The first patent on the production of bras was issued on 3 September 1914 to Mary Phelps Jacob. In the beginning, the new form of a "corset without a back" didn't gain much popularity among women.
However, Jacob's husband discerned a lot of potential in the new garment and offered a corset company to buy out the patent for $1500.
Since that time, bras have changed a lot and are continuing to do so, shifting from genuine to synthetic materials, varying from full-cup bras to balconettes.
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Yu Misaki (R), campaign girl for Triumph International Japan, displays the company's new "Eco-globe Bra" for their spring/summer 2005 collection in Tokyo, 9 November 2004. The lingerie maker produced the brassiere as a licensed product that is not for general sale to promote EXPO 2005.
© AFP 2023 / Toru Yamanaka
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Bikini girls mosaic, Villa del Casale, Piazza Armerina, Sicily, Italy.
© Photo : Public domain/Yann Forget
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Picture released in October 1961 of a Harlequin model showcasing lingerie by the French brand Charmereine in Paris.
© AFP 2023 / Stringer
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A model wears "Movie Star Incognito”, a satin, stretch-foam bra and modern brief during Wonderbra's Airwonder fashion show in New York on Wednesday, 8 August 2001. The no-frills look is a part of a trend toward simple, unfussy lingerie.
© AP Photo / Richard Drew
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First international specialised exhibition of undergarment "Lingerie-2001".
© Sputnik / Dmitry Korobeinikov
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In this file photo from 3 December 1990, Madonna wears a bra top designed by Jean Paul Gaultier as she performs during her "Blonde Ambition" tour in Philadelphia. Gaultier has dressed Lady Gaga, and he did the costumes for a Kylie Minogue world tour and lest we forget: Gaultier designed Madonna's famous cone-shaped bra tops.
© AP Photo / Sean Kardon
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Triumph International Japan campaign girl Hiromi Nishiuchi displays the "Jury System Bra", designed as a scale and inspired by the image of Lady Justice, symbol of the judical system, at the company's collection in Tokyo on 5 November 2008.
© AFP 2023 / Yoshikazu Tsuno
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Workers put on a $2 million Champagne Nights Fantasy Bra modelled by angel Lais Ribeiro backstage before the Victoria's Secret fashion show inside the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, Monday, 20 November 2017.
© AP Photo / Andy Wong
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A model presents a creation by French designer Chantal Thomass as part of the Spring/Summer 2004 Haute Couture week in Paris 22 January 2004.
© AFP 2023 / Pierre Verdy
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A model displays creations by Indian designer Nida Mahmood during the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week - Spring Summer 2011 collection in New Delhi on 26 October 2010.
© AFP 2023 / Manpreet Romana
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Models wear manufacturer Wonderbra's new "Multiplunge Bra" during a photocall at the National gallery, London, 16 November 2006. The Multiplunge bra has been developed so that its straps can be moved to suit the cut of the garment being worn over it.
© AFP 2023 / Carl de Souza
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Model Jessey Liang displays a pure gold bra at a gold ornament show organised by Just Gold, a Hong Kong gold chain store, Sunday, 27 August 1995, at a shopping mall in the territory.
© AP Photo / Raymond Chow
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Victoria's Secret angel Elsa Hosk poses next to the $1 million Fantasy Bra model at Victoria's Secret 5th Avenue Store on Monday, 5 November 2018, in New York.
© AP Photo / Evan Agostini/Invision
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A model wears a red jacket and matching skirt over a see-through red bra at the Todd Oldham Spring 1996 fashion show 31 October in New York.
© AFP 2023 / Jon Levy
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French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier attends his exhibition "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier. From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk", at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Tuesday 31 March 2015. The lauded French couturier, who found fame for putting Madonna in a conical bra and helped shape global trends for four decades, shocked the fashion world by ending his ready-to-wear and menswear lines earlier this year.
© AP Photo / Michel Euler
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A model demonstrates lingerie during Lingerie Fashion Week.
© Sputnik / Ekaterina Chesnokova
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This photo taken on 28 March 2011 shows a model presenting a creation from Chinese fashion house Bobaolon Global Fashion's autumn/winter 2011-2012 collection at the China Fashion Week in Beijing. The bi-annual fashion event highlights the latest designs by domestic and international designers.
© AFP 2023 / STR
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A visitor looking at an exhibit item "The country's history from Kutuzov to Putin on bras" during the opening day of an exhibition by Andrei Biljo at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.
© Sputnik / Valery Levitin
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A waxwork of a frozen skier on the mountain slope of the Dahshtain mountain chain, Austria
© Sputnik / Alexander Vilf
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