Bras are complex garments made of many parts. Most come in 36 sizes; standards and methods of measurement vary widely and up to 85 percent of women may be wearing the wrong size. The world's best-selling bra, as of 2005, was said to be the full-cup "Doreen" by Triumph International in size 36D.
Wearing a garment to support the breasts may date back to ancient Greece. Women wore an apodesmos, later stēthodesmē, mastodesmos and mastodeton, all meaning "breast-band", a band of wool or linen that was wrapped across the breasts and tied or pinned at the back.
Fragments of linen textiles found in East Tyrol in Austria dated to between 1440 and 1485 are believed to have been bras. Two of them had cups made from two pieces of linen sewn with fabric that extended to the bottom of the torso with a row of six eyelets for fastening with a lace or string. One had two shoulder straps and was decorated with lace in the cleavage.
From the 16th century, the undergarments of wealthier women in the Western world were dominated by the corset, which pushed the breasts upwards. In the later 19th century, clothing designers began experimenting with alternatives, splitting the corset into multiple parts: a girdle-like restraining device for the lower torso, and devices that suspended the breasts from the shoulder to the upper torso.
Bras can enhance or minimize the size of breasts, create cleavage, and in the case of nursing bras, aid breast-feeding. Bras are built into some swimsuits, camisoles and dresses. Compression sports bras push against and minimize the breasts, whereas encapsulation bras have cups for support.
Common styles include backless, balconette, convertible, shelf, full cup, demi-cup, minimizing, padded, plunge, posture, push-up, racerback, sheer, strapless, T-shirt, underwire, unlined and soft cup.
Bras are not worn around the world; in developing countries the cost of one may equal 10–30 hours of a woman's wages. Bras are highly prized at second-hand markets in West Africa. The Uplift Project provides recycled bras to women in developing countries. Since 2005 they have shipped 330,000, including to Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga and Cambodia.
In 2009 Somalia's hard-line Islamic group Al-Shabaab forced women to shake their breasts at gunpoint to see if they were wearing bras, which they called "un-Islamic". A resident of Mogadishu whose daughters were whipped said, "The Islamists say a woman's chest should be firm naturally, or flat." In 2009, Dr. Elena Bodnar invented the Emergency Bra, which doubles as a gas mask; she came up with the idea when as a young doctor she witnessed the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. She received the Ig Nobel Public Health Prize for her design.
Consumers spend around $16 billion a year worldwide on bras. In the US during 2012, women owned an average of nine bras and wore six on a regular basis. That increased from 2006, when the average American woman owned six, one of which was strapless, and one in a color other than white. British women in a 2009 survey reported that they owned an average of 16 bras.
The average bra size among North American women has changed from 34B in 1983 to a 34DD in 2012 - 2013, and from 36C last year when to 36DD in the UK during 2014 - 2015. The change in bra size has been linked to growing obesity rates, breast implants, increased birth control usage, estrogen mimicking pollutants, the availability of a larger selection of bras, and women wearing better fitting bras.
Bras are made in Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, India, and China. While there has been some social pressure from the anti-sweatshop and anti-globalization movements on manufacturers to reduce use of sweatshop labor, most major apparel manufacturers rely on them directly and indirectly. Prior to 2005, a trade agreement limited textile imports to the European Union and the US. China was exporting US$33.9 billion in textiles and clothing each year to the EU and the US. When those quotas expired on 1 January 2005, the so-called Bra Wars began. Within six months, China shipped 30 million more bras to the two markets: 33% more to the US and 63% more to the EU. As of 2014, an average bra cost GBP29.8. As of 2012, Africa imported USD$107 million worth of bras, with South Africa accounting for 40%. Morocco was second and Nigeria third, while Mauritius topped purchasing on a per capita basis.
All Types of bra
Adhesive Bra, Bandeau Bra, Belly Dance Bra, Bridal Bra, Built-in Bra, Shelf Bra, Convertible Bra,Front Closure Bra, Full Support Bra, Halter Neck Bra, Mastectomy Bra, Maternity Bra,Minimizer Bra, Novelty Bra, Nursing Bra, Padded Bra, Peephole Bra, Plunge Bra, Push-Up Bra, T-shirt-bra.
Racer Back Bra, Sheer Bra, Soft Cup Bra, Strapless Bra, Trainer Bra, Triangle Bra, Underwire Bra,
Vintage Bra,
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