NPR recently published a piece for the 40th anniversary of the modern sports bra, a clever piece of sportswear innovation produced by Hinda Miller and Lisa Lindahl, which made it way more comfortable for women with breasts to participate in sports and up their exercise game. While it’s a seemingly small thing, and while government interventions like Title IX make far more difference in women’s athletics, it was undoubtedly a game-changer. At least, I definitely appreciate the difference when I’m running. 
 
 Thinking about the effects of this invention, I got to thinking: what else do we need from women’s athletic wear? 
 
 Of course, there have been a number of innovations in women’s sportswear since the sports bra. Sports bras themselves are now available in plus sizes (you know, for the women who arguably need them the most?) at many outlets, though certainly not enough of them. Athletic hijabs, which have been around for a while now, are finally getting big-name promotion from brands like Nike. Leggings are less see-through. At the Rio Olympics, the South Korean team even wore jackets meant to protect them from mosquito bites (and therefore Zika). 
 
 These things may seem small, but they lower the barrier for women’s participation in sports, and they make it less uncomfortable and more enjoyable for us to exercise – particularly when we want to exercise in public. The sports bra is also a great example of how some necessary innovations will only get made when women are involved in the process, and can speak to their own needs and discomforts. 
 
 Thinking about what a difference a sports bra makes, I was curious what other innovations we might be missing. For example, how can athletic wear better serve trans women? I know from my own friend group that it can often be damn-near impossible for trans women to find a women’s swimsuit that fits them. Or how could sportswear better serve religiously observant women, or women with disabilities? How can small clothing changes make it a little bit easier for women in rural areas, or women without access to athletic facilities, to exercise safely and comfortably? 
 
 Clothes obviously aren’t the end-all or be-all, but they’re a start – and they’re a way to address the ways that athletic wear is often made, first and foremost, with men in mind, and the ways that women’s athletic gear is often designed to fit a narrow, prescriptive body type. 
 
 What do you, personally, most need from your sportswear that you’re not getting? Let’s invent! 
 
 (Via NPR; image via Shutterstock) 
 
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 —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.— ||||| 40 Years Of Athletic Support: Happy Anniversary To The Sports Bra 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Hector Mata/AFP/Getty Images Hector Mata/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 Title IX is often credited with getting more girls involved in sports, but there's another, more intimate milestone in the women-in-sports story that deserves some recognition: This year, the Jogbra turns 40. 
 
 In 1977, Hinda Miller had just started working at the University of Vermont and had taken up jogging. But she found she had a problem: What to do with her breasts? "I used two bras," she says. "You know, everyone has their stories of what they did." 
 
 Across campus, Lisa Lindahl was in the same predicament. She reached out to a friend — Polly Smith, who made costumes for the university's theater department, where Miller also worked — and the three of them got together to build a better bra. 
 
 "We bought some bras, tore them apart," Miller remembers. "I was taking notes; Lisa was running. 'Does that feel good? Does that feel good?' " 
 
 None of it felt good. See, breasts move — a lot. Up and down, side to side, even back to front. And they can be really heavy. Try as they might, the women couldn't figure out how to make a bra that could stop the painful bounce. At one point, Lindahl's then-husband came downstairs with two jockstraps slung over his chest. He was teasing them, but it led to an idea. Miller remembers thinking, "That's what we want to do — we want to pull everything close to the body." 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Jane Lindholm/VPR Jane Lindholm/VPR 
 
 She ran to the store, bought two jockstraps and brought them back to the costume shop. "The waist band became our rib band," Miller says. "We crossed the straps in the back because we didn't want them to fall, and it went over our head. And that was it." 
 
 They thought about calling their creation the Jockbra, but decided Jogbra was a better fit. The design caught on, and Miller and Lindahl made Jogbra into a national brand. 
 
 Two decades later, at the 1999 World Cup, the sports bra got its moment in the sun. U.S. women's national team star Brandi Chastain scored the winning penalty kick of the championship game. Then, filled with emotion, Chastain pulled off her shirt in celebration, revealing a simple black sports bra. Images of that moment were featured on the covers of Newsweek and Sports Illustrated, and on the front pages of countless newspapers. 
 
 These days, women have all kinds of options when it comes to their sports bras: There are sports bras as outerwear and sports bras that are glittery, patterned or have crisscrossing straps that peek out prettily when you're doing yoga. They're big business: Global sales topped $7 billion in 2014. But the foundational truth remains: The best sports bra is the kind that allows girls and women to move the way they want to move, without worrying about their anatomy. 
 
 Chastain says sports bras are more than clothing — they're an essential piece of equipment. "I couldn't play without my cleats, and I wouldn't and couldn't play without my sports bra." 
 
 The sports bra may be the unsung hero in the rise of women in sports, quietly claiming its place under a T-shirt. And it all comes back to two jockstraps sewn together in 1977. 
 
 Jane Lindholm (@JaneLindholm) hosts Vermont Public Radio's Vermont Edition.
– "Everyone has their stories of what they did," Hinda Miller tells NPR. "I used to use two bras." The sports bra—invented by University of Vermont staffers Miller, Lisa Lindahl, and Polly Smith in 1977—celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Miller had started jogging but didn't know how to handle the painful bouncing of her breasts. Lindahl was having a similar problem and went to Smith, who made costumes for the university's theater department. The three women put their heads together on building a better bra, eventually finding inspiration when Lindahl's joking husband put two jock straps around his chest. The women bought two unused jock straps, and the "Jogbra" was born. "The waist band became our rib band," Miller says. "We crossed the straps in the back because we didn't want them to fall, and it went over our head. And that was it." Now sports bras are a $7 billion industry and integral to the rise of female athletes. "These things may seem small, but they lower the barrier for women’s participation in sports," the Mary Sue says of the sports bra and other athletic gear for women. "I couldn't play without my cleats, and I wouldn't and couldn't play without my sports bra," Brandi Chastain tells NPR. And the former professional soccer player knows a thing or two about sports bras.