ALL ABOUT BRAS - Including the Largest 1222B Size

The World's Largest Bra (Size 1222B)

Unveiled in London

By Life's Little Mysteries / http://ca.news.yahoo.com/

If there are more car accidents than usual along London's Thames River this month, motorists have a good excuse for being distracted: The world's largest bra hangs from a nearby skyscraper.

Guinness World Records has officially recognized the bright pink bra, which hangs from the ITV Southbank building and was unveiled on Oct. 28, as the world's largest

The bra took four weeks to stitch up, and is made from about four football fields worth of lightweight spinnaker nylon. The fabric weighs about 165 pounds (75 kg), and with the metal fasteners it comes to 198 pounds (90 kg).

And, because you're surely wondering, it measures 27 meters (88.5 feet) under the bust and 31 meters (101.7 feet) around the bust. Technically, it's a 1222B, but if reduced to human proportions, it would be a size 34B.

The bra was part of Britain's Breast Cancer Campaign's annual "Wear It Pink" fundraiser day. Last year's event raised about $4 million to help fund cutting-edge breast cancer research.

Who Invented the Push-Up Bra?

By Corey Binns, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor

We have a World War II veteran to thank for the push-up bra’s popularity. Support systems for breasts first became a regular item in women’s wardrobes in 1907. But the world had to wait for the push-up until Frederick Mellinger was inspired by his fellow army men to engineer a sexier bra.

Mellinger followed his war buddies’ advice, and designed pieces they said their girlfriends would prefer over the available options at the time, according to his obituary in the New York Times. He returned home from the War and, in 1946, opened up a lingerie business, the now infamous Fredrick’s of Hollywood.

In 1948, Mellinger introduced the world to its first push-up and called it, appropriately, the "Rising Star."

Although he is widely credited as the inventor of the push-up bra, Mellinger recently ran into some competition for the title. A white padded brassiere made in 1880 was uncovered in the collections of London’s Science Museum.

This bra – which may be the oldest push-up bra – was made out of two round pads attached by a wide piece of fabric, and decorated with lace and feathers.

Over the years, the uplifting undergarment has become a well-appreciated invention. The push-up bra is one of the 100 most important inventions of all time, according to a survey of British adults conducted by Tesco Mobile. The bra came in at No. 77 on the list. The wheel was No. 1.

What's the Average American Woman's Bust Size?

By Jeanna Bryner

In the last 15 years, the average bust size has increased from 34B to 36C. Whether the lift is due to breast augmentation surgeries or a side-effect of expanding waistlines is not known.

Either way, from slinky to full-coverage undergarments, bras have graced the bodies of women since the 1800s. But modern bra sizing didn't come into fashion until 1928.

As if measured and weighed for a delectable recipe, breasts are sized in cups, with the following conversions:

A cup—8 fluid ounces (238 milliliters)
B cup—13 ounces (385 milliliters)
C cup—21 ounces (621 milliliters)
D cup—27 ounces (800 milliliters)

Bras must support a pair of breasts that can weigh just over a half pound (0.3 kilograms) to a whopping 20 pounds (9 kilograms).

Here are some other facts about one of your most intimate pieces of apparel, according to "Secret History of the Bra," which will air on National Geographic Channel starting Sept. 28:

• A single bra weighs about 1.6 ounces (45 grams) and contains more than 40 components.
• Caterpillar spit, dirt, crude oil and molten metal are several of the ingredients in a bra.
• More than 4 million new bras are created on average every day.
• Consumers spend around $16 billion a year on bras.
• Each woman owns an average of about six bras.

Average breast size breakdown

According to the information we have available, here's how average breast size in America breaks down:

• AA cup: 2%
• A cup: 15%
• B cup: 44%
• C cup: 28%
• D cup: 10%
• DD cup: 1%

So the average breast size is something of a Bell curve, with B cup right in the middle. Barely one quarter of women have the coveted C cup (considered by many to be the perfect breast size). Many men are attracted to women with D cup breasts. Rumor has it that many adult film studios refuse to even consider a potential actress unless she has a minimum of C cup breasts -- and pay more for actresses with D or larger breasts!

Bras Don't Support Bouncing Breasts, Study Finds

By Jeanna Bryner

Whether women are said to be flat-chested or big-busted, ordinary bras fall short when it comes to supporting bouncing breasts, a new study claims.

And during exercise, women's breasts bounce more than previously estimated, moving a vertical distance of up to around eight inches (21 centimeters) compared with a past maximum measurement of six inches (16 centimeters).

The bouncing, in some cases with breasts weighing 20 pounds or more, can prove painful and damaging to the limited natural support system.

Bra basics

Typically, bras are designed to minimize up-and-down motion and not the other two dimensions of breast movement found in Scurr's study.

For all cup sizes, the so-called encapsulation bras in which each cup is separately molded provided the most support, beating out the compression bras, which limit only the up-and-down motion. The encapsulation bras limit some of the movement in the other directions as well.

In A-cup women, wearing a sports bra reduced overall breast movement by 53 percent, compared with a 55-percent reduction for G-cup women.

Smart support

A pair of D-cup breasts weighs about 15 to 23 pounds (7 to 10 kilograms).

But breasts have little natural support, Scurr says, although ligaments and the skin are thought to do most or all of the work. Breasts are made up of fat, milk ducts and connective tissues, such as collagen, ligaments and blood vessels. The momentum created by intense bouncing can stretch the breast's connective tissues, causing sagging and pain for many women.

An estimated 50 percent of women experience breast pain during exercise, Scurr claims.

Without appropriate bra support, some women abandon active sports due to breast pain, Scurr said.

"There really are women who want to do exercise but who don’t have the bras to cope," Scurr said. "I know of a 16-year-old who was selected to play basketball for the county, but she was told to give it up because she couldn’t find a bra that made playing possible."

Support of the bosom by a bodice (French: brassière). 1900

History of brassieres

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The history of brassieres is inextricably intertwined with the social history of the status of women, including the evolution of fashion and changing views of the body.
Straps on the bra can be adjusted to fit the shoulder of the woman wearing it. Girls typically start wearing bras at ages 10–13. Women have used a variety of garments and devices to cover, restrain, or modify the display of breasts. From the 16th century onwards, the undergarments of wealthier women were dominated by the corset, which pushed the breasts upwards. In the latter part of the 19th century, various alternatives were experimented with, splitting the corset into a girdle-like restraining device for the lower torso, and transferring the upper part to devices suspended from the shoulder.
Since the late 19th century, the bra has replaced the corset as the most widely accepted method for supporting breasts. By the early 20th century, garments more closely resembling contemporary bras had emerged, although large-scale commercial production did not occur till the 1930s. Since then bras have replaced corsets (although some women prefer camisoles) and a minority go without. Brassieres are a multi-billion-dollar industry dominated by large multinational corporations. During the 20th century, the emphasis on brassiere usage has shifted from functionality to fashion.