Vintage bra ads

This week The New York Times reported that Jockey is introducing a new measurement system to the production of ladies' brassieres -- 55 new bra sizes in all.

Current bra sizings have been around since the 1920s, when cup sizes were introduced, but bras in their nascent form have been binding corset-less ladies since the turn of the century. Advertisements for bras have been as varied -- from demure to in-your-face -- as changes in fashion and lingerie technology have allowed.

Left: A 1950s ad for a line of "Yuth-Bust" brassieres, delivered to your home in a plain wrapper.

Left: This elastic "soutien-gorge," as seen in a 1907 catalog of French lingerie manufacturers Leon and Jules Rainal, was made from light fabric and meant for sleeping, seaside bathing, or for extreme breast tenderness. The advertisement said doctors recommend wearing a bra at night, to alleviate women's fear that mammary glands would atrophy for lack of support.

In 1904 the Charles R. De Bevoise Company of New York first advertised its product as a "brassiere." (The word came from a French term for a ladies' bodice.)

Left: Ads for De Bevoise brassieres from 1914 and the 1920s. In the early '20s, the company switched from using photographs of live models to drawings, according to "Uplift: The Bra in America" by Jane Farrell-Beck and Colleen Gau.

This Maiden Form ad from the May 22, 1944 issue of Life Magazine also reminds readers to buy war bonds.

An Adola bra ad from the 1950s.

A 1950s ad for Perma-lift, the bra with "the Lift that never lets you down."

This ad from a 1953 issue of McCall's magazine featured a Celebrity strapless bra, with an inset of an admiring male.

In 1949 Maidenform (having contracted its name into one word) introduced a series of ads featuring women in bras in public settings, exuding fun (shopping, attending the theater), travel (Paris, Venice), or performing a public service (a firefighter). The ads continued through the 1960s.

Left: A 1952 ad featuring a bra-wearing model riding a streetcar, years before the shedding of clothes in San Francisco became acceptable.

Maidenform's 1957 advertisement, "I dreamed I raced with the wind in my Maidenform bra."

Two years after "Ben Hur," Maidenform used a chariot theme in their "Dreamed" series.

Maidenform produced this 1964 vision of women in the workplace.

A quartet of Maidenform bra models from 1965.

This ad for Sheer Shape padded bras speaks to women who, in the 1960s, were as likely to do away with their bras, if not burn them:

"Admit it. You wear one. Or want to. And why not? You're of this generation. Emancipated. Aware. Millions of dollars are spent in research to make you more attractive. You'd be foolish not to take advantage of it, wouldn't you?"

In the 1980s, ads featuring the "Maidenform Woman" indicated that you'd never know where she turns up . . . wearing very, very little.

Unlike the "Dreamed" ads, the models were exposing a lot more flesh below the waist, and clearly in full view of men, who appear to be paying little notice.

In 2005, Maidenform returned to dreaming as a theme, with this ad promoting their new Dream Bra, featuring the tagline, "Dreams do come true."

From 1963: "I dreamed I painted the town red in my Maidenform bra."

For more info:
"Uplift: The Bra in America" by Jane Farrell-Beck and Colleen Gau (University of Pennsylvania Press)
vintageadsandstuff.com
The Maidenform "I Dreamed" ad campaign on Pinterest vintageadbrowser.com

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan