About Bra Foundation

Not a charity — a play on words

Bra Foundation is not a charity, trust or foundation, and we don’t raise money. The name is a nod to “foundation garments”, the old trade name for corsets, girdles and bras. We are an independent history and shopping guide, written and run in the UK.

What we do

The history: an illustrated timeline and eight chapters, from Roman breast bands to sports bras.
Then and now: how materials, fastenings, sizing, support, comfort, fit and care have changed.
Guides: bra types, measuring and fit, care, sports bras, pregnancy and nursing, and bras after surgery.
The shop: a small edit of current bras with links to retailers.

How we research

Dates, names and patents come from sources we have read: museum collection records (especially the V&A, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rijksmuseum), patent records, archives such as the Smithsonian’s, curated museum exhibitions, and reputable histories. Health information comes from the NHS, Breast Cancer Now and peer-reviewed research. Each page lists its sources.

Where historians disagree — about who “invented” the bra, or who introduced cup sizes — we say so and attribute each claim rather than picking a winner. If something can’t be checked, we leave it out.

Pictures

Historic images are public-domain or openly licensed museum photographs, patent drawings, advertisements and fashion plates, credited beside each picture and on our photo credits page. Product illustrations are our own drawings of each style — never photographs of a particular product.

How the site is funded

Some links to shops are affiliate links: if you buy, the retailer may pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. That never changes what we write about history or fit. Read our affiliate disclosure.

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