For the last 4,505 years, women have tried to enhance their figures by squeezing themselves into restricting, and uncomfortable garments. Waists have been reduced and bust lines have been increased, decreased, flattened, lifted or spread out, depending on what was fashionable at the time. The modern brassiere and its predecessors have not only been known for their functionality, but have also been linked with statements of fashion and politics.
The concept of covering or restraining the breasts dates back to 2500 BC when Minoan women from the island of Crete wore garments which lifted the bare breasts out of their clothing. This eventually evolved into a binding that was worn by Greek women while they exercised. However, such garments did not become a part of women's daily wear until 1500 AD when Catherine de Medicis, the wife of King Henri II of France enforced a ban on "thick waists" a court functions.
As a result of this ban, a stiff undergarment called a corset was created. These corsets were reinforced with wire, steel, and whalebones, and were designed to narrow an adult woman's waist to 13, 12, 11, and even 10 inches around. While corseting was a popular practice, some people argued that the corset was detrimental to the wearer's health as it reduced waists to such unhealthy levels that ribs and internal organs became deformed.
However, corsets remained unchanged for nearly 300 years until 1889 when a French corset-maker by the name of Herminie Cadolle invented the first modern bra. The garment was two pieces, the lower piece was a corset for the waist, and the upper piece supported the breasts by shoulder straps. Cadolle named her creation "Bien-etre" (or The Well Being) and marketed it as a health aid.
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...this coincided with a rise in the number of women having surgical breast augmentation. Ladies with less ample assets often gravitated toward specialty garments like the Wonderbra which was designed with insertable padding. Soon similar products began to fill store shelves with insertable rubber molds, foam and water breast prosthesis's. Modern lingerie makers like Victoria Secret and Fredrick's of Hollywood began feverous marketing campaigns to bring lingerie "out of the closet" and subsequently turned their products into household names.
The brassier, whose concept emerged centuries ago as a functional object, has taken center stage in modern history. The brassiere has almost inadvertently played a crucial role in political and sexual revolutions worldwide. As the revolution lives on, all of this tries to answer two age old problems: breast support and style.
“Frederick’s of Hollywood, brainchild of the inventor of the push-up bra and purveyor of “marry-a-millionaire” lingerie since 1947” (Blakemore, 2015). Frederick’s created the “sex sells” image for themselves especially marrying a millionaire. They cannot go back from this and just try to reinvent themselves to cater to the everyday women when the company was built from these products. Frederick’s of Hollywood’s catalogs have most of the women in bed in the most uncomfortable position in the most uncomfortable looking lingerie. Victoria’s Secret catalogs are on a beachy location or just on location, not just a set. “That is, demureness is sexy in a middle-class setting and directness is sexy in a working-class setting.” (Blakemore, 2015). The catalogs create the ambiance of where the girls are when they are wearing the lingerie, therefore, it makes us the people shopping from these catalogs feel like we need to be in that place or atmosphere to wear what they are
In the article, “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual” by Hanna Berry, Berry discusses how for decades women have been told to use certain products and that if they used those products they would be beautiful. Women over the years have believed this idea and would purchase items that promised to make them prettier, thinner, smarter and even more loved. However, in reality it was never what they wore on their bodies that helped them be any of those things; but what it did help with was to empower women to become fearless and bold by what they chose to wear on their bodies as a form of expression.
To start the dressing process, Victorian women had so many layers of clothing it all had to be placed upon them one at a time. The first layers consisted of undergarments such as items women of today would call underwear and socks. However, the Victorian women wore drawers as modern women wear underwear. Stockings; usually knit, cotton or silk, covered the lower leg with a garter to keep them from falling down the leg or revealing any flesh of the lower leg (Mitchell 17). Upon the upper part of the body a Chemise was worn to cover the skin below the corset...
From the conventional Victorian dresses of the 1800’s to the rock-and-roll tee shirts of the 1980’s, American culture has experienced incredibly diverse trends in clothing. This ever changing timeline of fashion provokes the question: what is the cause of such differing styles? By considering the state of society throughout the eras, it can be seen that clothing directly correlates with the current way of life. Specifically, American women’s fashion of the 1920’s and 1930’s proves to not simply be a meaningless trend – rather an accurate reflection of the specific era.
...d women’s fashion to break free from convention. Bras and corsets were seen as symbols of oppression and conformity. They were discarded by many women as many new fads appeared,(). Women also exhibited their newfound freedom by wearing traditional male clothing such as baggy trousers, men's jackets, vests, over-sized shirts, ties and hats.
Later the fashion has had a slide change in the Queen Elizabeth's time where it was for “a long, firm corset reaching from the bust to below the natural waistline, paired with a huge, and whale bone-stiffened hoop skirt called a farthingale.” As time and fashion pass, corset also changes depending on the event to choose whether it should be long or short, supporting the bust or minimizing it.
My mother was taught, as her mother before and so on, that these conversations are to be kept private and talked about quietly. In response to this, the power of men has an increasingly strong hold on the ideal physical beauty and how the changes of the body, such as menstruation, are in private and never spoken of. The Body Project gives a disturbing look at how women in the past few centuries and the present should act, look like, and keep hidden in response to what men think is most desirable. No matter how free women think they are, we are still under the control of men, even if it is not directly. This book opens the conversation on the problems that are still plaguing women and how society needs to change to have a healthier environment for women to be comfortable in their skin.
Royal women often wore stockings that covered the lower edges of their legs, they were called nether hoses. Headdresses that looked like veils covered the ears and the front part of the head, and no hair was visible. A form of their sleeves were having them start big and tighten as they move closer to the cuff, they formed a
Turned, pulled, stretched, tucked; molded by the average man with a wedge and hammer at hand. The female body is a dissected organism in which tolerance is searched for. In search for a tolerable female form, modifications on the female body are performed. This lust for acceptance and understanding causes females to partake in methods of “beautifying themselves” to please man. Man, the omnipotent being whose thoughts and words cascade onto the hearts of women causing mutilation, suppression, and the desire to discover oneself. Upon the discovery that the female body portrays different views amongst the culturally different beings, social movements allow the unvoiced words to be shared. Within the social movements founded by feminism, the social movement that will be focused on throughout the piece a feminist perspective on the body. The body in its natural form can cause controversy among those who view it in a criminal manner. The issue with the female body is that
The first appearance of the swimsuit was around 350 B.C in ancient Greece. The Greeks are known for their long togas, and often worn when swimming and bathing grew vastly popular ((“Women’s Swimwear History,” n.d.) It seems so strange to us to wear so much clothing while in the water, and soon the Greeks realized that the long draping togas were not ideal for swimming. A particular piece of artwork emerged that depicted Greek women in scantily clad bathing attire. This painting known as Ladies of Pompeii features Greek women running about in what look like modern day bandeau tops and bikini bottoms(Examiner, 2012). This swimwear was worn by most women, but it was not uncommon for women to bathe or swim in the nude. Contrary to popular belief, the practice of recreational swimming was quite popular especially among young women. With the Greeks being big time athletes, although there is not much evidence, it is assumed that they may have participated in certain water sports. Swimming continued for quite some time. During the Roman Empire the communal bathhouse was a place of business and socializing. After the fall of th...
Life in the 20‘s had started to change waist lines and the bust disappeared along with a shorter hem. For those who could afford it, they attend...
An undergarment technically designed so that the body shape can be altered temporarily, in order to achieve the figure either looking more fashionable, or to maintain a proper figure. Shapewears function is not for enhancing a human body feature, but also to control and maintain a smooth display of a body. The report shows the market variations of Shapewears pertaining to three famous companies, namely La Perla, Journelle and Agent provocateur.
Early 19th century clothing for women was designed for style and beauty, sadly, this left practicality, safety and comfort completely out of the picture. Corsets, which were worn to slim the waist and lift the chest, presented many serious health concerns for women. These vices that women wore on their bodies increased their blood pressure and made breathing very difficult. Fainting was so commonplace that a fainting couch was designed and present in most households Prolonged wearing of corsets weakened back and stomach muscles to the point that some women, who had worn corsets for many years, struggled to hold themselves upright without them. If cinched to tightly, they had the power to bruise the internal organs and push them out of alignment, causing sever health issues. (Berkowe)
From a young age, women are taught that to be successful and happy, they must reach a certain standard of beauty first. Rather than grow up thinking that the most important asset a woman can have is her self, young girls are taught through advertisements that their value rests on their appearance. This is an immense social issue. Today, being a successful woman means wearing a sexy outfit that shows just the right amount of cleavage and curve. It means turning heads everywhere she goes- men looking after her in lust, women looking after her in envy.
stitching. A woman was supposed to keep her covered. And was not allowed to come in front of men