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Brassiere
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A brassiere (Brit. ; U.S. , commonly referred to as a bra, ) is an article of clothing that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts.
As well as an undergarment, the bra is considered a foundation garment because of its role in shaping the wearer's figure.
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Encyclopedia
A brassiere (Brit. ; U.S. , commonly referred to as a bra, ) is an article of clothing that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts.
As well as an undergarment, the bra is considered a foundation garment because of its role in shaping the wearer's figure. It was originally developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to replace the corset, and has now become, in many parts of the world, the standard method for supporting a woman's breasts.
The bra can be worn to support and enhance breast shape during everyday activities. A specialized bra, the sports bra, can be worn to support and restrain breasts during exercise. The bra may also be worn to preserve modesty or to present a certain image of femininity. Bras are typically designed to lift the breasts into a particular position, for a more youthful look or for enhancing cleavage. These roles are sometimes conflicting. Some designers aim at producing a garment that fulfills a practical role as well as making it look attractive. Bras are also used during pregnancy (when breasts are enlarged and more sensitive), and for nursing (see nursing bra) to support and provide access for breast feeding.
Some have questioned the practical need for the bra given that some women prefer to go without a bra on a regular basis. The bra has become charged with political and cultural meanings that overlay its practical purpose. Traditionally it is viewed as symbolic of a young girl's coming of age. It can also be interpreted as a feminine icon. On the other hand, some feminists consider the brassiere a symbol of the repression of women's bodies.
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 tit-sling) who lost a lawsuit with Phillip de Brassiere (fill up de 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
During 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.
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.
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. While they first arose in the Ming Dynasty, were also common in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In English they are known as "stomach protectors" or "tummy covers."
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 a shoulder strap for each side. Brassieres are typically made of a fabric, such as cotton or polyester. Spandex and lace are also often used for various parts of the bra. The cups for the breasts may be supported by under wires made of metal sometimes coated in plastic. Bras without underwires use the strength of the band under the bust to provide support. 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 at all.
Some bras contain padding, designed either to increase comfort, to conceal the nipples, or to make the breasts appear larger. Breast pads, commonly known as "falsies," "cookies" or "chicken fillets," are sometimes worn between the breasts and the bra to create the illusion of a larger cup size. Push-up bras in particular are designed to enhance the cleavage and use padding and the cut of the pattern to achieve this effect.
The shoulder straps are to keep the cups in place and are usually not designed to provide support (see fitting below). In some bras the straps are adjustable via sliding fasteners, and are usually made of a stretchable material such as spandex.
Fitting
The backstrap (underband) and cups should provide most of the support, rather than the shoulder straps, which are responsible for a number of health problems (see Mechanical principles, below).
- When viewed from the side, the underband that runs around the body should be horizontal, should not ride up the back, and should be firm but comfortable.
- The underwires 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.
- There should not be a ridge or any bulging over the top or sides of the cups, even with a low-cut style such as the balconette bra.
Mechanical principles
The average breast weighs about 0.5 kg (~1 lb). Each breast contibutes 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.
Size and measurement
The comfort and function of any given bra is highly dependent of the
size of women's breasts and bodies. Bra sizes typically vary in two ways: the volume of the cups that fit over the breast, and the length of the back strap that goes around the body. It is essential that the bra fit correctly in both of these dimensions. There is typically some ability to adjust the band size, since bras usually have three or four alternative sets of fastening hooks. The shoulder straps of a bra are also almost always adjustable. The size of women's breasts is often expressed in terms of her usual bra size.
Measurement systems
Although all bras are labeled by size, many women find that the only way to obtain a bra that fits properly and achieves the effect they want is by trying a bra on with each bra type, model and brand.
There are several methods which may be used to provide an approximate size by taking measurements. However, bra sizing systems differ widely between countries, between manufacturers, and between brands and designs, which can create many problems. Many researchers have demonstrated that these problems arise from lack of knowledge of breast volume, rather than the body circumference (the distance around the body), which is what is actually measured. Although bra sizing uses the circumference to estimate the volume, this has been shown to be highly unreliable.
The size of a bra is commonly described by two values. The first is the band size (underband), a number based on the circumference of the chest under the bust, excluding the breasts. The second is the cup size given by a letter of the alphabet, and relating to the volume of the breasts themselves. For example, a 75D/30D bra has a
-size band and a D-size cup. Cup sizes typically start with AA, the smallest, and increase alphabetically. Double or triple lettering systems are also used, e.g. DDD for F or AA for a size smaller than A.
Cup size in order from smallest to largest in off-the-peg UK sizing is:
AA - A - B - C - D - DD - E - F - FF - G - GG - H - HH - J - JJ - K
European sizing tends not to recognize the UK's half cup sizing:
AA - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H
However, in the US sizing is as follows:
AA - A - B - C - D - DD - DDD - E - EE - EEE
A traditionally accepted way to fit a bra to a bust in the UK is by measuring body circumference under the breasts as tight as possible to ascertain band size. Sometimes a second measurement can be taken of a loose fit taken of the chest circumference over the fullest part of the breasts (overbust). The cup size can then be calculated with tables or a conversion tool from the difference between these two measurements, although this method of measuring does not take into account position and overall volume of the bust on the chest wall and can sometimes be misleading.
In the U.S. a generic way of measurement for band size is to:
- Measure around the chest where the bra strap would go.
- Round the number up or down one depending on the choice of snug or loose fit.
- If it is rounded down there may be a need to go up one-cup size.
For cup size the generic way of measurement is:
- Measure around the fullest part of the bust.
- Take this number and subtract the band size from it.
- The following measurements are standard cup sizes in the United States.
-
0 to 1 ½ = A cup
1 ½ - 2 ½ = B
2 ½ - 3 ½ = C
3 ½ - 4 ½ = D
4 ½ - 5 ½ = DD/E
5 ½ - 6 ½ = F
6 ½ - 7 ½ = G
The mean underband circumference in the UK is . For the overbust measurement, this is , for women 18–64 years.
Fitting difficulties
Women often find it difficult to find the correct bra size. To achieve perfect sizing consistently, a bra would have to be custom made by a dressmaker who specializes in bra-making, because a "one-size-fits-all" manufacturing process is fraught with difficulties. Breasts vary in the position on the chest, and in their diameters.
A number of stores have certified professional bra-fitters specialists. However, even bra fitters have been shown to be quite variable in their recommendations.
A 2004 study by the company Which? found that 80% of department store bra fittings resulted in a poor fit. Buying "off-the-shelf" or "online" bras is unwise if the buyer has never tried on the brand and type of bra that she is interested in buying.
Some bra manufacturers and distributors state that trying on and learning to recognize a proper fit is the best way to determine a correct bra size, much the same as with shoes. Some critics observe that measuring systems such as the one described above often lead to an incorrect size, most commonly too small in the cup, and too large in the band. For anyone, especially cup sizes larger than a D, one should get a professional bra fitting from the lingerie department of a clothing store or a specialty lingerie store.
Some women intentionally buy larger cups and pad them, while yet others buy smaller cups to give the appearance of being "full". Finally, the elastic properties of the band make band size highly unreliable, and in one study the label size was consistently different from the measured size. Fashion and image drive the bra market, and these factors often take precedence over comfort and function.
As already noted, there is no agreed standard across all manufacturers for measuring and specifying bra size. Obtaining the correct size is further complicated by the fact that the size and shape of a woman's breasts fluctuate during her menstrual cycle, and also with weight gain or loss. Even breathing can substantially alter the measurements. The results of a number of surveys and studies in many different countries show that between 70 and 100% of women wear incorrectly fitted bras.
Larger-breasted women tend to wear bras that are too small, and smaller-breasted women, ones that are too large. Larger women are more likely to have an incorrect bra fit. This may be partly due to a lack of understanding of how to correctly determine bra size; it may also be due to unusual or unexpectedly rapid growth in size brought on by pregnancy, weight gain, or medical conditions including virginal breast hypertrophy.
As breasts become larger, their shape and the distribution of the tissues within them changes, becoming ptotic and bulbous rather than conical. This makes measurements increasingly unreliable, especially for large breasts. Similarly the heavier a build the woman has, the more inaccurate the underbust measurement as the tape sinks into the flesh more easily.
Finally, most women are asymmetrical (10% severely), with the left breast being larger in 62%, especially when the breasts are large.
Many of the health problems associated with bras are due to fitting problems and are discussed further below, under health problems. However, finding a comfortable fit is described as very difficult by many women, and this has affected sales. Medical studies have also attested to the difficulty of getting a correct fit. Scientific studies show that the current system of bra sizing is quite inadequate.
Types of bra
Women may now choose from wide range of brassiere styles to match different body types, situations, and outer garments. The degree of shaping and coverage of the breasts varies between styles, as do functionality, fashion, fabric, and colour.
Therapeutic role of the bra
Countering the aging process or accelerating it?
Anatomically, the breasts are non-rigid areas of glandular tissue, with few support structures, such as connective tissue. Breasts are composed of the mammary glands, which remain relatively constant throughout life, as well as the adipose tissue or fat tissue that surrounds the mammary glands. It is the amount and distribution of adipose tissue and, to a lesser extent, glandular tissue that leads to variations in breast size. In addition, the breasts contain internal ligaments, although their exact function as related to breast support is controversial. These ligaments, and the overlying skin (referred to as the dermal brassiere) help determine the resulting breast shape.
As the breasts mature, they fold over the lower attachment to the chest wall (infra-mammary fold), and their lower (inferior) surface lies against the chest wall when vertical. In popular culture, this maturation is referred to as "sagging" or "drooping", although plastic surgeons refer to it as ptosis, and recommend mastopexy (breast lift) for correction.
Although the exact mechanisms that determine breast shape and size remain largely unknown, it has long been claimed that this occurs because the normal anatomical support is inadequate, especially in older women and those with larger breasts. Hence the bra is often proposed as a means of providing artificial support, based on the presumption that the breasts cannot support themselves. Health professionals have, however, found no evidence to suggest that the bra changes the natural process of aging of the breasts. Bra manufacturers have also stated that bras only affect the shape of breasts while they are being worn.
Indeed, there are indications that wearing a bra may have an effect opposite to that which was intended. In a Japanese study, 11 women were measured wearing a standardised fitted bra for three months. They found that breasts became larger and lower, with the underbust measurement decreasing and the overbust increasing, while the lowest point of the breast moved downwards and outwards. The effect was more pronounced in larger-breasted women. This may be related to the particular bra chosen for the experiment. There was some improvement after changing to a different model. These findings were confirmed in a much larger French study of 250 women who exercised regularly and were followed by questionnaires and biometric measurements for a year after agreeing not to wear a bra. While there was some initial discomfort at the first evaluation, this gradually disappeared and by the end of the year nearly all the women had improved comfort compared to before the study. The measurements showed firmer, and more elevated and youthful breasts. One example is given of a woman who had breasts that were uncomfortably large, and who had improvement after two years of being without a bra.
While some may dispute the reasons why breasts change in shape with age and argue over whether or not the process can be delayed or reversed by wearing a bra, it is a natural process of bodily change. Health ethicists are concerned that plastic surgery and implants have altered our concept of what is "normal" and medicalised women's bodies by making a normal process a "disease."
Fibrocystic disease and breast pain
The use of a properly fitted bra can relieve breast pain (mastodynia, mastalgia), particularly when women are performing strenuous physical activity or exercise. The sports bra is an example of a bra which has been specifically designed for this purpose.
Numerous websites and publications dealing with fibrocystic disease and breast pain state that a well-fitting bra is recommended for treatment of these conditions.
For fibrocystic disease there are no studies to support these statements. For breast pain a 2006 clinical practice guideline,
makes this statement as level II-3 evidence and a grade B recommendation. However this rests solely on two short communications of uncontrolled studies.
In the 1976 UK study, 114 women complaining of pain were professionally fitted with a special bra. 26% of women who completed the study and wore the bra properly had relief of pain, 49% improved, 21% did not, and 4% were worse. There were a lot of dropouts from the study. In the 2000 Saudi Arabia study, 200 women were randomly allocated to either a drug (danazole) or a Sports bra. 58% of the danazole group improved compared to 85% in the sports bra group.
No details of what the women wore prior to the study was given. Neither study had an untreated control, and there was no blinding. Breast pain has a very high placebo response (85%)
so that a response to any intervention might be expected. It is not clear whether the interventions described are generalisable. A similar number of websites claim improvement after stopping wearing bras. These are based on anecdotes, since there are no formal studies.
Sports bras were found to be more effective than ordinary bras for reducing breast pain caused by exercise.
However the need for wearing a bra at all during exercise has been questioned following extensive studies on athletes and sportswomen.
In the specific case of larger breasts, the bra lifts the breasts away from the chest and can prevent two skin surfaces from rubbing together. Without the bra, maceration (loss of skin), intertrigo (rash) and fungal infections are possible.
Cultural significance
Feminist comment
Many feminist writers have interpreted the bra as an example of how women's clothing has shaped and even deformed women's bodies to historically aesthetic ideals, or shaped them to conform to male expectations of what is desirable. Germaine Greer, for example, has often depicted bras as symbols of oppression.
The bra as a fashion item
Breasts which have not undergone sagging, and which present a "pert" or "perky" appearance, are widely considered to be a marker of youth. Bras are therefore used, particularly within Western cultures which place great value upon youth, to promote what is considered a more desirable youthful appearance by lifting the breasts from their natural position. Furthermore, the modern bra is often more decorative than its predecessors, and therefore has become both a fashion statement and an adornment, and even an icon of sensuality.
The design of bras which aim to be fashionable, rather than functional, has been driven by changing fashions in outerwear, which has often dictated what could be worn underneath. Hence its shape has evolved through flat, round, pointed, conical, to "natural". Although in popular culture the invention of the bra is frequently attributed to men, in fact women have played a large part in bra design and manufacture, accounting for half of the patents filed.
Social pressures and trends
The average American woman today owns six bras, one of which is a strapless bra, and one in a colour other than white. While reliable data are hard to obtain, it is thought that in the Western world about 90% of women wear bras. Some women wear bras based on modesty; others because they believe that it is part of their cultural norm and that not wearing a bra would lead to ostracism. Some wear bras because they believe it improves the appearance of their figures; still others because they find wearing a bra more comfortable than going without.
Bras are a relatively recent invention and are by no means universally worn around the world. In a cross-cultural study of bra size and cancer in 9,000 in the 1960s, a Harvard group found 93% of women wore bras (from 88% in the UK to 99% in Greece), but could not find enough women in Japan with bras to complete their study. In a number of cultures, women are quite comfortable to sunbathe or swim without any external support.
The prevalence of the bra, and perceived social expectation to wear one, does not imply that openly displaying it is encouraged. On the contrary, it is often not considered suitable to expose one's brassiere in public in western cultures, even partially, despite the fact that it is similar in appearance to the upper part of a bikini; to do so may be considered sexually provocative. However more young people are doing so, and bra straps are a common sight. Occasionally they may wear a bra as outerwear. An attractive bra can be considered partly as an accessory, just as a camisole might; more women are now wearing translucent tops which reveal the underlying bra.
Even considering this relative cultural taboo, being seen in one's bra is still more socially acceptable than exposing the bare breasts, except at the beach. Indeed, women may choose to be seen in just a bra to make a specific point. For instance, bras have recently been used by organisations like breast cancer charities to raise money, either by sponsored walks or to sell bras owned or decorated by celebrities.
An increasing number of women and health professionals are challenging the traditional values that suggest that bras are either medically necessary or required socially and are adopting bralessness (also known as topfreedom, or breast freedom). One survey found that 20% of women over 50 were not wearing bras (Farell-Beck and Gau p.171).
Some men also choose to wear bras. This may be because they have large breasts due to a condition known as gynecomastia or simply obesity. Some men have large breasts, similar to women's, so to choose to wear a bra for support and comfort. Some men choose this because they need the support as well as women. Bras today are manufactured for all people who want their breasts supported.
Many entertainers, actresses and members of the fashion industry have chosen not to wear bras. Susan Stranks who presented the Thames TV children's programme, Magpie between 1968 and 1974 chose not to wear a bra, even on camera. Another well known woman who regularly appeared braless on TV was the presenter of BBC Gardening's Ground Force, Charlie Dimmock. More recently Julia Bradbury has been seen apparently braless on several of her televised Railway Walks.
Health problems
Many of the statements about the benefits of bras are actually situations where they can make things worse, because the vast majority of women wear bras that are ill-fitting. For instance, rather than keeping the breasts away from the chest wall, bras that are too tight can actually compress them against the chest even further. This also pulls the upper thoracic and cervical vertebrae (spine) forward and down, interfering with back, shoulder and chest movement. Others believe that wearing a bra can actually increase the downward movement of the breasts with age, because the chest (pectoralis) muscles that support breasts are used less and atrophy from lack of use.
As they did with corsets, health professionals have also had concerns about the constricting effects of brassieres, although this varies considerably with design and the relative size of the bra and the breast. While at least sports bras do not usually cause any significant impairment in respiration, some bras may put pressure on nerves.
Shoulder pain
When the shoulder straps transfer most of the weight of the breast, a deep groove can be seen over the shoulder. Use of thin straps, such as spaghetti straps, can exert pressure on the trapezius muscle, resulting in temporary symptoms such as neck and shoulder pain; numbness and tingling in the arm; and headaches.
This seems more common in women whose activities require them to lift their arms above the shoulders. In a study of 100 women with painful shoulders, they were asked to not wear their bras for two weeks, by which time their symptoms had improved but returned within an hour of replacing the bra. 84% did not elevate their arms, and in these symptom relief was complete. Three years later, 79% of the women were still bra free; the remainder preferred pain to not wearing a bra. 16% worked in occupations requiring elevating their arms, and only achieved partial improvement. 13 of the 16 decided to become bra-free, and by six months all were cured.
Back pain
Back pain is particularly common among large-breasted women who wear bras offering insufficient support. In extreme cases, such discomfort can lead to a woman seeking breast reduction surgery. However, the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Hospital found after consulting bra fitting experts from large cup size specialists Bravissimo, that 100% of patients referred for breast reduction surgery had been wearing the wrong size bra, "overestimating the width of their back and underestimating cup size. This results in the weight of the breasts being carried by the shoulders rather than supported around the chest, and contributes to back pain." Women who notice that their bra straps are slipping or the back of their bra is riding up, are usually wearing a bra that is not the proper size.
Bra size
Based on their research, many physicians believe that bra size is meaningless, when breast volumes are calculated accurately. "The current popular system of determining bra size is inaccurate so often as to be useless. Add to this the many different styles of bras and the lack of standardization between brands, and one can see why finding a comfortable, well-fitting bra is more a matter of educated guesswork, trial, and error than of precise measurements."
See also
Patents
Other sources
Books
- Yu W., Fan J T., Ng S P and Harlock S C, Innovation and Technology of Women’s Intimate Apparel, Woodhead Publishing Limited, August 2006, ISBN-13: 978 1 85573 745 7.* (for reviews, see next section)***
Book reviews
Journal articles
Research papers
Documentaries
- Bras, the Bare Facts. Channel 4 (UK), November 2000
Relevant articles
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