Excerpts from A Century of Lingerie by Karen W. Bressler, Karoline Newman, and Gillian Procto

Spirit Lifters

The outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939 drastically affected the clothing industry, from haute couture to lingerie. In one issue of Vogue, an advertisement for “ a strapless plunged brassiere top welded to alternating panels of nylon and fine elastic, strategicallyh boned with back fastening,” seemed more suited to the sale of a piece of machinery than a description of a garment. With military uniforms, and their civilian imitations seen everywhere, legs became more noticeable, and breasts became objects of irrestible desire. Mouths featured the red badge of courage, brightly painted on in beet juice. At one point, factory girls protested that they could not win the war without the help of brassieres, nylons and lipstick.

As a large bust grew ever more fashionable, Hollywood made the most of a bevy of big-busted leading women to draw in both male and female audiences. Victorian-style underwear was often spotted in these pictures, and in some, the directors went too far for their times. In one famous Western, The Outlaw, produced in 1943, the metallic bra designed for, and worn by, the actress Jane Russell inspired a legal battle to ban the film, a struggle that succeeded in keeping the film off the screens for six years.

Toward the end of the war, as lingerie of all types began to be simplified, it was a bra’s durability that counted. Extravagant features and decorative edges were unaffordable, and they were left out. But once the war was over, bra designers exploited their new-found freedom, and took the bra in a completely new direction.

As more women took up tennis, riding, and skiing, bras became increasingly flexible. Bra backs and straps were completely elasticized, and sizings were improved as all bra manufacturers began to acknowledge both chest measurements as well as breast size. In 1948, the famous lingerie manufacturer Frederick’s of Hollywood introduced the Rising Star, the world’s first push-up bra, after designing the first padded bra the year before. The crisscross stitching on the bra cup gave it a unique uplift, and after a decade packed with hard times, the boson was finally back.

The Fulsome Fifties

While it took some time for sex symbol Jane Russell to wear a racy bra in public – following the banning of the film The Outlaw in 1943 – it was well worth the wait. In order to solve a costume problem for the film, finally being released in the early 1950s, structural engineer Howard Hughes created a wired brassiere (based on cantilever engineering_ with exaggerated uplift especially for her, and a generation of cleavage icons was born. Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Jayne Mansfield, Brigitte Bardot, and Baby Doll Carol Baker were a generation of well-built stars who drew the attention of both male and female fans, promoting the appeal of the bra by so doing.

Bosoms were in, and both the French and Americans tried to determine which shape was most fashionable. The French aimed for the apple shape, wearing bras softly padded with foam rubber, while Americans opted for a missile look, constructing and reinforcing cone like bust caps whose pointed tips were evident through the tight sweaters then in vogue. A new fundamental fashion featuring a fluid line gave off the illusion of a woman’s individual curves.

But her natural shape was not yet of interest, and women still depended on a little help from designers to achieve their desired looks.

Fortunately, by this time, the latest technology was producing a plethora of comfortable, lightweight, and man-made fibers that could smooth and control the body with light elastic lingerie. The 1950s saw bras made from a variety of elasticized fabrics, from silk and cotton shantung, net satin, brocade, nylon, and power net to taffeta, satins, chiffon, and mesh.

Within a few years, lingerie companies were marketing bras with foam rubber and plastic insets, padding, spiral stiching, and other clever shaping tools to increase bust size and raise and separate the breasts. Stitching was a serious business and gave the brassiere the shape it needed to show off the form-fitting sweaters of that time.

The lingerie company Berlei introduced the Hollywood Maxwell bra, the original whirlpool brassiere which bad become a favorite of film stars. Available in pink, white, or black nylon, cotton batiste, and net, the whirlpool bra was finished with continuous stitching, giving perfectly rounded contours for separation and the newest forward look. These intricately shaped bras were the ideal foundations for the sweater era, which peaked in 1957. Cashmere sweaters and sweater sets were worn as tight-fitting daywear and with plunging necklines by night.

Frederick’s of Hollywood, still soaring on its padded bra success, introduced demi-bras, of half bras, that exposed the upper breasts, as well as cookies, or removable pads, which were inserted or removed from the padded bra silhouette. Front closures, usually in the form of the hook and eye, made getting dressed easier, and underwire support provided even more of a lift. And finally, there was and answer for women who had enough natural padding, uplifting, and enlarging. Minimizer bras were developed to reduce breast size by one cup size.

As actress Jayne Mansfield touted her impressive 42 DD figure well into the 1960s, bra manufacturers began focusing their undivided attention of enhancing the bust. Wonderbra, a major padded bra manufacturer, even incorporated underwire support aqnd padding in their swimsuit designs to ensure a full, voluptuous figure for all. The bra also turned up in a variety of other forms. A brief bra and slip, know as the costume slip, which had been created by Maidenform in 1932, made fashion history in the late 1960s.

(next insertion – “ A changing order”