Fine lingerie against Hitler

World War II

A bra company supported the Allied war effort

Domingo Marchena

Sounds like a joke: A bra company was a supporter of the Allied war effort against Hitler. But it is neither an anecdote nor a play on words, but an interesting chapter and now half-forgotten by the weight of the events of that whirlwind called World War II. Almost no one remembers the belligerent past of the American company MaidenForm (literally, maiden form) anymore.

Panties, bras, girdles... The advertising for this lingerie brand boasted a few years ago that its bras were "specifically designed to provide the ideal support, the cups have a built-in leotard and a fine plush-covered wire" . The “reducing” garments, for their part, were “designed so that they are practically imperceptible under clothes and so that wearing them is a pleasure”.

The firm is still active today and in very good health. One of her early slogans read: “Every maiden has her figure. Even if it's a pigeon!" It was not a metaphor. During World War II, he worked for the war industry and manufactured thousands of parachutes, as well as some very special corsets. They were vests to protect jumping pigeons attached to the chest of paratroopers.

The dove who fought in two world wars

Convinced that dresses fit better with an enhanced bust, the two women included two cups joined with an elastic piece in their creations. It was a revolution for corsetry. The countdown began to the androgynous women of the Roaring Twenties and to the bands around the torso that flattened the breasts. The dictatorship of fashion would soon impose another much more curvaceous image.

Of course, there were other ancestors of bras. Enid Manufacturing's was not born as an independent garment, but as an addition to her dresses. But the success exceeded all expectations. More and more clients wanted additional pieces. Enid Bissett and Ida Rosenthal (née Kaganovich) initially channeled the lawsuits by giving away an extra bra with every model sold.

In the end, Enid Bissett and Ida Rosenthal surrendered to the evidence: what was born as a complement already monopolized the entire production. In 1929, they closed the store, bought larger premises, and renamed the brand, which became Maiden Form Brassière Company (today Maidenform). Soon after, Mrs. Bissett retired, leaving her former employee at the helm with the help of her husband, William Rosenthal.

“I dreamed that...”

A 20-year ad

The Variation was to underwear what the Ford T was to automotive: a popular product and an unprecedented sales success. MaidenForm sold more than a million of these bras, for a dollar each. Years later, between 1949 and 1969, the company launched an advertising campaign with models showing their underwear with reflections and unusual situations. The campaign was called I Dreamed (“I dreamed that…”) and marked a before and after in lingerie marketing.

MaidenForm was the first underwear brand to go outside. Their advertisements appeared in newspapers, magazines, streetcars, billboards, and radio stations. A firm defender of advertising, the Rosenthals patented a model with adjustable straps, which once adjusted remained fixed. It is the same system today. That was in 1942. But the Maiden Form Brassière Co. had entered history long before that.

On December 22, 1944, the Rosenthals agreed to manufacture 28,500 carrier pigeon vests for the United States government, joining the war effort to which many companies contributed. Some are well-known, such as General Motors, Chevrolet or Ford. The MaidenForm case has not had as much repercussion, although the war "was not won only with steel, also with silk and nylon."

The quote is from Lindsay Keating of the United States Museum of History (NMAH), responsible for a study that recalls the contribution of this bra company to World War II. The NMAH keeps blueprints of vests designed for pigeons in its archives. The instructions specified that the birds could not remain retained "more than six hours."

The harness was made of porous and adaptable materials, with a reinforcement at the bottom so that the nails of the pigeons would not damage the meshes. The piece, which the soldiers adjusted to the chest with a strap, left the head, neck, wingtips, tail and legs of the birds visible. The design was a notable improvement on that of the British Army, which also dropped pigeon paratroopers into Europe, but they were in boxes.

The nylon and silk were requisitioned by the government when the United States entered the war in 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Although focused on military orders, with the making of parachutes and harnesses we've seen, MaidenForm has never let go of its raison d'etre. Although with other fabrics and fabrics, she continued to produce bras for the members of the Women's Army Corps.

The United States trained 56,000 pigeons in World War II. That figure was far surpassed by Great Britain. They flew at an average of 80 kilometers per hour and some specimens traveled up to 3,000 kilometers. They saved many lives. G.I. Joe, of the US Army Pigeon Service or Signal Pigeon Corps, allowed an mistakenly planned bombardment of an area occupied by British forces to be canceled in time.

Paratroopers and pigeons with MaidenForm products were dropped in Europe during the last blows against Nazism. The company's sales plummeted, but recovered with the peace. Between 1949 and 1978, the company sold some 90 million Chansonette models, its flagship product, in 100 countries. Its users never imagined who verified before them the delicacy and versatility of the genre.

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