Breast pads, cups and fronts for use in brassieres and other garments are molded from a thin, generally planar blank of an open-cell or closed-cell polymeric foam material (e.g. polyurethane). The blank is placed between mold parts and the male mold part then deforms the blank into the configuration of the female mold part while negative pressure is exerted on the female mold part, thereby causing the blank to be seated in the configuration of the female mold part. The male mold part is then withdrawn, negative pressure is discontinued and the male mold is again placed in contact with the blank and heat and positive pressure are simultaneously applied to the mold parts to cause compression of the cells of the blank and to thereby cause the cells to become permanently reformed into their compressed positions.