Over the years the bra has been stereotyped as an object of seduction, glamour, and even oppression. In Uplift: A History of the Bra in America Jane Farrell-Beck and Colleen Gau use this item of clothing to gauge the social history of women and to understand the business history of fashion. Viewing fashion as a means to entertainment, self-creation, and everyday art, the authors illuminate the effect the brassiere has had on women's lives—their style, health, and economic opportunity.
Rich in examples from advertising, movies, and other areas of popular culture, Uplift moves beyond featherbones and fiberfill to provide a sense of the dynamic relationship of the bra to wider issues in society.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In the 1890s, mail-order "bust girdle" advertisements were discreetly hidden in the back pages of women's magazines; by 1918, bras were a major staple of the fashion industry, with 52 different brands prominently displayed in department stores. In this good-humored yet careful examination of mainstream print advertisements and bra-industry publications such as the Corset and Underwear Review, Farrell-Beck, a professor of textiles and clothing at Iowa State University's College of Family and Consumer Sciences, and Gau, president of a home-based textile-conservation business, illuminate women's experience of this most everyday, functional yet still titillating and even scandalous garment. Less a history of the bra than a study of its relationship to history, the book traces public perception of the bra's foremost function: originally conceived as a garment meant to promote women's health, it came to be seen as one meant to improve their appearance. Bra design, the authors demonstrate, shifted endlessly in response to such factors as wartime rationing, the increasing number of women in sports and, of course, the feminist movement of the 1960s and '70s. Many of Farrell-Beck and Gau's discoveries are surprising: Who knew that the U.S. government commissioned Maidenform to design a vest for carrier pigeons during WWII or that one enterprising manufacturer marketed a bra with a tiny, zippered pocket intended to hold money? The 51 b&w illustrations add to the entertainment value of this fun, punchy book. (Dec.)Forecast: Uplift will appeal primarily to women's studies and pop culture scholars, and readers interested in the history of fashion. A word to the wise: don't confuse this work with another recent one sporting a similar title, Uplift: Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.Review
"Jane Farrell-Beck and Colleen Gau have collaborated to produce a minor miracle: an informal yet comprehensively researched work of history and sociology that isn't dull, isn't pretentious, isn't politically correct (or incorrect), and that's fun to read as well as being instructive."—Robert Gottlieb, New York Observer
"In this good-humored yet careful examination, Farrell-Beck and Gau illuminate women's experience of this most everyday garment. . . . A fun, punchy book."—Publishers Weekly
"Uplift is extremely well-researched, and is significantly better than previous histories of the brassiere."—Valerie Steele, Fashion Institute of Technology
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
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A terrific read!,
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This review is from: Uplift: The Bra in America (Hardcover)
This readable history of the brassiere is both fun and informative. Topics of discussion include the transition from the corset to the bra, how the bra reflected women's changing position in society, and the birth of companies like Maidenform and Victoria's Secret.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The breast supporter made its debut in 1863, when Luman Chapman patented his corset substitute (Figure 1). Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
bust girdle, uplift styles, breast supporters, brassiere makers, brassiere sales, brassiere industry, bust supporter, brassiere design, brassiere manufacturers, brassiere companies, bra makers, brassiere company, bra companies, intimate wear, corset company, trade advertisement, breast care, foundation garments, dress reform, mass merchants, intimate apparel Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Maiden Form, World War, Bien Jolie, Peter Pan, Leading Lady, Sara Lee, Vanity Fair, Exquisite Form, Kops Brothers, Montgomery Ward, Gabrielle Poix, Nature's Rival, Victoria's Secret, Harper's Bazar, Lily of France, New Jersey, The Delineator, San Francisco, American Costume, Brassieres Win, Dutiful Brassieres, Edith Lances, Good Housekeeping New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The breast supporter made its debut in 1863, when Luman Chapman patented his corset substitute (Figure 1). Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
bust girdle, uplift styles, breast supporters, brassiere makers, brassiere sales, brassiere industry, bust supporter, brassiere design, brassiere manufacturers, brassiere companies, bra makers, brassiere company, bra companies, intimate wear, corset company, trade advertisement, breast care, foundation garments, dress reform, mass merchants, intimate apparel Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Maiden Form, World War, Bien Jolie, Peter Pan, Leading Lady, Sara Lee, Vanity Fair, Exquisite Form, Kops Brothers, Montgomery Ward, Gabrielle Poix, Nature's Rival, Victoria's Secret, Harper's Bazar, Lily of France, New Jersey, The Delineator, San Francisco, American Costume, Brassieres Win, Dutiful Brassieres, Edith Lances, Good Housekeeping New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 76
books:
See all 76 books this book cites
4
books
cite this book:
- For the Duration by Lee Kennett on 4 pages
- Born for Liberty by Sara Evans in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Essentials of Textiles by Marjory L. Joseph in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- History of the Breast by Marilyn Yalom in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Sixties People by Jane Stern in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
See all 76 books this book cites
- Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that Have Made Us Beautiful by Teresa Riordan in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- As Seen in Vogue: A Century of American Fashion in Advertising (Costume Society of America Series) by Daniel Delis Hill in Back Matter
- Technology and the African-American Experience: Needs and Opportunities for Study (His001000) by Bruce Sinclair on page 229
- Some Wore Bobby Sox: The Emergence of Teenage Girls' Culture, 1920-1945 (Girls' History & Culture Book) by Kelly Schrum in Back Matter
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