An uplifting tale...
About a century before 'freedom-fries'
two handkerchiefs became just the job
and ladies threw off their bonds and ties
all thanks to one Mary Phelps Jacob
With the days of whalebone at an end
and cantilevered creations too felt scorn
came the advent of a girls' best friend
and the age of the brassier was born
100 years of the bra - a girl's best friend
"...Next month, we celebrate the centenary of the moment that Mary Phelps Jacob put on a new sheer gown and discovered that it didn't flow properly over the stiff bones of her corset. So, with the help of her maid Marie, she rustled up two silk handkerchiefs and a length of ribbon and sewed them together to create a lightweight garment with shoulder straps that created a graceful "monobosom". In this eureka moment, the modern bra was born. She liberated women from being strait-laced, and gave men a great deal of pleasure in the process..."
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG10357764/100-years-of-the-bra-a-girls-best-friend.html 