@StephenBoothUK

8 months ago

In the very late 1990s there was a show on the BBC where engineers were set to solving problems that normally don’t get given to engineers. One of the episodes was redesigning how bras were made to make them more comfortable and durable. They did come up with a solution that was comfortable, easier to make (a bra contains a surprisingly large number of individual parts which all need to be sewn just right so you need highly skilled sewing machinists and reject rate is high, this used fewer parts so lower reject rate and could produce them more quickly, although the material and machine costs were slightly higher so cost of production was comparable to slightly higher) and much more durable (no more underwires coming loose to stab the wearer or jam the washing machine). It was ready to go but never took off because manufacturers weren’t interested as it would mean changes to their production processes and investment in heavier duty sewing machines (part of the construction was a moulded soft plastic insert which the fabric was sewn on to so you needed the same sort of machines that could sew denim). Also it didn’t work for the frilly lace confection style, only the day to day functional type. I have read that the main cause of discomfort is the majority of women wear the wrong size bra, it’s worth getting properly fitted then checking future purchases against the professionally fitted one.

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