1400s AD: The modern bra was invented 100 years ago, but it turns out women were sporting bra-like contraptions as early as the 1400s. This 600-year-old bra was unearthed at an Austrian castle in 2008. Archaeologists say that these linen pieces were even decorated with lace.
1913: Fast forward to the 20th century when a young socialite, Mary Phelps Jacob, had trouble fitting her frock over her corset. Its metal and whalebones kept poking out of her dress, so she fashioned a more practical undergarment out of two handkerchiefs and a ribbon. This "backless brassiere" quickly gained popularity amongst Jacob’s friends, who requested their own versions of the new underwear. Jacobs knew she was on to something when she got an order for the piece from a stranger. In 1914, the backless brassiere was patented, and it gave the bust a flattened, “monobosom” silhouette.
1920s: By 1917, corsets started to go out of fashion thanks to World War I, when metal was needed for tanks and munitions and couldn't be spared for constricting lingerie. By the ‘20s, bras were being produced in bandeau styles to give women the boyish flapper figure that had become so in vogue. The Symington Side-Lacer was a popular style that easily allowed women to tie down their assets. [Smithsonian]
1922: Enid Bissett and Ida and William Rosenthal were operating their dress shop around the time the flattened bust was popular. However, Bissett found the silhouette to be most unflattering for women. She looked to create something to accentuate the womanly shape, so she developed a two-cup contraption, separated by elastic. The design was perfected by William Rosenthal, dubbed the Maiden Form Brassiere, and installed into the team’s dresses. Indeed, the Maiden Form bra made boobs looks so good, people began to request it separately. By 1925, the three started the Enid Manufacturing Co. to exclusively produce the Maiden Form Bra. In 1929, the business partners closed their shop and renamed the Enid Manufacturing Co. to the Maiden Form Brassiere Co. (In fact, Maiden Form is responsible for coming up with cup sizing, categorized by the ounces of the breast. An A-cup is 8oz.; B is 13 oz., C is 21 oz., and D cups is 27 oz.)
1946: Frederic Mellinger moved to the West Coast and opened the iconic Frederick’s of Hollywood, which became a staple for Hollywood starlets and pinups alike. The next year, he introduced the very first push-up bra, dubbed "The Rising Star."
1949: Maidenform once again flexed its muscle in the lingerie game with pointy Chansonette bra (also known as the bullet bra), transforming women's busts into fashionable weapons of mass destruction.
1964:Canadian Louise Poirier developed the Wonderbra for lingerie brand Canadelle, whose angled cups and side padding pushed the bosom up and together to create the appearance of a more buxom silhouette, even for those women with smaller breasts. The style didn't catch on in the US until the '90s, after being marketed under the Sara Lee umbrella.
1970s: The appearance of a natural bust came into fashion, and the Nipple Bra was there to help women achieve it. The ad promises to give the wearer that "sensual cold-weather look all the time!" (The '70s... wow.)
1977: After an embarrassing trip to the lingerie store in search of skivvies for his wife, businessman Roy Raymond launched Victoria's Secret, with the intent to create a place where men and women alike wouldn't feel uncomfortable about shopping for ladies undergarments. 23 years later, his plight is immortalized by Justin Timberlake's threatening speech in The Social Network.
1990s: After almost 30 years in relative obscurity, the Wonderbra burst back onto the scene thanks to the iconic "Hello Boys" ad featuring model Eva Herzigova that ran in the UK. After it was introduced to Americans in 1994, it quickly became a fashion staple for many women, at one point selling at the dizzying rate of one every 15 seconds.
2002: Bragel International released the NuBra, a set of self-adhesive silicone cups. The design provided support without the straps, allowing women to embrace the plunging, backless (and now) cutout silhouettes without showing their bra straps. Sweet liberty!
This article originally appeared on Elle.com
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