Breast augmentation
The modern prosthetic breast was invented in 1961, by the American plastic surgeons Thomas Cronin and Frank Gerow, and manufactured by the Dow Corning Corporation; in due course, the first augmentation mammoplasty was performed in 1962. There are five generations of medical device technology for the breast-implant models filled with silicone gel; each generation of breast prosthesis is defined by common model-manufacturing techniques.
Bra size
In October 1932, the S.H. Camp and Company were the first to measure cup size by the letters of the alphabet, A, B, C, and D, although the letters represented how pendulous the breasts were and not their volume. Camp's advertising in the February 1933 issue of "Corset and Underwear Review" featured letter-labeled profiles of breasts. Cup sizes A through D were not intended to be used for larger-breasted women.
In 1937, Warner introduced its Alphabet Bra with four cup sizes (A, B, C, and D) to its product descriptions. Before long, these cup sizes got nicknames: egg cup, tea cup, coffee cup, and challenge cup, respectively. Two other companies, Model and Fay-Miss (renamed in 1935 as the Bali Brassiere Company), followed, offering A, B, C, and D cup sizes in the late 1930s. Catalog companies continued to use the designations Small, Medium, and Large through the 1940s. Britain did not adopt the American cups in 1933, and resisted using cup sizes for its products until 1948. The Sears Company finally applied cup sizes to bras in its catalog in the 1950s.