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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Hurrah for the bra

Pre WW1 women wore corsets. Not the pretty, soft things we have in lingerie shops now. They were instruments of torture, binding and grinding. supports of whale bone or steel held a woman's torso so tightly she often swooned in the streets during hot days when she couldn't catch her breath.

The war started, America was in need of metals. 28,000 tons of metal gained when women graciously, perhaps joyfully, ripped off the corsets and sent them to the steel workers. from their generous donations, two battleships were built.

What fun we could have had in their naming. The USS Titsling and and her sister ship Double Trouble.

No longer bound for glory, America's women became vested in the war effort, busting out in the job market, aiding the economy while the men were away.
The birth of the bra came on the heels of the Roaring 20's. More comfort. More dancing. The girls had something to celebrate.

3 comments:

Emma Lai said...

Thank you for the tidbits. I repeated them last night to a group of friends. The men were speechless before diverting the conversation to current women's lingerie.

M

Martha Eskuchen said...

Interesting bit of history! Thanks. I like your blog!! Got here from Donna's post on LRC.

Jen Childers said...

LOl! glad I can be of help.
I love lingerie. Men are hysterical with some of thier reactions. If you ever want to clear a room of men tell them your breastfeeding a baby. go to nurse and they flee!