Wonderbra

Wonderbra

A Canadian Wonderbra branded plunge, push-up bra c. 1975
Type	Push-up bra style from lingerie brand
Introduced	1935 (brand origin)

The Wonderbra is a type of push-up underwire brassiere that gained worldwide prominence in the 1990s. Although the Wonderbra name was first trademarked in the U.S. in 1955, the brand was developed in Canada. Moses (Moe) Nadler, founder and majority owner of the Canadian Lady Corset Company, licensed the trademark for the Canadian market in 1939. By the 1960s the Canadian Lady brand had become known in Canada as "Wonderbra, the company." In 1961 the company introduced the Model 1300 plunge push-up bra. This bra became one of the best-selling Canadian styles and is virtually identical to today's Wonderbra.

In 1968, Canadian Lady changed its name to Canadian Lady-Canadelle Inc., was sold to Consolidated Foods (now Sara Lee Corporation), and later became Canadelle Inc. During the 1970s Wonderbra was repositioned as the company's fashionable and sexy brand, and became the Canadian market leader.

In 1991, the push-up Wonderbra became a sensation in the UK, although it had been sold there since 1964 under license by the Gossard division of Courtaulds Textiles. Sara Lee Corporation did not renew Gossard's license and redesigned the push-up style for the reintroduction of the Wonderbra to the U.S. market in 1994.

Since 1994, the Wonderbra has expanded from the single push-up design into a full-range lingerie fashion label in most of the world. In most countries, the brand emphasizes sex-appeal. In its native Canada, however, the brand promotes the functional qualities of its products—a departure from the strategy that made Wonderbra the top-seller in the 1970s.

Before the Second World War broke out, elastic materials were rationed and unavailable for clothing. Israel Pilot designed an improved cup with a diagonal slash, shoulder strap attachment. This innovation on existing bra design provided more comfort and freedom of movement for the wearer. He also coined the name "Wonder-Bra" in 1935.

Israel Pilot's patent US 2245413 , granted in 1941, allowed for greater shoulder strap elasticity by cutting the fabric so that the weave has the greatest stretch (cutting on the "bias"). The photographs show the original patent sketches and close-ups of a bra made in the U.S. by D'Amour. The model is wearing a rare 1950s version of this original Wonder-Bra design.