to someone who’s had a loss of ANY kind belittles how they feel and their personal experience. Besides you only say things like that to take the burden of having to worry about me off of yourselves, not to make me feel better.  Feeling and knowing are two very different things, and we need to accept this sometimes. So please don’t read this as a pity party; don’t cry for me because you’ll never cry as much as I have for me and this, believe it or not, is a celebration of my womanhood. It took this pointy bra to give me the boost I need every now and then.

Every woman should have her ‘pointy bra’ whatever that may be.  It may be a pair of shoes, or the right dress or a combination of all of the above to make her feel like the bombshell she knows she is but doesn’t always feel it.

Next time you see me you’ll know if I’m wearing the point bra.  Not just for obvious reasons, but because you’ll hear it in my voice, you’ll see it in my walk, my fermones will be screaming it, and if you stare at them too long, they might poke your eyes out.