photo: halcyon corsetry

Mary Phelps Jacob's used two hankerchiefs, ribbon and some cord, to design the first American bra.

1900s:

1914:
World War I begins.

Mary Phelps Jacob invents the first American brassiere, made of lace. She patented the "Backless Brassiere" in 1914.

Modern plastic surgery is born. Surgeons trained to repair facial wounds in the war put their skills to work in private practice, on woman's faces.

1918: "Diet and Health with a Key to Calories" by Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters is a bestseller.