Uplifting Birthday: Bra Turns 100

The bra has reached a milestone.

As The Early Show national correspondent Tracy Smith reports, the "once unmentionable undergarment" is 100-years-old this year.

It's "come a long way in 100 years since Vogue first coined the term 'brassiere,' " says Victoria's Secret spokesperson Kate Foster.

Since 1907, Smith points out, bras have been burned, banded into giant works of art, and even dangled from the ceiling of a Manhattan bar.

So, she asks, "How could we let the bra's birthday pass without raising a cup -- or two. After all, we've awed in wonder at the 'Wonder Bra,' and tried to figure out just when underwear became outerwear.

Foster asserts, "Victoria's Secret brought the bra from being an unmentionable to being a fashion statement. ... We brought the bra front-and-center. We put it on the runway, and the bra became the world's best fashion accessory."

Not to mention, Smith notes, among the most expensive. One bra costs $6.5 million!

But shoppers today have plenty of options available.

For instance, Foster says, "We have a reversible bra, we have the 'Secret Embrace Bra' that is seamless and stitch-free. ... And we even have the very sexy '100 bra.' It's a bra that can be worn 100 different ways."

"People don't realize," says fourth-generation lingerie storeowner Danny Koch, "the amount of technology involved in this. There are 40 moving parts in a bra. ... There is so much technology, so much intricate details that go into sewing all the pieces together, the wires, the elastic.

"... We firmly believe that that piece of your wardrobe really defines the rest of your wardrobe."

So, asks Smith, just how do you celebrate 100 years of -- support?

"The bra ... deserves a really big cake," says Koch, 'but no one can decide what cup size to make it in!"

Sounds like this birthday might be a bust, Smith observed, so, "We'll just say, 'Best wishes, bra. We know you'll continue to shape our future for years to come!' "