Ida Rosenthal (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Kaganovich; January 9, 1886 – March 29, 1973) was a

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian-born American dressmaker and businesswoman who co-founded Maidenform. Ida is considered to be the creator of the modern bra and her company Maidenform went on to become the most successful bra manufacturer in the world.

Biography

She was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Rakaŭ, near

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. her father was a Hebrew scholar and her mother ran a small general store. At the age of 18, she emigrated to the United States, following her fiancé William Rosenthal, and

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

her (maiden) name to Cohen. Those who knew her well called her Itel. In 1907 she got married and partnershiped with her husband. In 1921, along with Enid Bisset, she opened up a dress shop, which a year later was registered the name Maiden Form. In 1925 the first Maidenform plant was opened in

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the Gateway Region on Bergen Neck, a peninsula between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York ...

to focus solely on their most popular product, brassieres (although the company later produced

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

and swimwear as well). Despite the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and Enid's retirement, the partnership was very successful and expanded into markets across the United States, Europe and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. 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 Flappers were a subculture of young Western women prominent after the First World War and through the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee length was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their ...

style (known as the "Boyish Form"). Under Ida and her husband's

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

, Maidenform made many other advancements. Maidenform was the first company to sell maternity bras, and William invented a standard for cup sizes. In 1942, Ida received a patent for an adjustable fastener. During this time, Maidenform was also known for its racy newspaper ads featuring underwear models and its

advertising slogan Advertising slogans are short phrases used in advertising campaigns to generate publicity and unify a company's marketing strategy. The phrases may be used to attract attention to a distinctive product feature or reinforce a company's brand. Etymo ...

"I dreamed... in a Maidenform Bra." During World War II her company Maidenform designed and produced vest for homing pigeons. These vest allowed paratroopers to carry birds with them when they parachuted behind enemy lines. After William's death in 1958, Ida became the company president. Ida died in 1973 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, leaving the company in control of her son-in-law Dr. Joseph Coleman. Upon Coleman's death in 1968, Ida's daughter Beatrice Rosenthal Coleman gained control over the company. Today Maidenform is owned by Hanesbrands and is currently being run by Ida's Granddaughter, Elizabeth Coleman.

Jewish Causes

Ida did a lot more during her life including numerous charitable organizations which she supported or founded later in her life. A few Jewish Causes she and her husband became involved in included Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith and the United Jewish Appeal. The United Jewish Appeal focused on providing to relief to Jewish Europeans during and following WWII. In 1942, Ida and William presented Solomon Rosenthal's collection of Hebrew books to New York University. This went on to become the William and Ida Rosenthal Collection. Ten years later a foundation in honor of Ida made sure a librarian would be paid to care for the collection. During this period they also established the Ida and William Rosenthal Fellowship in Judaica and Hebraic at New York University. The couple founded Camp Lewis in Rockaway, New Jersey in 1943 for the Boy Scouts of America, in memory of their son Lewis, who died in 1930 at the age of 23. The camp continued to operate has been sold as of 2025.

References

External links

*Brody, Seymour.
Jewish Heroes & Heroines of America: 150 True Stories of American Jewish Heroism.
' Hollywood, FL: Lifetime Books, Inc., 1996. *Lin, Patricia.

*PBS Online: They Made America.

'' PBS Online/WGBH, 2004. *Snyder, Jennifer and Minnick, Mimi.

Smithsonian Institution Archives Center. * *Star-Ledger, A. F. , T. (2013, July 24). ''Hanes agrees to buy Iselin-based Maidenform for $575 million''. Nj. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Ida 1886 births 1973 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople American businesspeople in fashion Belarusian Jews Jews from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States People from Valozhyn district Jewish women in business