How 3 women invented the sports bra out of pure discomfort

The jogging craze of the late 1970s brought about an unexpected invention: the sports bra. Lisa Lindahl, who had never been particularly athletic, took up jogging to lose weight in 1977 and experienced discomfort from regular bras. When her sister suggested a jockstrap for women, Lindahl set out to find a better solution. She enlisted her friends Polly Smith and Hinda Miller, all designers, to help her develop a prototype that was seamless, breathable, and provided compression.

After weeks of frustration, Lindahl's then-husband jokingly suggested sewing two jockstraps together, leading to a workable design. Lindahl and Miller patented the invention and co-founded Jogbra Inc. in 1979. They secured funding from Miller's father and manufacturing partners, pitching the product to boutique shops and trade shows.

The Jogbra hit the market at a time when women's participation in sports was surging due to Title IX. Lindahl and Miller ran the company until 1990, when Playtex Apparel bought it. The brand was later acquired by Sara Lee and became part of the Champion brand. Nike launched its first sports bra in 1990, and Brandi Chastain made the iconic sports bra visible to the world during the U.S. women's soccer team's World Cup victory in 1999.

Today, sports bras generate over $1 billion in annual U.S. sales, and the Jogbra, patented U.S. Patent No. 4,174,717, has received recognition at the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022.