Linen 1920 -1930

The birth of the bra
Until the end of the nineteenth century the need to support the breasts was fulfilled by the corset, a rigid garment that caged and shaped the female body. At the beginning of the twentieth century the corset became lower and lower and offered less and less support to the upper part of the torso and the need arose to find a new solution which is why the modern bra made its
appearance. The official date of its birth was 1907, the year in which it was first mentioned in the pages of the American magazine Vogue under the name of brassiere. Initially it was similar in structure to the corset with which it is worn: closed at the back by lacing and in front by hooks and buttons. It was worn over an undershirt, and was often stiffened by cords inserted in the fabric. It was only after the First World War, when the corset had become a girdle that sometimes reached the hips, that the bra became an independent and fundamental garment. In those years it took the form of a straight band whose purpose was not to enhance the breasts but to minimise them, in order to comply with the fashion that required the ideal woman to be androgynous and shapeless. It was not until the 1930s that the bra finally took on a shape similar to the one we know today, with cups that lift and enhance the form.