Methods of supporting breasts have been known since ancient times. Greek women wore breast bands, apparently to flatten or minimize the bust. A fourth-century Roman mosaic in Sicily shows a female athlete wearing bikini pants and a bra. In modern times, "patent bust improvers" similar to the bra were advertised in Great Britain in 1902, and a "brassiere" was illustrated in the magazine Vogue in 1907. A German immigrant to America, Otto Titzling, claimed to have invented the bra in 1912, but he never patented the design.

The origin of the word brassiere is uncertain. The French use the term soutien-gorge ("throat-supporter") for the bra. The claims of the Frenchman Philippe de Brassiere to be the origin of the name were rejected in court. Apparently the French word for "arm," bras, is the basis of the term. The word "bra" came into use around 1937.

The first person to patent a design...