There is a battle going on for Britain's breasts - or at least, the bras that support them. Within the past decade, bras have become big news. Retailers now talk about customers having a 'bra wardrobe' containing the average woman's sports bras, fashion bras, T-shirt bras, nude bras, gel bras, sexy bras and more. Bra executives talk of marketing them as a lifestyle and special-occasion item.
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This bears no resemblance to the comparative dark ages of the early 1990s when women could either brave the darkened windows of Ann Summers or the more matronly offerings of a department store such as Marks & Spencer. Back then, most bras could double as an ogre's slingshot or carried warnings about standing too close to a fire. Women weren't drowning in choice the way they are now, so it is hardly surprising that on average, we only bought one bra a year.
Two events in 1994 dramatically altered the history of the bra: Eva Herzigova in the 'Hello boys!' Wonderbra advert and the opening of a small shop in Soho called Agent Provocateur, with a scantily clad dummy in the window. Darkened windows were history. (Last year Agent Provocateur was sold for £60 million, and this year it opens its 38th store; its range now extends to vamp shoes and whips.) Today there isn't a high street in the country without 'come hither' lingerie shops vying for our attention. We now buy on average four bras a year - the most per head in Europe.
