The Company That Bought the Bra Patent for $1,500
Before the Bra: The Corset Empire (1874)
The Warner Brothers Company (no relation to the film studio) was founded in 1874 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, by Lucien and DeVer Warner as a manufacturer of health corsets. The brothers believed that the prevailing corset designs of the Victorian era were harmful to women's health, and they set out to create better-engineered alternatives.
Their corsets were commercially successful, but Warner's place in lingerie history would be secured by a $1,500 check written in 1914.
Mary Phelps Jacob's $1,500 Patent (1914)
In 1910, a young New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob (later known as Caresse Crosby) fashioned a makeshift brassiere from two handkerchiefs and a length of ribbon. She was dressing for a debutante ball and found that her rigid corset showed through her sheer evening gown. The improvised garment worked perfectly.
Jacob patented her "Backless Brassiere" in 1914 — U.S. Patent No. 1,115,674. She briefly manufactured the garments under the brand "Caresse Crosby" but quickly tired of the business. When Warner's offered her $1,500 for the patent, she accepted.
That $1,500 patent would generate an estimated $15 million in revenue for Warner's over the following 30 years — a return on investment of roughly 10,000x. It is considered one of the most lopsided business deals in American history.
The A-B-C-D Cup Sizing System (1935)
Warner's second transformative contribution came in 1935, when the company introduced the alphabetical cup sizing system — A, B, C, and D cups. Before this innovation, bras were sized only by band measurement (the circumference of the rib cage), with no differentiation for bust volume.
The system was revolutionary in its simplicity. For the first time, a woman could walk into a store and ask for a specific size that accounted for both her frame and her bust. The A-B-C-D system became the global standard and remains the foundation of bra sizing worldwide — nearly 90 years later.
Innovation and Evolution
Warner's continued to innovate throughout the 20th century. The company introduced stretch-strap bras, the first front-closure designs, and contributed to the development of synthetic fibers in intimate apparel. The "No Side Effects" campaign highlighted bras designed to eliminate underarm bulge — addressing a common fit problem with characteristic practicality.
Corporate History
Warner's merged with Warnaco in 1968 and has passed through various corporate owners since, including PVH Corp. The brand operates today as a value-oriented line, far from its origins as a health-conscious corset innovator.
Legacy
Warner's legacy lives in two innovations that shaped the entire industry: the commercialization of the bra patent (proving the garment had mass-market potential) and the cup sizing system that gave women a universal language for fit. Every time a woman states her bra size as "34C" or "36B," she is using a system Warner's invented in 1935.
