Brothers DeVer and Lucien Warner formed the Warner Brothers Corset Company in 1873. Their first product was Dr. Warner’s Health Corset, which was made in Lucien Warner’s home in New York. The corset was so successful that in 1876, the brothers built a factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The company was always experimenting with new products and materials. In the 1880s, their Coraline Corset, made partially from Tampico fibre, was a sensation.
In 1915 Warner’s bought a patent for a bra from its inventor, Mary Phelps Jacobs for $1500. From this beginning Warner Bros. became a leader in the bra industry. In 1935, they came up with the system for sizing bust cups – A, B, C and so on.
The company also produced other types of women’s lingerie, including corselettes, girdles, slips, panties and sleepwear. In 1968, the company, which had diversified into other areas of clothing manufacture, changed its name to Warnaco. The Warner’s division is still in operation today, making bras, panties, and other women’s foundation garments.
Written by fuzzylizzie
from a ca. 1908-1910 corset
Courtesy of crinolinegirl
from a 1910s brassiere
Courtesy of Dolls n Trolls
from a 1910s brassiere, back of above label
Courtesy of Dolls n Trolls
from a 1920s bandeau bra
Courtesy of Ranch Queen Vintage
from a 1930s bra
Courtesy of misshelenes
from a 1950s MerryWidow
Courtesy of Chatter Blossom
from an early 1960s girdle
Courtesy of vintagepretties
from a late 1960s girdle
Courtesy of vintagepretties
from a late 1960s/early 1970s peignoir set
Courtesy of pinky-a-gogo
from a 1970s all-in-one girdle
Courtesy of morning-glorious
