Bandeau soft fabric and delicate trimmings providing little support or shaping. The design was patented in 1916 in the United States by Edgar Guggenheim and resembled the contours and wrapping effects of the scultetus binder used in hospitals. It was sometimes made from an elastic material to flatten or suppress the breasts in the style of the period. When the "boyish" silhouette went out of fashion, the word "brassiere" or later "bra" became the term for more shapely support garments. The term bandeau also refers to the thin headband traditionally worn—until recently—underneath and supporting the veil by the nuns of many
Bandeau of the 20th century, a "bandeau" was a narrow band worn by women to bind the hair, or as part of a head-dress. The bandeau emerged as the top part of a two-piece swimsuit during the 1940s. In the 1950s the bandeau incorporated foundation so as to structure (or improve) the contours of the body, while still retaining a relatively simple circle or band shape, emphasizing the bare midriff. Its popularity in swimwear declined during the string bikini era, but it reappeared in the 1980s, especially with Spandex and other stretch fabric blends. Side stays, v-wire in the center front,