The Jewish Immigrant Entrepreneur Who Revolutionized Modern Lingerie and Built the Maidenform Empire
If you are wearing a bra right now, you can thank a visionary Jewish immigrant named Ida Cohen Rosenthal for helping shape the garment into the supportive foundation we know today. Long before modern shapewear became a staple of everyday wardrobes, Rosenthal transformed a small-scale dressmaking side project into a global manufacturing powerhouse. In doing so, she not only redefined the silhouette of 20th-century women’s fashion but also pioneered aggressive advertising strategies that changed the American commercial landscape forever.
The story of this enduring undergarment empire began in 1922 in Manhattan. Ida Rosenthal, a Russian-Jewish immigrant who had arrived in the United States a little over a decade earlier, was working as a dressmaker at Enid Frocks, a clothing shop owned by Enid Bissett. It was the height of the flapper era, a cultural period when contemporary fashions favored a flat, boyish silhouette that deliberately minimized curves. The undergarments of the time—often rudimentary garments similar to what modern consumers might categorize as a bandeau—were specifically engineered to flatten rather than support the female chest.
Ida and Enid quickly concluded that this prevailing look was both unflattering and deeply uncomfortable for the average wearer. Driven by a desire to create a more harmonious aesthetic, the two women began tinkering with alternative undergarment designs in the back of their shop. Their goal was to engineer a garment that provided proper physical support while maintaining a natural, graceful shape.
The result of their experimentation was a revolutionary cupped brassiere that enhanced, rather than erased, the natural contours of the human body. Initially, these innovative brassieres were intended merely to serve as a secondary offering to complement the dresses that the two women sold in their shop. However, customers responded with overwhelming enthusiasm. The demand for the structured undergarments quickly outpaced the dress sales, prompting Ida and Enid to fundamentally shift their business model to focus primarily on manufacturing and selling the newly designed bras.
By 1925, Ida’s husband, William Rosenthal, had joined the business partnership, and the trio took a major leap forward by opening a dedicated manufacturing factory in New Jersey. They chose a cheeky and deliberate name for their new enterprise: Maiden Form. The moniker served as a witty counterpoint to the popular "boyish form" and flattened silhouettes promoted by the prevailing bandeau styles of the era.
Historical records housed at the Smithsonian Institution describe Ida as an exceptionally innovative businesswoman who played a central role in launching aggressive advertising campaigns that propelled the company to national prominence. Under her guidance, Maidenform—as the company eventually came to be known—became the first American lingerie company to engage in major commercial advertising. Ida assumed multiple critical leadership roles within the growing corporation, serving as treasurer, president, CEO, and eventually chairman of the board. When her husband William passed away in 1958, Ida seamlessly assumed the role of sole president, leading the company through a complex corporate landscape during an era when having a female corporate leader remained highly unusual.
Beyond the creation of the foundational cupped brassiere, Ida and William Rosenthal are widely credited with inventing the nursing bra, addressing a practical and previously overlooked need for postpartum mothers. Furthermore, when global conflict disrupted American manufacturing during World War II, the company pivoted its production capabilities to support the war effort. Maidenform factories were adapted to manufacture specialized vests for American soldiers, which notably included secure pockets designed to transport homing pigeons safely into combat zones.
Perhaps one of the most enduring legacies of the company was its willingness to blend bold marketing with creative storytelling. If Maidenform’s famous mid-century advertising campaigns are any indication, Ida was never afraid to inject a sense of imagination and daring into her products. Beginning in 1949, the company launched its iconic "I Dreamed" advertising campaign. These legendary print advertisements featured striking images of women wearing nothing above the waist except their Maidenform bras while enthusiastically engaging in everyday activities such as shopping, working in professional offices, and even running for political office.
Despite the initial societal scandal of depicting women without traditional outer shirts in a public commercial space, the campaign captured the public imagination. It lasted for two decades, ultimately cementing itself as one of the most recognizable and successful advertising campaigns in American history. Cultural impact from the era even reached modern television audiences; fans of the critically acclaimed television series "Madmen" may vividly recall a season two episode titled "Maidenform," in which a rival advertising agency turns to protagonist Don Draper and his creative team in an unsuccessful bid to capture and recreate the magic of the iconic "I Dreamed" ad series.
Beneath the commercial success and the glittering advertising history lies a deeply resonant Jewish immigrant story. Born Ida Kaganovich in 1886 in a region that is part of modern-day Belarus, she was the eldest of seven children in a traditional family. Her father worked as a Torah scholar and scribe, while her mother managed a small general store to help support the household. From a young age, Ida learned the trade of dressmaking while continuing her education, and she eventually became involved in radical socialist political causes. Historical sources suggest that potential legal complications arising from these political beliefs served as a primary catalyst behind the decision for Ida and William to leave Eastern Europe and immigrate to the United States.
After marrying in 1905 and watching their modest business blossom into a national corporation over the ensuing decades, the Rosenthals maintained a profound and enduring connection to Jewish philanthropic and communal causes. They directed significant financial support toward prominent organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the United Jewish Appeal—a crucial historical precursor to the Jewish Federation that played a vital role in helping European Jews escape persecution following Kristallnacht in 1939.
The family’s legacy is preserved in various academic and cultural institutions today. New York University houses a specialized collection containing the family’s personal Judaica and Hebrew books, while the Smithsonian Institution maintains a comprehensive Maidenform archive. These collections stand as a testament to the family’s extensive personal and professional influence on 20th-century American culture, commerce, and philanthropy.
Although Ida Rosenthal passed away in 1973, the company she helped build and nurture continued to operate as a family-managed business for many years. Over subsequent decades, the brand changed hands through several corporate acquisitions and sales. Today, the historic label operates as a subsidiary under HanesBrands, continuing to manufacture foundational shapewear designed to accommodate individuals of all shapes and sizes, more than a century after a creative immigrant dressmaker first decided to challenge the fashion norms of her era.
