HISTORY
The history of the sports bra begins just a few decades ago when Lisa Lindahl decided there was no answer for the discomfort felt when jogging. Whether it was the chafing and poking felt during the exercise, because women wore regular bras, or the soreness felt in their chest after, the solution simply didn’t exist. Jogging became a major fad in the 1970s, so the discomfort felt by women was discovered and began to be discussed by more and more women. How were they supposed to participate in this growing trend when there was no way to do it comfortably?
Lisa came up with the idea when her husband jokingly put two jockstraps onto his chest and paraded around the house. Lisa brought on costume designer Polly Smith to help design what would later be known as the Jogbra. The bras became available for mail order in 1978 and just a shirt year later, Lisa was employing people in her company and began to target sporting-good retail stores to sell her bras. Her whole idea was to think of the Jogbra like a pair of shoes; it was a necessary piece of equipment needed for working out. However, in a world of dominantly male storeowners, the heads of these stores were uncomfortable with even the idea of a Jogbra, let alone the thought of selling it in their stores. Lisa managed to convince a few stores to carry her product, and found that they sold well and quickly. Soon enough there were multiple people coming up with different versions of Lisa’s Jogbra, trying all sorts of different configurations, including one that had leg straps involved, to hold the breasts in place.
The major change came in the 1980s, when dance aerobics became hugely popular and women didn’t want bulky, ugly contraptions under their neon, Lycra tank tops and leotards. This is when lingerie companies decided to venture into the world of sports bras to offer a more appealing look while still going for the comfort factor. Christine Haycockaka, a softball player, was brought on to do research on what women felt was most comfortable while also keeping the thought of appearance in mind. It was in 1990 that the modern day sports bra was designed and purchased by Playtex, then sold at a national level. Competitors took to the new design, and today you can find sports bras made by various companies but all that look relatively similar.
-Shannon
TIMELINE
(from http://www.ladiesonlysports.com/sports-bra-history)
A.D. 300 Roman mosaics in a villa near the Sicilian town of Piazza Armerina depict women exercising with bound breasts.
1906 American inventor Laura Blanche Lyon secures a patent for the bust supporter, a back-fastened canvas camisole with gathered cups now regarded as the first sports bra.
1917 American artist Ethel Quirk invents a breast supporter intended for theatrical, acrobatic dancing.
1972 Title IX of the Educational Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools, including unequal athletic opportunities.
1977 Lisa Lindahl, Polly Smith, and Hinda Schreiber stitch two jockstraps together to create the Jogbra, the first modern sports bra.
1982 Jane Fonda's Workout video launches the aerobic dancing craze and inspires millions of women to jump around in front of their TV's sporting shimmery, gem-hued Lycra tanks.
1984 In Los Angeles 27-year-old Joan Benoit wins the first-ever women's Olympic marathon with her lingerie-style bra strap showing as she completes her closing lap, an indiscretion that caused an uproar load enough to upstage her athletic achievement.
1988 Montana hairstylist Renelle Braaten constructs a front-fastening sports bra designed especially for large-breasted women.
1999 Soccer player Brandi Chastain celebrates her team's World Cup victory by stripping off her jersey and revealing her black Nike sports bra, which ignites inexplicable furor in a nation mesmerized by Baywatch. Others, however, see this as the moment when female athletes come out of the locker room to declare breasts as symbols of power and proficiency rather than impediments.
2000 Champion responds to women's complaints that sports bras flattened and de-feminized their bust lines by introducing the Shaper bra, which uses a unique nonfoam spacer fabric to maintain women's curves without compromising performance.
2003 Seamless sports bras virtually eliminate chafing and end the practice among distance athletes of covering themselves in Vaseline to prevent painful abrasions.
2007 High-tech fabrics improve bras' moisture management: Champion's Vapor sports bra features Cocona, a superwicking, odor-squelching new material made from coconut shells.
The history of the sports bra begins just a few decades ago when Lisa Lindahl decided there was no answer for the discomfort felt when jogging. Whether it was the chafing and poking felt during the exercise, because women wore regular bras, or the soreness felt in their chest after, the solution simply didn’t exist. Jogging became a major fad in the 1970s, so the discomfort felt by women was discovered and began to be discussed by more and more women. How were they supposed to participate in this growing trend when there was no way to do it comfortably?
Lisa came up with the idea when her husband jokingly put two jockstraps onto his chest and paraded around the house. Lisa brought on costume designer Polly Smith to help design what would later be known as the Jogbra. The bras became available for mail order in 1978 and just a shirt year later, Lisa was employing people in her company and began to target sporting-good retail stores to sell her bras. Her whole idea was to think of the Jogbra like a pair of shoes; it was a necessary piece of equipment needed for working out. However, in a world of dominantly male storeowners, the heads of these stores were uncomfortable with even the idea of a Jogbra, let alone the thought of selling it in their stores. Lisa managed to convince a few stores to carry her product, and found that they sold well and quickly. Soon enough there were multiple people coming up with different versions of Lisa’s Jogbra, trying all sorts of different configurations, including one that had leg straps involved, to hold the breasts in place.
The major change came in the 1980s, when dance aerobics became hugely popular and women didn’t want bulky, ugly contraptions under their neon, Lycra tank tops and leotards. This is when lingerie companies decided to venture into the world of sports bras to offer a more appealing look while still going for the comfort factor. Christine Haycockaka, a softball player, was brought on to do research on what women felt was most comfortable while also keeping the thought of appearance in mind. It was in 1990 that the modern day sports bra was designed and purchased by Playtex, then sold at a national level. Competitors took to the new design, and today you can find sports bras made by various companies but all that look relatively similar.
-Shannon
TIMELINE
(from http://www.ladiesonlysports.com/sports-bra-history)
A.D. 300 Roman mosaics in a villa near the Sicilian town of Piazza Armerina depict women exercising with bound breasts.
1906 American inventor Laura Blanche Lyon secures a patent for the bust supporter, a back-fastened canvas camisole with gathered cups now regarded as the first sports bra.
1917 American artist Ethel Quirk invents a breast supporter intended for theatrical, acrobatic dancing.
1972 Title IX of the Educational Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools, including unequal athletic opportunities.
1977 Lisa Lindahl, Polly Smith, and Hinda Schreiber stitch two jockstraps together to create the Jogbra, the first modern sports bra.
1982 Jane Fonda's Workout video launches the aerobic dancing craze and inspires millions of women to jump around in front of their TV's sporting shimmery, gem-hued Lycra tanks.
1984 In Los Angeles 27-year-old Joan Benoit wins the first-ever women's Olympic marathon with her lingerie-style bra strap showing as she completes her closing lap, an indiscretion that caused an uproar load enough to upstage her athletic achievement.
1988 Montana hairstylist Renelle Braaten constructs a front-fastening sports bra designed especially for large-breasted women.
1999 Soccer player Brandi Chastain celebrates her team's World Cup victory by stripping off her jersey and revealing her black Nike sports bra, which ignites inexplicable furor in a nation mesmerized by Baywatch. Others, however, see this as the moment when female athletes come out of the locker room to declare breasts as symbols of power and proficiency rather than impediments.
2000 Champion responds to women's complaints that sports bras flattened and de-feminized their bust lines by introducing the Shaper bra, which uses a unique nonfoam spacer fabric to maintain women's curves without compromising performance.
2003 Seamless sports bras virtually eliminate chafing and end the practice among distance athletes of covering themselves in Vaseline to prevent painful abrasions.
2007 High-tech fabrics improve bras' moisture management: Champion's Vapor sports bra features Cocona, a superwicking, odor-squelching new material made from coconut shells.