(in march 2021, npd reported while u.s. sales of men’s undergarments only expanded two per cent, the lion’s share of those sales were in the boxer and boxer briefs category, so it’s safe to say we’re all straining for comfort.)
remember heading into retail dressing rooms with an armful of knocker lockers, wearing a specific t-shirt or blouse under which we needed our breasts to behave a certain way? women’s clothes are largely designed for a silhouette that many of us will never achieve anyway. we’ve been marketed into believing it’s that shape or bust.
the man (of course) behind brassieres in canada was montrealer moe nadler, whose sewing shop, the canadian lady corset company, was rebranded as wonderbra in the 1950s. in 1964, a montreal designer working for wonderbra — louise poirier — created what is considered the world’s first pushup bra: the dream lift model 1300.
they had the breast of intentions. they freed womankind from the girdle and put an extra layer of fashion in her hands. if some of us have a complicated relationship with bras, if some of us have had it with trying to mush our tatas into a pre-pregnancy shape, if some of us would rather #freethenipple, that’s okay, too.
it’s our mother’s day gift to ourselves.