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Supporting Acts: Patents for Undergarments for Stout Women, 1891–1956

Women’s support garments including corsets and brassieres have been intimately tied to health and a woman’s outward appearance. Manufacturers strongly urged stout women to wear corsets well into the 1930s when many women had already discontinued their use. Stout women often had different requirements in regard to comfort and fit for their clothing and support garments. Stout women were an important consumer group in the first half of the century (1891–1956), though little research has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to better understand, through patent research, the ways in which inventors sought to solve clothing ills for the stout woman. To explore this topic, a content analysis approach was utilized using patents found through Google Patents. Patents for stout women focused on supporting and improving the body through corsets, brassieres, menstrual products, support devices, and combinations of corset and brassieres.