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 A History of the Bra
While 2007 may not have been of year of celebration for business or banks, the brassiere or 'bra' (for short) was quietly celebrating it's one hundredth birthday. There may have been some rough moments in it's history - such as the 1960's - which saw the brassiere branded a symbol of repression by feminists. Presently, the bra is more typically viewed as a coming of age garment for young ladies, the comfort and aesthetic benefits overcoming the tirade of feminist arguments. The pain relief bras offer for strenuous work or exercise, is a fact that no argument can overcome. It's worthwhile to note however, that not all medical research has found in favour of the bra. One study indicated that women who have never worn a bra (at least for a year) may have firmer and higher breasts. Experts are increasingly asserting that bras offer no medical benefits other than pain relief. The creation of the brassiere was due in part to finding an alternative to the corset. Today's brassiere has exclusively taken over as the most popular undergarment for the bust and upper body. The problem with the corset was it's inadequacy for ladies of larger proportions, and bigger busts. The bra, in it's simplicity, only concerned itself with supporting and altering the shape of a breast. Surprisingly, nobody had thought of this idea before, the bra in many ways gave women freedom in every day activities. To begin with, most bras were created for functionality, only later were bras invented for the sole purpose of titillation and the enhancement of the breast. The boob tube, for example, was a strapless strip of material which barely covered the breast, and offered minimum support. Typically the purpose of a bra can be broken down into three uses, 1) purely supportive, such as with sports bras 2) to preserve modesty 3) to enhance a cleavage Some of the most popular styles of bras are as follows,
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