While you're on your morning jog or hitting the gym, it's always great to put on a sports bra for the extra support. However, just like other inventions and clothing, sports bras went through multiple eras of modifications and improvements till the sports bras you see today were sold worldwide. Here is everything you need to know about the history and evolution of sports bras.

Women in Sports:

Women weren't always so profoundly integrated into sports. People once looked down upon it, and science believed that they were incapable of playing as a whole. In fact, they were allowed to run in marathons as late as 1972, and it wasn't until 1984 when they could surpass 400 meters. Women weren't encouraged to play, but things began to change once Title IX came forward. The bill prevented any discrimination of sexes when it came to sports. It was when women began racing into different sports regardless of what people thought.

The Need for Sports Bras:

printed sports bras don't just control bounce, but they prevent all of the medical concerns that arise from running in the wrong kind of bra. It caused breasts to hurt and caused chafing, backaches, and digging. It proved to be painful for sportswomen worldwide.

To prevent these issues, women began to alter their bras to feel more comfortable in the playing field. Some women used athletic tape to join their straps together like a crude racerback or placed it underneath the band and straps to prevent chafing. Women even began wearing bras that were too small which helped keep them in place, but the straps would often slide off the shoulders. An attempt at creating something similar to sports bras today was using a bathing suit over a bra. Some women even tried running without a bra, but that only resulted in men hooting and harassing. Women worked tirelessly to stay strapped in place, but nothing ever worked perfectly. The sports bra was an invention every woman in sports needed.

The Timeline of Sports Bras:

As the need arose, people began coming up with bras that could help support women. Thus, the history of sports bras began.

The Free Swing Tennis Bra: The first sports bra ever created was the free swing tennis bra from Glamourise. It was marketed directly to women who played sports. However, it was most suitable for women who cycled or played a sport with minimal movements like tennis or badminton. It wasn't entirely helpful for women who wanted to run marathons or play basketball. It wasn't quite beneficial, but it paved the way to better bras that came later. It had a wicking fabric and cushions in the shoulder straps to allow more ease for women and prevent chafing to a degree.

·    The Jogbra:

The revolutionized bras and became the best sports bra for sportswomen worldwide. Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Schreiber, and Polly Smith together came up with this idea. Smith rented the spare bedroom in Lindahl's and sewed different prototypes that Lindahl would try on and test with a run. However, nothing really worked because of the structural problems in the bras.

One day, they were spending some time at the kitchen table. Lindahl's then-husband came down with a jockstrap and put it on, calling it the "jockbra." Lindahl thought it was funny and decided to put it on as well, and that is when she realized it felt kind of right. It got them thinking. So, the following day, Schreiber bought a bunch of jockstraps and put them all together to make a bra. Lindahl once again put it on and went for a run and returned happy with the results. This was how the Jogbra was born. As expected, the Jogbra blew up, and women with A and B cups finally had a solution that helped them move around as much as they wanted with no issues.

·    The Enell Bra:

The Jogbra was great, but it didn't help women with larger breasts. So, people didn't stop trying to develop new and improved versions of the Jogbra. Renelle Braaten was one of these larger-chested women who had to layer sports bras and fix her breasts into place with Ace tape. She realized that something with minimal stretch wouldn't help women like her and created the Enell bra. They wanted to create something without that stretch as it could only ever be enough to get over your head but fail when it came to the chest. After constant complaints to her mother, a seamstress, Braaten's mother began looking around to accumulate random pieces of fabric that helped her. It lasted roughly two years and was designed specifically for those with a heavier chest.

The straps were wide to prevent digging into the shoulders and hold the weight of the breasts. There was structured back support as well that wasn't stretchy at all. The closure was at the front where one could hook it in place, and it stayed exactly how you wanted. There was no spillage from the armholes, and women would never have their breasts coming out of the bra.

Sports Bras Today:

Since the end of the World Cup, when Brandi Chastain took off her jersey to reveal her sports bra, women have felt more proud of their bras and bodies. Sports bras continued to improve with the same ideas and concepts as the original bras. There have been changes in hook placement, strap types, methods of closure, and so much more. However, the Jogbra and the Enell bra paved the way for women to finally have options to play sports without painful breasts.

Conclusion:

Bras have been around for centuries, but women in the sports industry were often left behind. The situation changed with the invention of the sports bra. Women could now run, jump, and play whatever sport they wanted without having the added pressure of chafing, no support, and immense pain.