Warner Bros.

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