Maidenform Brands is a manufacturer of women's bras, underwear, and shapewear founded in 1922.
History
The company was founded in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1922 and sought to appeal to the flapper subculture of the time.[1]
Maidenform converted factories during World War II in order to produce pigeon vests and parachutes. Pigeon vests, sometimes called pigeon bras, attached war pigeons to paratroopers' chests so that the paratrooper could land in a war zone and release the bird, which would fly away carrying a message.[2] Maidenform was contracted to produce 28,500 of these pigeon vests for the United States Armed Forces.[3]
The company's target audience and marketing changed over the decades. Through the 1950s, advertisements emphasized women's roles as wives and shoppers, while in the 1960s and 1970s they began to depict models as independent and capable of holding careers. By the 1990s, Maidenform advertisements began emphasizing comfort and fit.[1]