As Women’s History Month draws to a close, consider this notable fact: A foundational patent in the bra industry had remained untouched for an astonishing 88 years, until Bree McKeen took the initiative to address it.
In 1931, inventor Helene Pons received a U.S. patent for a brassiere that incorporated an open-ended wire loop encircling the underside and sides of each breast. For nearly a century, this uncomfortable and rigid design has prevailed, dominating the global bra market, projected to reach nearly $60 billion by 2032.
It wasn't until McKeen, founder of Evelyn & Bobbie, transitioned from her career in Silicon Valley to tackle a personal issue that progress was made in underwire innovation. After long days at a boutique venture capital firm conducting due diligence on consumer health care companies, McKeen would return home with noticeable indentations on her shoulders and persistent tension headaches, the result of hunching over her desk for hours.
While the demands of her job were considerable, the true culprit lay elsewhere—her bra.
Despite lacking any background in fashion, McKeen holds a degree in medical anthropology and an MBA from Stanford University. The pivotal moment in her journey occurred in a physiologist’s office, where she was receiving guidance on her posture alongside regular barre training.
He remarked, “Your posture looks great,” to which McKeen candidly responded, “When I stand like this, I get pain from my bra.”
The physiologist explained this phenomenon as a neuromuscular feedback loop, the body’s automatic reaction to discomfort, akin to the sensation of a pebble in a shoe.
“Here I am doing all this work to carry myself with authority and poise, and my bra, I find out, is totally doing the opposite,” McKeen reflected. “You don’t have to tell your body to curl around the pain. It just does.”
She had zero fashion experience. She filed a patent anyway
This realization prompted McKeen to initiate a significant career shift, forgoing her venture capital position to create what has become one of the most quietly transformative brands in women’s fashion—Evelyn & Bobbie, now recognized as the fastest-growing brand at Nordstrom. Relocating to Portland enabled her to draw inspiration from major athletic brands like Nike, Adidas, and Columbia while forging new connections.
She began developing prototypes in her garage and swiftly filed for intellectual property rights. Drawing on her experience in venture capital, she understood the necessity of protecting her innovations to secure future funding.
Within a year, McKeen successfully obtained her first utility patent, which is a more comprehensive type of patent focused on the functional aspects of an invention rather than its aesthetics. Although the brand has chosen not to disclose the total funding raised, it now holds 16 international patents safeguarding its proprietary EB Core technology, designed to replicate the support and structure of traditional underwire without the discomfort.
Highlighting the significance of safeguarding her intellectual property, it is noteworthy that only 12% of U.S. patents were awarded to women as of 2019, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. McKeen possesses six of these patents, which protect the innovative 3D-sling technology featured in her bras.
Evelyn & Bobbie, named in honor of her maternal grandmother and aunt, operates on a fundamental principle: creating a bra that fits well and provides comfort throughout the day.
“I wanted a bra that made me look better in my clothes,” McKeen stated, echoing the motivations that inspired Spanx founder Sara Blakely to create her now-billion-dollar shapewear empire. “Wire-free bras give you that mono-boob—not a nice silhouette. They make your clothes look frumpy. I wanted nice lift, separation, a beautiful silhouette. I could not find that bra. How outrageous, really.”
The average U.S. bra size is 34F. Most brands design for something much smaller
In a saturated market filled with major brand competitors such as Victoria’s Secret, Aerie, Third Love, and Savage X Fenty, Evelyn & Bobbie stands out. However, as many women know, not all bras offer the comfort required for prolonged wear.
“Every woman I talked to had 20 bras in her drawer, but she wore like two of them—the ugly, comfy ones that she felt like she shouldn’t wear,” McKeen remarked.
What differentiates Evelyn & Bobbie is their unique approach to sizing. McKeen collaborates with 270 fit models across seven simplified sizes, tailoring each design individually rather than scaling up from a single sample.
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