A brief history of the bra

A 'St Michael' bra, by Marks and Spencer. Donated by Lorraine Smith to the LCF Archives.

I was recently invited by artist Rosalie Schweiker to give a talk to her bra research group, as part of an ongoing project to start a bra shop for large cup and plus sizes which "thrives on cheap humour, not overpriced sexism". Here is a summary of what I covered in my talk. It's a... Continue Reading →

September 18, 2015 92

Did women actually burn their bras?

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking to the fantastic Helen Zaltzman for her new podcast about language called The Allusionist. As Helen was discussing the etymology of the word bra in the second episode, she wanted to speak to someone about the history of the garment and Amber Butchart very kindly pointed her in... Continue Reading →

January 14, 2015 1

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