A brassiere , commonly called a bra , is an undergarment for women . Its main purpose is to support their breasts , but is sometimes also used for sexual attraction in the form of lingerie . The bra is a nineteenth century invention which took off as a fashion garment in the 20th century.

Brassiere measurement [ change | change source ]

Brassiere measurement (also called bust size or bra size) refers to the size of bra a woman wears. Bra sizes were first introduced in the 1910s. The sizes vary from one manufacturer to another. Bra size systems are often used to label off-shelf bras and not custom-made bras.

The term cup , in relation to bras, began being used in 1916 when two patents were issued. Cup sizes are given in letters such as A, B, C, D, E, F and G the Further the letter is the bigger the bra needed so for example a C size bra is bigger than an A size bra. Bra sizes in most countries have a number and a letter (for example, 34B). The number comes from the measurement of the ribcage directly underneath the breasts. The letter is a measure of how much larger the breasts are than the ribcage. This is found by measuring the chest over the breasts (across the nipples ) and subtracting the ribcage measurement from the breast measurement, then finding the matching letter of the alphabet. For example, someone with a 3-inch difference between the breast measurement and the ribcage measurement would have a C-cup bra. However, this does not always work, since different manufacturers have differently-sized bras. Many women prefer to find a brand and size that works for them by trial and error .

Many Males and Females can find looking at bulging bras arousing.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brassieres .

This short article can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it .