A brassiere (pronounced /ˈbræzɪər/ , /brəˈzɪər/ ; commonly referred to as a bra /ˈbrɑː/ ) is an article of clothing that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. Since the late 19th century, it has replaced the corset as the most widely accepted method for supporting a woman's breasts.
Women wear bras for a variety of purposes, for support, to improve the shape of breasts, to reduce or to enlarge the perceived breast size, or to restrain breast movement during an activity such as during exercise, to enhance their cleavage, to facilitate nursing. Most bras are designed to lift the breasts off the chest wall if they sag and to restrain them from movement. Bra designers strive to produce a garment that is both practical and attractive.
Some women and members of the medical community question the common assumption in Western society that all women should wear a bra, and a slowly increasing percentage of women prefer to not wear a bra on a regular basis. The bra has become a feminine icon or symbol charged with political and cultural meanings that overlay its practical purpose. Some feminists consider the brassiere a symbol of the repression of women's bodies. Historically, when a young girl gets her first bra, it may be symbolic of her coming of age..
Etymology
The French word brassière refers to a baby's vest (undershirt) or lifebelt, underbodice or harness. The word brassière derives from bracière , an Old French word meaning "arm protector" and referring to military uniforms ( bras in French means " arm "). This later became used for a military breast plate, and later for a type of woman's corset. The current French term for brassière is soutien-gorge , literally, "held under the neck" or "throat-support". In French, gorge (throat) was a common euphemism for the breast. This dates back to the garment developed by Herminie Cadolle in 1905.
The term "brassiere" seems to have come into use in the English language as early as 1893. Manufacturers were using the term by about 1904, Vogue magazine first used it in 1907, and by 1911 the word had made its way into the Oxford English Dictionary. On November 13, 1914, the newly formed U.S. patent category for "brassieres" was inaugurated with a patent issued to Mary Phelps Jacob. In the 1930s, "brassiere" gradually came to be shortened to "bra." In the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec, both soutien-gorge and brassière are used interchangeably.
The claim that the brassiere was invented by a man named Otto Titzling (phonetically a two-tit sling ) who lost a lawsuit with Phillip de Brassiere ( fill up the brassiere ) is an urban legend that originated with the 1971 book Bust-Up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzling and the Development of the Bra and was propagated in a song from the movie Beaches .
History
Main article: History of brassieresDuring recorded history, women have used a variety of garments and devices to cover, restrain, or elevate their breasts. Brassiere or bikini-like garments are depicted on some female athletes in the 1400s BC during the Minoan civilization era. Similar functionality was achieved by both outerwear and underwear. In China during the Ming Dynasty a form of foundation cloth complete with cups and straps drawn over shoulders and tied to the girth seam at the lower back called a dudou was in vogue among rich women. Popularity continued into the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In English they are known as "stomach protectors" or "tummy covers".
From the 1500s onwards, the undergarments of wealthier women were dominated by the corset, which pushed the breasts upwards. In the latter part of the 1800s, clothing designers began experimenting with various alternatives to the corset, trying things like splitting the corset into multiple parts: a girdle-like restraining device for the lower torso, and devices that suspended the breasts from the shoulder for the upper torso.
By the early 1900s, garments more closely resembling contemporary bras had emerged, although large-scale commercial production did not occur until the 1930s. Since then, bras have replaced corsets (although some prefer camisoles), and bra manufacture and sale has become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Over time, the emphasis on bras has largely shifted from functionality to fashion.
Construction and fit
A brassiere usually consists of two cups for breasts, a centre panel (gore), a band running around the torso under the bust, and shoulder straps. Some bras are strapless. Bras are typically made of a fabric such as cotton or polyester. Spandex and lace may also be used for various parts of the bra. The cups may be supported by underwires made of metal and sometimes coated in plastic. Strapless bras typically rely on support using underwires. Bras without underwires rely on support provided by the band under the bust. These bras are sometimes referred to as softcup bras.
The bra is usually fastened with a hook fastener on the band, typically at the back. In some bras the fastener is in the front, between the cups. Others are pulled on over the head and have no fasteners.
Some bras contain padding, designed to increase comfort and to conceal the nipples through the material. Breast pads, commonly known as "falsies," "cookies" or "chicken fillets," are also sometimes used inside the cups to create the illusion of a larger breast size. Push-up bras are designed to enhance cleavage and use padding and the cut of the pattern to achieve this effect.
Fitting
A correctly fitting bra should have the following features:
- When viewed from the side, the chest band should be horizontal, should not ride up the back, and should be firm but comfortable.
- Each cup's underwire at the front should lie flat against the sternum (not the breast), along the infra-mammary fold, and should not dig in to the chest or the breasts, rub or poke out at the front.
- The breasts should be enclosed by the cups and there should be a smooth line where the fabric at the top of the cup ends.
- The apex of the breast, the nipple, must be in the center of the cup.
- The breast should not bulge over the top or out the sides of the cups, even with a low-cut style such as the balconette bra.
- The straps of a correctly fitted bra should not slip off the shoulder and the back of the bra should not ride up.
- The breasts should be supported primarily by the band around the rib cage, rather than by the shoulder straps.
- The wearer should be able to breathe and move easily without the bra slipping around.
Mechanical principles
The chest band and cups should provide support for most of the weight of the breasts, rather than the shoulder straps. Over-reliance on the straps for support can result in health problems for the woman. In most bras the straps are adjustable by sliding fasteners, and are usually made of a stretchable material such as spandex.
The average breast weighs about 0.5 kilograms (1.1 lb). Each breast contributes to about 4-5% of the body fat and thus 1% of the total body weight of an average woman. One of the principal functions of a bra is to elevate and "support" the breasts, that is, to raise them from their normal position lying against the chest wall. This is considered the defining characteristic of the bra: supporting the weight from the back and shoulders, as opposed to lift solely from below (as corsets do). Over-reliance on the shoulder straps for support can lead to poor posture, back pain and neck pain due to pinched nerves. In a well-fitted bra, 80% of the breast weight is supported by the chest band, something which is particularly important for larger breasts.
The major engineering weakness of the bra, particularly if poorly fitted, is that it acts as a pulley, transferring the weight of the breasts from the lower chest wall to higher structures such as the back, shoulder, neck, and head. This can result in pain and injury in those structures, especially for women with pendulous breasts.
Bra sizes
Main article: Brassiere measurementThere is considerable variation in women's breast volume, shape, size and spacing. A woman's breast volume may be more at the bottom, sides or top, and this will affect the bra size actually needed. Bra sizes are merely a way of standardizing these factors for a "close" fit, which are not necessarily the correct fit. A correctly fitted bra is determined by accurately calculating a woman's chest size (on the bra called the band size ) and her breast size (called the cup size ). The band size can typically be adjusted, using the three or four alternative sets of fastening hooks that are usually provided. M
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