Ida Rosenthal

Ida Rosenthal (née Kaganovich; January 9, 1886 – March 29, 1973) was a Belarusian-born American dressmaker and businesswoman who co-founded Maidenform.

In 1925 the first Maidenform plant was opened in Bayonne, New Jersey to focus solely on their most popular product, brassieres (although the company later produced lingerie and swimwear as well).

Despite the Great Depression and Enid's retirement, the partnership was very successful and expanded into markets across the United States, Europe and Latin America.

The Maidenform bra originated as an accessory to improve the fit of the dresses they sold, but it became so popular that they began to sell it separately.

Their product was a major improvement over previous bras, because they used cups that supported and conformed to the breasts, rather than flattening them as had been the Flapper style (known as the "Boyish Form").

Maidenform was the first company to sell maternity bras, and William invented a standard for cup sizes[broken anchor].