Undergarment Boudreaux showed the world that an American woman could establish and run a company, and she also caused a revolution in the underwear industry. In 1913, a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob created the first modern brassiere by tying two handkerchiefs together with ribbon. Jacob's original intention was to cover the whalebone sticking out of her corset, which was visible through her sheer dress. Jacob began making brassieres for her family and friends, and news of the garment soon spread by word of mouth. By 1914, Jacob had a patent for her design and was marketing it throughout
Helen Watson Phelps Helen Watson Phelps Helen Watson Phelps (1864–1944) was an American painter. A native of Attleboro, Massachusetts, Phelps is known to have received some training at the Académie Julian and with Raphaël Collin in Paris. While there she showed work at the Paris Salon; she also exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Society of American Artists during her career. She received awards for her paintings at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901, and from the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors in 1914, and she was represented