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Bras and girdles: Having a good foundation

Broadcast Date: Feb. 28, 1963

Liberated from the days of the Victorian corset, women in the 1960s are choosing brassieres and panty girdles made with a material called Spandex. "We consider ourselves lucky today that we don't have to do those things," says Take 30 host Anna Cameron about women wearing corsets in the 19th century.
The biggest news this year in undergarments is the invention of Spandex — a lightweight, man-made elasticized fabric.
More on programs for homemakers

Women used to wear bras with heavy and uncomfortable rubber elastics.

The Foundation Garment Association of Canada figures the average gal needs a good two-piece set, which they've displayed on what look like over-sized Barbie dolls in this clip from CBC Television's Take 30. The ladies also put a price on shape: You can get a good girdle for about $5 to $10.

Bras and girdles: Having a good foundation

• Take 30 began in 1962 as a women's show aired daily at 3:30 p.m. (ET).
• Each day had a theme: Mondays were entertainment interviews and performances; Tuesdays featured advice for housewives on cooking and childcare; Wednesdays focused on public affairs; Thursdays concentrated on the male influence; Fridays were travel.
• As the title of the show suggested, it was meant to be a 30-minute "escape" in the middle of a housewife's day.

• Original hosts Paul Soles and Anna Cameron were also actors. Over the years other hosts included: Moses Znaimer, Adrienne Poy (Clarkson), Hana Gartner and Mary Lou Finlay.
• Chef Jehane Benoît was a regular segment host. Watch a clip of Madame Benoît preparing a meal in her Quebec country kitchen.
• The show was on the air until May 1983. It evolved into a program that tackled more serious issues, such as the death penalty and the unborn child.

• In the 1970s, Maclean's said Take 30 was overly preachy and that the show attempted to be a conscience for Canada.
• In January 1973, the magazine wrote: "If there's a social problem anywhere in the world, Take 30 will be there full of concern. It's a guilt-ridden old show, which is sloppily produced and suicidally depressing."

• Corsets were a close-fitting undergarment that cinched the waist, hips and bust. Those made with steel rods and whalebone were particularly torturous and unhealthy.
• Corsets narrowed the waist down to as little as 13 inches.
• Thanks to Catherine de Médicis, wife of France's King Henri II, women were first made to wear corsets at court in the 1550s.
• In 1917, the American War Industries Board put a ban on corsets. The ban made 28,000 tons of metal available.

• In 2,500 BC, Minoan women on Crete wore early brassieres, which supported but exposed the breasts.
• In 1913, the first modern bra was invented by New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob. Sheer gowns had become the fashion and she felt corsets did not suit them.

Bras and girdles: Having a good foundation

Medium: Television

Program: Take 30

Broadcast Date: Feb. 28, 1963

Guest(s): Shelagh Lewis, Jean Morrison

Host: Anna Cameron

Duration: 11:52

Last updated:
April 24, 2008