This is the world's oldest bra!

How old do you think it is?

By Glamour Magazine Dec 20, 2012 6:57PM

by Nikki Ogunnaike

If you had to guess just how old the world's oldest bra is, what would you say?

Well according to Jarrett A. Lobell at archaeology.org,

When archaeologists pulled up the floorboards during extensive restoration work at Lengberg Castle in Austria, they found a space filled with dry organic material, including branches and straw, processed wood, leather, shoes, yarn, rope, and more than 2,700 textile fragments. Among the textiles were 17 linen shirts, a complete pair and a fragment of men’s underwear, and four lace-decorated linen bras—which push back the earliest date for this type of women’s undergarment more than 500 years. Using both their archaeological context—the fill layer was likely created during a fifteenth-century renovation of the castle—and radiocarbon analysis of fibers from two of the bras, Beatrix Nutz of the University of Innsbruck dated the garments to between A.D. 1390 and 1485. There are numerous medieval written sources that describe bras as “breastbags,” but until this discovery no one had any idea what these garments looked like.

Seriously? Breastbags? That's kind of hilarious. What's even funnier is that the "breastbag" they found looks eerily similar to bras of today! Not much has changed, huh?

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What do you think of this discovery? Do you think the ladies of that time found them to be comfortable? Discuss!

Bing: World's oldest fashion

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3Comments

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Jan 7, 2013 10:23AM

Of all the under garments that women have had to endure over the centuries, this one doesn't look to bad or too different from bras we currently wear. Amazing.