Designers credited with perfecting the bra
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
FORMS OF THE BRASSIERE, A FRENCH WORD THAT MEANS "UPPER ARM," HAVE BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 14TH CENTURY. ACCORDING TO THE DICTIONARY OF COSTUMES, EARLY FORMS WERE FUR-LINED NIGHT GARMENTS WORN IN THE WINTER BY BOTH SEXES. BUT SIGNS OF A MORE SOPHISTICATED, GENDER-SPECIFIC SLING BEGAN TO TAKE SHAPE IN THE EARLY 1900S.
PAUL POIRET HAS BEEN CREDITED BY SOME AS THE DESIGNER OF THE MODERN BRASSIERE, ALTHOUGH OTHERS POINT TO MARY PHELPS JACOB, IN 1913, AS THE FIRST TO PATENT THE UNDERGARMENT THAT LIFTS AND SEPARATES THE BREASTS. RUSSIAN IMMIGRANT IDA ROSENTHAL WHO FOUNDED MAIDENFORM, SOME SAY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GROUPING WOMEN INTO BUST-SIZE (OR CUP) CATEGORIES.