The satin bra – a history lesson

Women have been using special garments to support and keep their breasts tidy for at least four thousand years but there was a lot of development before we ended up with the satin bra. There are visual records of a special sort of corset from around 2500BC which enhanced the breasts of women from the ancient Minoan civilisation from Crete.

Two thousand years later, the Greeks wrapped the breasts in fabric called the “Apodesme” to prevent them from wobbling. The Romans borrowed many aspects of the earlier Greek culture, including the Apodesme which they dubbed the “Mamillare”. We can thank the Romans for their Latin words which eventually became used for things like mammary glands and even the names of mountains, like Mam Tor in Derbyshire which was so appelled because it was thought to look breast-shaped.

There was little real innovation for centuries. In mediaeval times, the breasts were of less interest than a slim waist. In the thirteenth century, one shop window advertised garments that “contain the larger one, supports the weak, gathers the floppy”.
Crikey.

In the next century in France, women were suppressed by a law which stated that “no woman will support the bust”. The suppression of women by men seems to be a common theme throughout history.

Another hundred years later, around 1550, the steel and whalebone corset became popular. Catherine de Médicis, the wife of King Henri II of France, banned “thick waists” from her court. The corsets of that time were very hard and cruel, leading to permanent deformation of the female ribcage.

By the time of the sixteenth century, however, women could begin to enhance their figures and for the first time, records have been found of women using handkerchiefs as ‘falsies’ to make their breasts look larger.
A century later, women wore washable panties for the first time. Men had been able to access them for centuries, yet women, with their greater need for proper nether garments to accommodate menstruation, didn’t have them. The term “drawers” was used for the first time now, so called because the garments were worn by being drawn (pulled) upwards.

Corsets continued to deform women’s ribs and internal organs until the invention of “combinations” in 1877. A French corset-maker called Herminie Cadolle then invented the “Bien-être” which meant ‘Well-Being’. For the first time, the breasts were supported from above instead of being pushed upwards by a stiff corset.

Sixteen years later, Marie Tucek invented the “Breast Supporter”. It was the nearest thing to a modern bra with separate cups called pockets, hook fastenings and shoulder straps.
In 1912, the term “brassiere” appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary for the first time. It comes from the French word for upper arm.

Mary Phelps Jacob of New York and her maid, Marie, grew tired of bulky corsets showing and being uncomfortable underneath sleek evening gowns. They produced an innovative backless bra from two handkerchiefs, ribbon and a length of cord. Her friends thought it was a fantastic idea and so she applied for a patent for it in 1914. She was probably not short of money and so sold the patent to a company called Warner Brothers Corset Company for just $1,500. Warner’s, who allegedly made over 15 million dollars over the next 30 years from the patent, still make bras today.

During the First World War, the War Industries Board in America asked women to stop buying steel corsets to save metal. Topical sources said that up to 28,000 tons of metal was saved – enough to build two battleships.
In the Roaring Twenties, the time of the Great Gatsby and flappers, being flat-chested was fashionable. We find it strange how a body type that is determined by genes can be in fashion or not…..In response to what was considered attractive, Warner’s produced a special bra which flattened breasts.

The famous Maidenform Company was formed in the 1920s. Its owners thought up the idea of different cup sizes for the first time which was developed further by Warner’s. Ten years later, brassiere was shortened to “bra”.

The 1930s movies helped to promote the “sweater-girl” look which used pointed bras and eventually underwired bras.
The Second World War again led to shortages in materials which led to nylon being developed for parachutes and synthetic fabrics were eventually also used for bras.
Fashion changes came thick and fast. The first bikini was introduced in 1946 in Paris. The strapless bra came into the lingerie headlines in the 1950s. The Hippy movement which began in the 1960s encouraged women to burn their bras. Since then, many innovations in fabrics and styles give modern women more choice than ever before, including satin underwear such as the satin bra and satin panties.