Naturally, women have used breast support since the beginning of history. But the invention of Mary Phelps Jacobs, the owner of the first bra patent, marked the beginning of a new era in women's wear.
There are two interesting things about the invention of the modern bra. First, the first patent was obtained from the US Patent Office on February 12, 1914, by 23-year-old Mary Phelps Jacobs (1891-1970). Mary's is an interesting story in itself. We'll come back to that later, but what really caught my attention was the history of the invention. Starting from the assumption that women always have breasts, the question arises: What were they doing before 1914?
A bra, short for brassiere or brassière is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover a female's breasts. A typical bra consists of a chest band that wraps around the torso, supporting two breast cups that are held in place by shoulder straps. A bra usually fastens in the back, using a hook and eye fastener, although bras are available in a large range of styles and sizes, including front-fastening and backless designs. Some bras are designed for specific functions, such as nursing bras to facilitate breastfeeding or sports bras to minimize discomfort during exercise.
Naturally, women have used breast support since the beginning of history. The earliest written records we have of this date back to the ancient Greeks and show that women wore a garment called the apodesmos, meaning "chest band" designed specifically to support their breasts. Roman women are also known to wrap bandages around their breasts in activities that require physical effort, such as sports or war. Archaeologists excavating in Austria found four garments consisting of a pair of linen cups with shoulder and torso straps, dated between 1440 and 1485. We also know that in the 1550s, Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henry II of France, banned the body shape she called the "thick waist" in the palace. After this ban, noblewomen tucked themselves into tight-fitting corsets made of whalebone, laced at the back, for more than 300 years.
Although fashion has changed over the years, the suffering did not change until the 20th century. That is, until 19-year-old socialite Mary Phelps attended her first high society ball in 1910. It is said that young Mary did not enjoy the first ball she attended. Because the whalebone corset she was wearing was not comfortable and her breasts of considerable size could not fit into this corset. Finally, Mary spent the evening with the image of a huge single breast attached to her chest. She was determined never to be in such a ridiculous situation again. With the help of her maid, she designed a simple breast support consisting of two silk handkerchiefs tied with a pink ribbon and used this support to show her shapely body at the second ball she attended. Within weeks, Mary began making similar garments for her friends and relatives, and in November 1914 she received a patent for a "backless bra."
Then, in one of the best timing in lingerie history (perhaps industry history), the U.S. War Industries Board asked women to stop wearing corsets because World War I had begun in Europe and the metal used in corsets could be used for more useful work. At this point, the Warner Brother Corset company in Connecticut made a move and purchased Mary's patent for a hefty $15,000, equivalent to $375,000 in today's money. Thus, Mary Jacobs became a wealthy woman at the age of 24, but Warner Brothers' investment also paid off with $15 million in profits over 20 years. (Meanwhile, the corset boycott provided an additional 28,000 tons of metal to war material manufacturing, enough metal to build two warships.)
Mary's Afterlife
The last part of the story is about Mary herself. Mary divorced her alcoholic husband shortly after returning from the war; Then she started dating a young man named Harry Crosby who was 7 years younger than her. Due to the scandal, it caused, the couple moved to Paris and lived a life of luxury with Mary's income plus $12,000 from Harry's trust fund. There they were in an open marital relationship; both had relationships with others, and together they formed the publishing company Black Sun Press, bringing writers such as James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, D H Lawrence, T S Elliot, and Ezra Pound into the literary world.
Harry Crosby is a poet and author. He was about 21 when he started dating Mary. Harry died of cancer in Boston on December 10, 1929, at the age of 31.
Mary lived a long, corrupt life and eventually succumbed to pneumonia in 1970. Before her death, Mary witnessed the famous "bra burn" campaign that became synonymous with the women's rights movement of the 1960s. Undoubtedly, she would like to support this campaign.