Feminists
Related: About this forumWorld War I helped popularize the modern bra.
For nearly 400 years, women in Western Europe and North America were expected to wear corsets beneath their clothing restrictive, binding bustiers that cinched at the waist and opened toward the chest to accentuate the natural curves of the body. This all changed around the First World War, when a shortage of metal, the dominant material in corsets, led to a redistribution of resources as well as a cultural shift. Steel went toward planes and tanks and other military equipment, and American women went to work in factories to contribute to the war effort. Hard labor, however, could not be performed in a corset indeed almost nothing could be performed in a corset, barring sitting and standing. These women needed something breathable, loose, and functional.
Enter Caresse Crosby, a young debutant who, in lieu of wearing a corset, opted to sew together two handkerchiefs ahead of a social ball, debuting the first modern bra on the dance floor. She patented the first-ever backless brassiere, which she later sold to the Warner Brothers Corset Company. From there, the modern bra took off in a variety of styles and functionalities. In the postwar era, the bandeau bra a cylindrical, cupless garment not unlike a modern bralette was popular under slim-fitting 1920s dresses. Soon after, the cupped bra took shape with its infamous pointed cups and letter-based sizing. The variable styles allowed women the chance to express themselves and move their bodies freely, though the relief of taking off a bra at the end of the day is universal and timeless.
https://historyfacts.com/world-history/fact/world-war-i-helped-popularize-the-modern-bra/
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I never wear a real bra anymore, can't imagine having to wear a corset, something that restricts your breathing, compressed abdominal organs, could cause poor digestion and over time the back muscles could atrophy. In fact, long term tight lacing led to the rib cage becoming deformed.
A camisole or sports bra is fine with me.
Thank the goddess for a shortage of metal.
I want to be Free!
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Aussie105
(5,940 posts)flopping about if they move too fast.
Then again, with obesity being a big problem, maybe . . . sports bras for fat men?
I see a marketing opportunity here!
sheshe2
(85,867 posts)His buddies are larger than mine!
MichMan
(12,528 posts)Should it be called the Mansiere or the Bro ?
TexasBushwhacker
(20,586 posts)Scrivener7
(52,011 posts)The way the leaves were positioned, the first thing I saw before I moved the plant out of the way was a thread authored by you called, "I helped popularize the modern bra."
Yep. That was me! I did that.
Scrivener7
(52,011 posts)![](/emoticons/rofl.gif)
sheshe2
(85,867 posts)![](https://lindaseccaspina.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/deb6fb5708194360713e9f4e6b63f69f.jpg)
![](/emoticons/chuckle.gif)
elleng
(134,536 posts)as well as a cultural shift. Steel went toward planes and tanks and other military equipment, and American women went to work in factories to contribute to the war effort. Hard labor, however, could not be performed in a corset'
3catwoman3
(24,936 posts)Especially underwire bras - who decided we needed strips of metal against our softest body parts. The wires rub against my ribcage and hurt.
For much of my working life, as soon as I got home, off would come the shoes, followed by the bra. I once managed to take my bra off in the car one the way home - much of the drive home was on a road without much traffic.
Collimator
(1,689 posts)With people insisting that if they're fitted correctly, they aren't that bad, whatevs.
As for the "letter-based sizing", I have often jokes that batteries and bras are sized roughly the same.
wackadoo wabbit
(1,206 posts)I have sold bras, and I know this to be true. It's usually a matter of wearing the wrong size, although it could be the shape of the cups as well as other factors.
Don't believe me? If you're a bra-wearing individual, go here:
https://www.abrathatfits.org/calculator.php
Now use the calculator. What did you find? You thought you were, say, a 38C and the calculator says that you're really a 34G. Wait, that can't be right?
Now go to your nearest bra store that carries real bras (not Victoria's Secret or Walmart or any place like that; try a Nordstrom or the like, even if you have no intention of buying anything there). Try on a couple of bras in different brands and styles that are the size that the calculator says you need. What do you think? Maybe you had been wearing the wrong size? Experience has shown me that you probably were.
Note: If you can't afford to buy the bras that you tried on at Nordstrom et alia, you can always buy them on eBay for less than retail.
Also, if the bras you tried on still don't fit right, it might be that you're trying on the wrong shape bras. Breasts are different they can be pendulous or round, closer or farther away from each other, etc. and different bras are made to accommodate these different factors. If this is a problem you're encountering, you might want to go to old.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/ to get some helpful info. They're very accommodating there.
Response to sheshe2 (Original post)
no_hypocrisy This message was self-deleted by its author.