Well, ladies, you’ve asked…and we’ll let you in on the “secret”.  How exactly does the UpBra work?  Inside the cup is a solid fabric-covered form that conforms to the shape of the cup.  Already, you’re rounded, even before you’re lifted.  There’s a mechanism on the strap that lifts the form inside the cup, lifting your breast  up, creating fullness.  The forms are angled so that the lift is directed into the cleavage zone, so you get fuller cleavage in addition to lift.  What’s amazing is that the bra stays in the same place during all this lifting. And yes, Julie, it stays secure.

Even before the forms were covered with fabric, the prototype was tested for 8 hours, and our testers never felt them or perspired.  Did I mention how comfortable this bra is? You’d never believe it - with all that’s going on.  Stay tuned, more “How It Works” videos on the way.

Kids in school are encouraged, bribed and sometimes threatened (!) to turn those C’s on their report cards into A’s. Am I right? Here at UpBra, we want you to turn your A’s into C’s! But we’re referring to your bra cup size, not your grades.

As our testing progresses, one of the most exciting things we’re seeing is the transformation right before our eyes of an A cup breast into a voluptuous C cup. The UpBra was originally intended for B cups through to D cups but one of our testers is an A cup.  We thought the UpBra wouldn’t really work for her. As she put it…” is there really enough on my chest to lift?”

We held our breath and waited while she tried it on. While there was not doubt whatsoover that she looked better in the UpBra than in her regular bra,  I wasn’t quite convinced we couldn’t do better. So I took a set of  “cookies” which go into the padded bras and put them into place. Just that tiniest bit of padding made her breasts look WAY larger. She could not believe her eyes. When she put on her t-shirt, she was estatic with the transformation. We were pleasantly surprised too.

We had to pull her away from the mirror in order to close up the shop!

Cindy

This week at UpBra has been particularly exciting. Why? We just finished some beta testing with women who wore the UpBra for a week, then let us know their honest comments. I just couldn’t wait to let you know the results too! It’s all good!

Our UpBra testers were between the ages of 38 and 50 and they were skeptical to begin with. After pregnancies, weight gain and loss, and just plain ol’ gravity taking its toll, they certainly did not think anything short of surgery was going to lift their breasts and give them that mounding we associate with much younger women. Boy, were they surprised.

The most common comment when the testers raised the slide was “WOW!” Every tester could see a remarkable difference before and after. One of our testers consented to having some gal-pals (and me) there for the initial try-on and they were shocked at how much lift they saw in the UpBra!

One lady gave her UpBra the ultimate test of holding power, and she bent over to touch her toes. The UpBra held her in the lifted position even when she bent over, without her breasts falling out of place.

We sent them all home to continue wearing the UpBra for a week, and to launder it and make sure everything is good to go to the public.

The only negative comment we heard was from my assistant who was upset that the UpBra wasn’t available yet in HER size. 

Cheers to all!

Cindy

The factory where the UpBra is being manufactured is in a beautiful scenic area, about 30 minutes from the US/Canada border. Inside is a warm, family atmosphere.  Some of the crew have been working on bras for 25 years, and the newest team members come with 10 years of bra experience! Everyone there has been hand picked and you can see that they all truly enjoy what they’re doing.

Did you know the UpBra has been six years in the making? Everyone has had a chance to give their best ideas into the design of the bra and so far it has been 6 long, painstaking years creating this fabulous piece of lingerie. Our design team has been working with models, moms, women of all shapes and sizes in order to give us the look we crave.  The design team has interviewed women to hear our likes and dislikes, our wishlists, how we’d like to see ourselves.

We all expeted this bra to lift and enhance cleavage. But we never expected it would turn out working so well and looking so pretty. It’s better than anything I’ve seen on the market.

I was lucky enough to wear all the UpBras along the way until our prototype was created. We’ll go to production in a couple weeks with the “road-test”. If anyone out there is interested in trying out the UpBra, please email me at cindy@upbra.com. We’d love to hear from you and welcome your feedback. Our first go-round will be sizes 32D, 34C and 36B.

1914-1918: The outbreak of World War I forces women into the workforce.  Many women begin working in factories and wearing uniforms, making the use of daily corset wear a problem.

1917: The US War Industries Board requests women to stop buying corsets to reduce the consumption of metal.  Sources say up to 28,000 tons of metal was conserved through this effort - “enough to build two battleships”

1918: Corset-makers began making bras designed to flatten rather than enhance the breasts.

YIKES!!

1913:The first modern bra to be patented was a silk hanky and pink ribbon affair created by New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob.  Mary had bought a sheer evening dress to wear to an event, and at the time, the only undergarment available to her was a corset made with whaleback bones.  Mary found that the bones showed through  the sheer fabric and created her DIY alternative!

1914:After a year of sharing her creation with friends, Mary Phelps Jacob applies for a patent (under the business name” Caresse Crosby”) on November 3 for her “Backless Brassiere” design.  Mary’s “brassiere” was very lightweight, soft, and separated the breasts naturally.  Unlike Marie Tucek’s 1893 design, Jacob’s garment did not have cups to support the breasts, but flattened them instead. Jacob markets the “Backless Brassiere” garment until she tires of the business and sells the patent to Warner Brothers Corset Company in Bridgeport, CT, for $1500.  Warner’s reportedly made over $15 million over the next 30 years from the patent.

I’d say Warner’s made a sound investment, no?  And some improvements along the way.  Flattened breasts will be the rave through the 20’s or so…certainly not anymore.  And certainly not with the UpBra!

1907 : The ever-hip Vogue mazazine first uses the term “brassiere” in its haloed pages.  The term comes from the old French word for ‘upper arm’.  Prior to this, bra-like devices were know by the French term “soutien-gorge”, which means “throat support” or “breast support”.

1912: The term “brassiere” first appears in the Oxford English Dictionary.  The garment maker Otto Titzling is said to have developed a bra for buxom singer Swanhilda Olafson.  Swanhilda lived in the same New York boarding house as Otto, and needed a supporting garment.  She was the inspiration for Otto’s breakthrough design, but Otto neglected to patent his creating, and therefore lost his chance to be the inventor of the bra!!

1889: Corset-maker Herminie Cadolle invents a bra-like garment called “Bien-etre” (’well-being’).  The garment supports the breasts by the shoulders rather than squeezing them up from below like a traditional corset.

1893: Marie Tucek patents the “Breast Supporter”.  This garment is similar to modern-day bras in that it features a separate pocket for each breast, shoulder straps, and hook-and-eye closures.

1860’s:Corsets return to fashion.  Corset “training” becomes the norm - reducing waists to such unhealthy leves that ribs and internal organs become deformed.  This sparks controversy over the health risk of corseting.

1875: Designer Susan Taylor Converse creates a garment called the “Union Under-Flannel” from woolen fabric. The garment is different from previous items as it has no bones, eyelets, laces or pulleys.  The garment is patented by manufacturers George Frost and George Phelps.

1550’sAD: Catherine de Medicis, wife of King Henri II of France enforces a ban on “thick waists” at court functions through the introduction of the steel corset. The corset becomes the main undergarment of support and restraint for women.

1850’s: US patents are registered for the first known bra-like garments.  Corsets fall out of style for about 10 years.

Look how far we’ve come…the UpBra is on the way!!