As I mentioned recently, I’ve been thinking about women entrepreneurs and their stories in an on-again off-again way for the last few months. As I stumble across them, I’ll share them with you. Because that’s what I do.

Next up, Ida Rosenthal (1886-1973), whom I mentioned in passing several posts ago.

I first stumbled across Ida Rosenthal in 2012 when I was working on Mankind, the Story of All of Us.* I was writing a sidebar titled “The Other Makers of the Modern World” for a chapter that looked at America’s second industrial revolution and how it transformed the world. I was determined to get a woman in the list. (See note below.) Rosenthal, who invented the modern bra in partnership with her husband, seemed like a perfect choice.

I wrote my three sentences about her, and then I rushed on to the next thing because my deadline for the book was short and the process was, to put it mildly, chaotic. I stumbled across her now and then, but I didn’t have women entrepreneurs on my mind and had other stories to tell you here.

In 1905, a young Jewish woman named Ida Kaganovich immigrated to the United States, following her future husband, a sculptor named William Rosenthal. She believed in socialism and women’s rights. She also was determined to work for herself rather than others. Having apprenticed as a seamstress before she left Russia, she bought a Singer sewing machine** on the installment plan and went into business as a dressmaker, first in Hoboken, New Jersey, and later in Manhattan.

In 1921, Ida was presented with a new opportunity. A woman named Enid Bisett owned a dress shop in mid-town Manhattan, Enid Frocks. One day a customer came in wearing a dress that was new to Enid. When Enid asked about it, she learned it was the creation of a dressmaker named Ida Rosenthal. She made contact with Ida, hoping Ida would supply the shop with some of her dresses. The more they talked, the bigger the possibilities seemed. Instead of using Ida as a suppler, Enid suggested a business partnership.

Soon the partnership expanded. When the Flapper look came into style, many women had to wrap their chests, often in a “bandeau bra,” to achieve the fashionable flat-chested “boyish form.” Ida, not built on the flapper model herself, did not like the idea. “Why fight nature?” she asked. Inspired by Ida’s objections, Enid and William created built-in bandeaux with cups that supported and separated the breasts, making more buxom women took better in their flapper dresses. Customers loved the new dresses, but they loved the new support even more. Return customers asked if they could buy the support without the dress.

By 1922, the partners had registered the name Maiden Form. At first they included one extra support with each dress sold. By 1925, at Ida’s insistence, the partners stopped dressmaking so they could focus on their hot new product. They sold 500,000 bras in 1928. By the end of the 1930s, Maiden Form products were sold in department stories around the world.

Ida was the management and marketing genius; William was the designer. (A division of labor we’ve seen before. ) William died in 1958. Ida continued working until she suffered a stroke in 1966. At her death in 1973, she left behind a multi-million dollar business.

*A companion book for the History Channel series of the same name. And yes, I realize there is inherent sexism in the title, but it was set in stone before I joined the project. Over the years, I’ve tried to think of a better title with no success. Especially since the story as the History Channel wanted it told was very male-centric.

**Isaac Singer ‘s sewing machine was the first widely available home appliance. Commercial sewing machines already existed, but  Singer not only improved the machine, he also mass-produced them for the home market.