The fashion period which developed the most extreme fashion statements and resulted in the most innovative, and frankly bizarre, inventions was the Victorian era. 

 

The lesser endowed in the breast department were initially catered for with bust bodices, a sleeveless bodice displaying a series of tiered frills to supplement the existing chest. My favourite was the ‘lemon bust improver’, which, as the name suggests, were lemon shaped devices consisting of a steel bar with a metal spring which was ‘attached’ to the existing breast, forcing the spring forward to emulate a nipple! 

 

In fact, proving that breast enhancement is not confined to the modern era, ‘false chest pieces’ (complete with nipple effect) date from as far back as the 18th century and pictured in cartoons from Les Arts Decoratives in Paris. 

 

Another favourite Victorian invention was the rubber inflatable petticoat, an alternative to the crinoline.   

 

The actual origins of the ‘bra’ as we know it are debatable. Figures of the Greek nymph Daphne dated to the fifth century depict a bra-like structure supporting the breasts, while Egyptian women of 300BC onward were largely bare-breasted but for a kalasiris, a rolled fabric tube worn below the breasts attached to suspender like straps which crossed the breasts. 

 

There are numerous such examples from throughout history, but the origins of the bra are probably much more recent. The outbreak of WWI proved prohibitive for the corset, as steel for supports was in such short supply. Initially, alternative supports including canes were employed but to poor effect, and the American government pleaded with women to adopt the bra as an alternative, freeing up 28,000 tons of metal - enough to build two battleships! 

 

Infamous WWI spy Mata Hari was famous for her jewelled bras. She was actual quite small breasted, but wore padded, heavily decorated bras and never removed them even during sex.

 

Paris Corsetiere Cadolle claimed to have developed the brassiere, or the ‘soutien gorge’, in the late 1800s.  The Paris Exposition of 1900, along with displays of ‘articles of dishabille’, displayed a cloth brassiere, a Callimaste, as well as other inventions including The Invisible, the Mamellia, Cadolle’s Breast Girdle, the Cheeky, the Scientific and the Health Corset and the Expansible. 

 

American Mary Phelps Jacobs, with the aid of her French maid, produced the first bra-like garment to gain widespread acceptance. This was a simple device formed by overlapping two handkerchiefs and some baby ribbon.

 

She sold the patent to Warners in 1913 for $1,500 and Warners went on to make an estimated $15million dollars from the design. Jacobs’s (or Caresse Colby’s as she renamed herself) design was the forerunner for the Kestos, possibly one of the best-known underwear examples which was widely worn. 

 

In the 1920s, the desired silhouette was the boyish look. Attempting to emulate this styling, well-endowed women bound their breasts so they would appear flat-chested. The brassiere underwent numerous changes during this period but most significant was the containment and separation of the breasts.

 

The influx of new fabric and elastic innovations such as latex meant that ‘control’ and support became key in undergarments. The French even introduced a rubber girdle to encourage women to ‘sweat off’ those extra pounds. 

 

Post WW2, British women flat-chested in comparison with their American counterparts, having suffered food rationing for so long. They were influenced by the Sweater Girls of the movie screen - Lana Turner, Gina Lollobrigida, Ava Gardner. At a lingerie convention in 1952 it was discovered that three out of five women attended were wearing padded bras. 

 

The UK lingerie industry sprang into action. Spirella introduced their circular stitched bra, for example, while Jane Russell was notoriously dressed in her cantilevered bra designed by Howard Hughes (and inspired by the San Francisco bridge), resulting in a five-year ban for the movie The Outlaw, and making Russell’s breasts the most famous in Hollywood. 

 

Another key innovation was the ‘Tres Secrete’, developed by Maidenform in the 1950s, which claimed to resolve all breast issues. This involved plastic cups which were inflated using a plastic drinking straw.

 

Fabulously, the small print warned that the cups should not be inflated at high altitude for fear of explosion! 

 

The 1960s it was Burn your Bra, Rudy Geirnreich’s topless swimsuit, and the introduction of tights, coinciding with the demise of stockings and suspenders.

 

It was a time that saw big moves in the lingerie industry. Yves St Laurent’s African collection was the forerunner of Gaultier’s coned bras for Madonna. 

 

 Movies like Barbarella, and 2001, A Space Odyssey, influenced  experimentation in materials and futuristic fashion styling from designers like Paco Rabanne. In the years that followed we saw the introduction of the see-through bra, Gossard’s Glossies, the Wonderbra, and the fitness craze nurtured by Jane Fonda and the Pineapple Dance Studios. 

 

 We have had corsets incorporating parts from a Harley Davidson (main article picture, left), chicken fillets, silicone gel breast implants, the development of the sports bra, underwear as outerwear styling, and Victoria’s Secret Million Dollar Bra. Meanwhile, the corset has made a come back, celebrities have launched lingerie lines, supermarkets sell lingerie, and cup sizes continue to expand.  

 

A bra may appear to be a flimsy wisp of dalliance, but it is in fact a highly engineered garment subject to ongoing technology and innovation. Long may it dominate the world of underwear.

 

原文出自 http://www.lingerie-buyer.co.uk/Default.aspx