fashion- 1905 – 1906
In the Edwardian age – the first decades of 1900s – dresses became more informal. The colourful Oriental costumes and the theatrical designs paved the way (aprirono la strada) for more relaxed dressing.The revolution started from the underwear: one out of all the introduction of the bra (reggiseno). The first patented bra appeared in 1914 by the American Mary Phelps Jacobs, but a bodice (corpetto) designed separately from the corset had become usual by 1905Several designers – Paul Poiret, Lucille and Vionnet – said they had invented the bra and suggested their clients to abandon their corsets.
The story tells that Mary Jacob had just bought an evening dress for one of her social night out. She put on the usual corset made with whaleback bones (stecche dibalena), but soon she saw that the whalebones were quite visible under the dress. So she used two silk handkerchiefs (fazzoletti) , linked them together and designed the first alternative to the corset.