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!!