Bra in the context of "Undergarment"

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⭐ Core Definition: Bra

A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (US: /brəˈzɪər/, UK: /ˈbræsɪər, ˈbræz-/), is a type of form-fitting underwear that is primarily used to support and cover a woman's breasts. A typical bra consists of a chest band that wraps around the torso, supporting two breast cups that are held in place by shoulder straps. A bra usually fastens in the back, using a hook and eye fastener, although bras are available in a large range of styles and sizes, including front-fastening and backless designs. Some bras are designed for specific functions, such as nursing bras to facilitate breastfeeding or sports bras to minimize discomfort during exercise.

Although women in ancient Greece and Rome wore garments to support their breasts, the first modern bra is attributed to 19-year-old Mary Phelps Jacob, who created the garment in 1913 by using two handkerchiefs and some ribbon. After patenting her design in 1914, she briefly manufactured bras at a two-woman factory in Boston, before selling her patent to the Warner Brothers Corset Company, which began mass-producing the garment. The bra gained widespread adoption during the first half of the twentieth century, when it largely replaced the corset. The majority of Western women today wear bras, with a minority choosing to go braless. Bra manufacturing and retailing are key components of the multibillion-dollar global lingerie industry.

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Bra in the context of Pasties

Pasties (singular pasty or pastie) are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They are usually worn in pairs. They originated as part of burlesque shows, allowing dancers to perform fully topless without exposing the nipples in order to provide a commercial form of bare-breasted entertainment. Pasties are also, at times, used while sunbathing, worn by strippers and showgirls, or as a form of protest during women's rights events such as Go Topless Day. In some cases this is to avoid potential prosecution under indecency laws.

As well as being used as an undergarment in lieu of a bra, pasties are also worn visibly as a fashion accessory where it is desirable to show the breasts but not the nipples, and are sometimes called nipple stickers. Pasties are sometimes worn by bikini baristas, staff hired to serve coffee from roadside huts while wearing lingerie, thongs, or skimpy swimwear.

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Bra in the context of Underwear

Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled or damaged by bodily excretions, to lessen the friction of outerwear against the skin, to shape the body, and to provide concealment or support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as undergarments, while others, such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts, are appropriate both as underwear and outerwear. If made of suitable material or textile, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimwear, and some undergarments are intended for sexual attraction or visual appeal.

Undergarments are generally of two types, those that are worn to cover the torso and those that are worn to cover the waist and legs, although there are also underclothes which cover both. Different styles of underwear are generally worn by males and females. Undergarments commonly worn by males today include boxer briefs or boxer shorts, while females often wear bras and panties (knickers in British English). Items worn by both sexes include T-shirts, sleeveless shirts (also called singlets, tank tops, A-shirts, or vests), classic briefs, bikini briefs, thongs, G-strings and T-fronts.

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Bra in the context of EN 13402

The joint European standard for size labelling of clothes, formally known as the EN 13402 Size designation of clothes, is a European standard for labelling clothes sizes. The standard is based on body dimensions measured in centimetres and its aim is to make it easier for people to find clothes in sizes that fit them.

The standard aims to replace older clothing size systems that were in popular use before the year 2007, but the degree of its adoption has varied between countries. For bras, gloves and children's clothing it is already the de facto standard in most of Europe. Few countries are known to have followed suit.

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