What did flappers wear to flatten out their chests in the 1920s?
Brassieres from the late 1910s and early 1920s were merely slightly shaped bandeaus (bandeaux), holding the bust in and down by means of a clip attached to the corset. This culminated in the “boyish” silhouette of the Flapper era of the 1920s, with little bust definition. The term (which in the mid-1910s referred to preteen and early-teenage girls) was adopted by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in the 1920s for their younger adult customers. The androgynous (“boyish”) or prepubescent figure then in style downplayed women’s natural curves through the use of a bandeaux brassiere. It was relatively easy for small-busted women to conform to the flat-chested look of the Flapper era. Women with larger breasts tried products like the popular Symington Side Lacer, which when laced at both sides pulled and helped to flatten women’s chests. Some ‘bras’ of the early 1920s were little more than camisoles.
