In 1921, from a small sewing studio in the heart of New York City, Glamorise started pioneering plus-size bras one-by-one. Through the decades — from bullet brassieres to sweater girl silhouettes, push-up bras to bralettes — our goal has remained the same: to support curvy women with the best-fitting, most comfortable Glamorise bras possible.
Fast-forward almost a hundred years and it’s exciting to see the fashion and apparel industries at large finally see what we’ve always seen — that all women deserve quality options that fit them and speak to their individuality.
The democratization of fashion is course-correcting years of sartorial disappointment as established brands expand their size offerings and new plus labels helmed by curvy women make the plus-size community more visible.
Supporting women of all sizes is what we do best because it’s been in our DNA since day one.
Curvy Then
We started making bras amidst the flapper fashion takeover of the roaring 20s. As women en masse ditched the corset in favor of more freedom to move, we set up shop in midtown and set out to pioneer the best fit, comfort and support a bra could give.
Despite the Great Depression raging in the background, the intimates industry’s early years continued to innovate, shaped by the social swings of the era. Brassiere was shortened to bra, cup sizes (and alphabetical sizing) became a thing and adjustable bands made their debut. Through it all Glamorise bras continued to expand their size range.
The First Sports Bra
In 1975, at the height of the world’s tennis craze, Glamorise invented the first sports bra. The Tennis Bra combined the best of our fit expertise with new technologies, like moisture-wicking cups.
Today, Glamorise sports bras are at the cutting edge of activewear innovation and full-figure support that all started with a willingness to try something that had never been done before.
Curvy Now
Glamorise puts curvy women at the heart of everything we do now, too. When we created MagicLift® in the 70s — today’s best-selling wire-free bra that holds in and lifts up — it was to give plus-size women the comfort and support they deserved, daily.
When we perfected WonderWire® in the 90s — the next-level standard in plus-size underwire bras — it meant unparalleled support without wires going haywire. When we invented PerfectA in 38A to 58A — our newest full-figure bra for A cups — we closed the industry gap in size inclusivity.
How We Do It
The team behind Glamorise bras knows that there’s no one-size-fits-all formula to simply scale up sizes. Every bra size we make, up to 58K, is intricately different and traditional sizing charts don’t account for all the nuances.
That’s why we fit all Glamorise bras on several curvy women and get feedback through wear tests from plus-size women IRL (not just fit models) who can help us perfect every bra right from our sewing studio.
The Future is Inclusive
This community-driven approach to creating better bras for women of all sizes is what has allowed us to stay ahead of the curve. As the size-inclusive conversation continues to push for more and better inclusion, we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done: listen to real women and make Glamorise bras fit for every size.
And we will continue to use everything we've learned to keep improving bras and supporting generations of curvy women. Because here's the thing: Innovating perfect-fitting, plus-size bras doesn't happen overnight. We've been at it for a hundred years.
Author: Katie Joy Blanksma
Last updated on: 8/12/21
Lift, Shape, and Support With Comfort and Style
