Underwire bra - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An underwire bra is a brassiere

Brassiere

A brassiere is an undergarment that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. Since the late 19th century, it has replaced the corset as the most widely accepted method for supporting breasts....

with a wire

Wire

A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various...

built into the underside of the cup intended to lift, separate, shape, and provide additional support for a woman's breast

Breast

The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...

s. The underwire is a thin, semi-circular strip of rigid material such as metal or plastic fitted inside the cloth along the bottom and sides of the bra cup. There are many different brassiere designs

Brassiere designs

There are a great many brassiere designs that are suitable for a wide variety of business and social settings and suitable to wear with a variety of outer clothing. The bra's shape, coverage, functionality, fit, fashion, fabric, and colour can vary widely...

incorporating an underwire, such as shelf bras

Cupless bra

A cupless bra, sometimes known as a shelf, open tip, open nipple or open cup bra, is a brassiere design composed of a rigid, under-wired frame along the inframammary line, that supports or lifts a woman's breasts, without enclosing the breast in a bra cup....

, demi bras

Brassiere designs

, nursing bra

Nursing bra

A nursing bra is a specialized brassiere that provides additional support to women's milk-filled breasts and permits comfortable breastfeeding without the need to remove the bra. This is accomplished by specially designed bra cups that include flaps which can be opened with one hand to expose the...

s, and bras built into other articles of clothing, such as t-shirts, dresses and swimsuits. An 1893 patent describes the predecessor to the underwire bra—a breast supporting device using a rigid plate under the breasts for stability. The modern underwire bra was designed in the 1930s, and had gained widespread popularity by the 1950s. As of 2005, underwire bras were the largest and fastest growing segment of the bra market. A bra without an underwire is a softcup bra.

Several health conditions have been associated with the use of an underwire bra, such as breast pain, breast infection during lactation

Lactation

Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process occurs in all female mammals, however it predates mammals. In humans the process of feeding milk is called breastfeeding or nursing...

, and allergic reactions to the metal underwire. Claims that breast cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

is linked to using underwire bras are not supported by scientific research.

Wearing an underwire bra can cause inconvenience and extra scrutiny at security checkpoints and metal detector

Metal detector

A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...

s in airports and prisons, often subjecting the wearer to special inspection procedures, including removal of the underwire or bra entirely, to verify that there is no weapon hidden in the undergarment

Undergarment

Undergarments or underwear are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by bodily secretions and discharges, shape the body, and provide support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional...

. The underwire of a bra has played a part in various accidents and attacks. There have been incidents where the underwire deflected a bullet or other weapon aimed at the chest.

History

The precursor to the underwire bra can be traced back to at least 1893, when New Yorker

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

Marie Tucek was granted a patent for a "breast supporter". The breast supporter was described as a modification of the corset

Corset

A corset is a garment worn to hold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes...

, and was very similar to a modern push-up bra designed to support the breasts. It consisted of a plate made of metal, cardboard, or other stiff material, shaped to fit against the torso under the breasts, following the contour of the breasts. It was covered with silk, canvas, or other cloth, which extended above the plate to form a pocket for each breast. The plate curved around the torso and ended near the armpits, held in place and adjusted to a snug fit by shoulder straps that crossed the back, forming an X-shape. It was secured with hook-and-eye closure

Hook-and-eye closure

A hook-and-eye closure is a very simple and secure method of fastening garments together. It consists of a metal hook, commonly made of flattened wire bent to the required shape, and a eye of the same material into which the hook fits....

s.

The underwire bra design emerged and took hold in the United States starting in the 1930s. Helene Pons received a patent in 1931 for a brassiere design that incorporated an "open-ended wire loop" that laid flat against the chest, encircling the bottom and sides of each breast.
A 1932 patent describes a U-shaped piece of wire used between the cups to keep the breasts separated.
A patent issued in 1938 to Pauline Boris describes a "breast support" which used pieces of wire to entirely encircle each breast.
In 1940, Walter Emmett Williams was issued a patent which described a wire framework, shaped like a spiderweb, that encircles and covers each breast to provide support.
Although development of the underwire bra started in the 1930s,
it did not gain widespread popularity until the 1950s, when the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

freed metal for domestic use.

In the 1940s, Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...

designed a type of underwired push-up bra for use by Jane Russell

Jane Russell

Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....

in The Outlaw
The Outlaw
The Outlaw is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jane Russell. The supporting cast includes Jack Buetel, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director...

. According to Russell, the "ridiculous" contraption was painful and she did not use it for more than a few minutes. The invention is now in a museum in Hollywood.

With the popularity and widespread use of the underwire bra that started during the 1950s, the underwire was incorporated into many bra designs, and underwire bras were built into other articles of clothing. By 1990, Norma Kamali had incorporated underwire bras into both one- and two-piece (bikini

Bikini

The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...

) swimsuit

Swimsuit

A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...

s.
Scott Lucretia was granted a patent for a camisole

Camisole

A camisole is a sleeveless undergarment for women, normally extending to the waist. The camisole is usually made of satin, nylon, or cotton.- Historical definition :...

with an integrated underwire bra in 1989.

Underwire bras accounted for 60% of the United Kingdom bra market in 2000
and 70% in 2005.
In 2001, 500 million bras were sold in the United States, of which approximately 70% (350 million) were underwire bras.
As of 2005, underwire bras were the fastest growing segment of the market.

Underwire

Underwire bras are built with a semi-circular "underwire", "bra wire", or "wire" embedded in the wire channel that circles the bottom and sides of each cup. One end, or head element, of the underwire is close to the front and center of the bra, and the other close to the armhole. The underwire can be made of metal or molded plastic; most are metallic. Plastic underwires have a "tiny" share of the market because they do not provide the same support and rigidity offered by metal underwires. A metallic underwire is a thin strip of metal, usually with a nylon coating at both ends.
Metals used include steel
and nickel titanium

Nickel titanium

Nickel titanium, also known as nitinol, is a metal alloy of nickel and titanium, where the two elements are present in roughly equal atomic percentages....

, a shape memory alloy

Shape memory alloy

A shape-memory alloy is an alloy that "remembers" its original, cold-forged shape: returning the pre-deformed shape by heating. This material is a lightweight, solid-state alternative to conventional actuators such as hydraulic, pneumatic, and motor-based systems...

.

Due to the presence of the underwire and its tendency to tear through cloth, underwire bras are often hand-washed or machine-washed on delicate cycle. Bra wash bags, usually zippered mesh pouches, can also be used to protect bras and prevent the underwire from separating from the bra during machine washing.

In 2002, New York company Industries—which supplies underwires for bra makers such as Bali

Bali (lingerie)

Bali is a lingerie company operating in the United States of America.Bali began in 1927 with Sara Stein as Fay-Miss. In 1935 the company changed its name to Bali Brassiere Company. Bali merged with Hanes Corporation in 1969. Hanes was then sold to Chicago based Consolidated Foods Company, which...

, Playtex

Playtex

Playtex and PlayTex are a brand and trademark. It used to be associated with bras and women's undergarments. Currently there are two separate companies with the Playtex name....

, Vanity Fair, Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...

, and Warner's—was issued a patent for a new bra underwire design created by Ajit Thakur and Joseph Horta. The design consists of a regular curved underwire with a spring-loaded plastic cushion tip on one or both ends. The spring allows the tip to move in or out, thus permitting the underwire to effectively become shorter or longer when in position in the garment. This design helps keep the wire from poking through the fabric of the bra, even under the wear and tear of use and repeated washings.

In 2008, Scott Dutton of Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

invented the "Bra Angel", a simple device to fix a bra when the underwire pops out of its channel. It is a barbed plastic cap that fits onto the end of the underwire, which is then inserted back into the bra and held in place by the barbs, it is like a rawl plug for a bra. The device won the gold award for invention of the year and the double gold award for consumer product at the British Invention Show in 2008. The product has since gone on to win a further award in Barcelona Spain at the ATTIC 09 show where it was the only product to win an award from Britain, the award was for most consumer-based product. The Bra Angel recently appeared on the hit show Dragons Den on the BBC2 when Theo Pathitas said, "I was just giving it a good old tug" and I couldn't get it out, thereby endorsing the product, this no doubt helped as the company received sales in excess of 12,000 units following the show. The product is also one of the first to be available by text message, Scott Dutton sales manager for Bra Angel said "we could see the potential in using current technology to sell the product, and we have made it possible for woman to buy this fantastic product at their own convenience at the same cost as buying online but by text" The Bra Angel underwire bra repair kit is the first of its kind in the world and has patent and trade mark protection.

Health

Underwire bras can rub and pinch

Pinch (action)

A pinch is a grip of a flexible object in which a portion is taken between two fingers, until it hurts, or something of resemblance and squeezed so the gripped portion of the object is lifted from its normal level...

the breast, causing skin irritation and breast pain,
and the wire of a worn bra can protrude from the fabric and scrape or cut the skin. The metal underwire of a bra can come in contact with the skin when the wire is exposed due to worn fabric or when moisture from perspiration serves as a point of contact between the underwire and the skin. This can cause skin irritation, possibly due to an allergic reaction with the nickel or other metals used to make underwires.

Underwire bras, like other constrictive garments, may contribute to clogged milk ducts in lactating

Lactation

women.
Fluctuating breast size during pregnancy poses another problem. Because underwire bras are rigid, they do not easily accommodate changes in breast size, and an ill-fitting bra that does not support the breasts correctly can cause discomfort and pain.

Although there is no scientific research that proves bras cause cancer, the authors of the book Dressed to Kill
Dressed to Kill (book)
Dressed to Kill is a book by Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer that proposes a link between bras and breast cancer. According to the authors, the restrictive nature of a brassiere inhibits the lymphatic system...

claim there may be a link between bras and breast cancer

Breast cancer

cause by reduced lymph gland circulation or possibly other means.
But experts, including the National Cancer Institute

National Cancer Institute

The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...

,
affirm that there are no medical studies or other data that support a connection between usage of an underwire bra and breast cancer.

For several days after a mastectomy

Mastectomy

Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. Mastectomy is usually done to treat breast cancer; in some cases, women and some men believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operation prophylactically, that is, to prevent cancer...

, or as long as the breast is tender, a woman is advised not to use an underwire bra. Using an automated external defibrillator

Automated external defibrillator

An automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of...

(AED) on a patient who is wearing a bra with metal underwires can result in burns, and the bra should be removed before applying the AED.
In their 2007 season, the television program MythBusters

MythBusters

MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...

tested the possibility of burns resulting from using a defibrillator on a patient who is using an underwire bra, and concluded that while it is possible, it is not likely unless the metal underwire is exposed and paddles of the defibrillator are very close to it.
Acupuncturists oppose underwire bras in the belief that the metal wires cross the body's meridians

Meridian (Chinese medicine)

The meridian is a path through which the life-energy known as "qi" is believed to flow, in traditional Chinese medicine. There is no physically verifiable anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians.- Main concepts :...

, obstructing the flow of energy or qi

In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...

.
It is also considered dangerous to wear underwired bras in the Tropics, specifically East Africa due to cases of severe furuncular myiasis of the breast caused by the Tumbu fly

Cordylobia anthropophaga

Cordylobia anthropophaga, the mango fly, tumbu fly, tumba fly, putzi fly or skin maggot fly is a species of blow-fly common in East and Central Africa. It is a parasite of large mammals during its larval stage .C...

. The eggs and larvae from this fly are deposited in clothing, especially along the length of the metal wires of an underwire bra and can only be rendered inactive by thorough ironing. It is almost impossible when ironing a traditional underwire bra to achieve the required heat for inactivation along the wired section.

Security checkpoints

Underwire bras can inconvenience the wearer when sensitive metal detector

Metal detector

s pick up the metal in the bra and sound an alarm. Some correctional facilities, such as San Quentin State Prison

San Quentin State Prison

San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...

, require visitors to either cut their bras and remove the underwire, or temporarily use a soft cup bra provided by the institution before being granted entry. The result can be embarrassment and consternation for unsuspecting visitors.
Other facilities require women to remove their underwire bras in a bathroom, pass through the metal detector, and return to the bathroom to put their bras back on.

Underwire bras may also set off metal detectors at airport security checkpoints, causing passengers to be subjected to a more stringent inspection. Film maker Nancy Kates

Nancy Kates

Nancy Kates is an independent filmmaker based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently in production on Regarding Susan Sontag, a feature documentary about the late essayist, novelist, director and activist...

claims that she was "forced to strip off her bra and walk through airport security without support" when the underwires in her bra set off a metal detector.
The Transportation Security Administration

Transportation Security Administration

The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....

(TSA) in the United States recommends that women not wear underwire bras when traveling by air. In response, there has been an effort to design airport-friendly underwear, including underwire bras that will not trigger a metal detector's alarm.
In 2001, Triumph International

Triumph International

Triumph International is an international underwear manufacturer. Founded in Heubach, Württemberg, Germany 1886 by the two families Spiesshofer & Braun. The first foreign subsidiary was established in Zurzach, Switzerland which...

revealed the "Frequent Flyer Bra", a bra made with resin

Resin

Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...

underwires designed to pass through metal detectors without setting off the alarm.

In June 2010, security procedures at the Federal Detention Center at Miami, Florida

Federal Detention Center, Miami

Federal Detention Center, Miami is a prison operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It is located east of Miami International Airport at the corner of NE. 4th Street and N. Miami Avenue...

prevented attorney Brittney Horstman from meeting a client when her underwire bra set off a metal detector. After returning from a bathroom without the item, she was turned away because of the facility's dress code.

Accidents and attacks

There have been several cases where the underwire from a bra has helped deflect bullets or other objects, saving the wearer's life.
In 1996, the underwire of a girl's bra helped save her life when she was impaled on a railing and, according to hospital personnel, the underwire from her bra probably helped deflect the spike from her heart.
There have been multiple incidents where bullets were deflected by the underwire of a woman's bra, either keeping her entirely from harm, or directing the bullet away from the heart to another part of the body.
One such incident occurred in 2004 when a stray bullet shot by a member of the Ghetto Boys

Ghetto Boys

The Ghetto Boys are a street gang based in New Cross Lewisham and Deptford, South London. The gang was formed on the Woodpecker Estate and its members are primarily of Black British origin. Most of the members hail from the London Borough of Lewisham...

hit the narrow metal wire in Helen Kelly's bra and was deflected away from her heart.
In 2008, a robbery victim was saved from being stabbed in the chest when the attacker's knife was caught and deflected by the underwire of her bra.

History

Underwire

Health

Security checkpoints

Accidents and attacks

See also