Austrian find dates bras back to 15th century

[MADem]

Maybe not "Weird" news...but certainly unusual and unexpected! There's pics at the link...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/24/us-austria-bras-mediaeval-idUSBRE86N0ZA20120724?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

(Reuters) - Four mediaeval bras have been found in a collection of textiles excavated from an Austrian castle, confounding conventional wisdom that bras did not exist before the 19th century.

The linen garments were found in the remains of Lengberg Castle in eastern Tyrol. They resemble modern bras in that they have two distinct cups, and have decorative needle lace that would not have been visible when worn under a dress.

The bras were among 2,700 textile fragments found during archaeological investigations of the castle by a team from the University of Innsbruck, which began in 2008.

Carbon dating has now confirmed that the garments date back to the 15th century, the researchers said....

[Curmudgeoness]

1. And except for the torturous underwires,

bras have not evolved in all this time. Hell, it looks like my bras!

[MADem]

2. Humans have, down the centuries, found ways to contain stuff that swayed and jiggled...

...so I don't really think it's all that surprising. The codpiece has a long and storied history, and there are all sorts of "package containing" garments for the gentlemen down through the years in all cultures, so why shouldn't women have a containment mechanism for their more mobile bits as well?

The only thing that is surprising is that this is the first time I've seen any "fashion history" on the topic. I should think this might have been documented somewhere along the line..! Of course, what I don't know about fashion would fill a library, but still...!

[Curmudgeoness]

3. The only fashion history that would interest me

is why it changed from men wearing the bizarre clothes and high heels to women wearing them. How that switcheroo happened would be something I would like to know.

[MADem]

4. Really! It is an odd thing.

In nature, the plainer birds are the females--they don't have a need to gussie up; the male birds are the ones who dance around like crazy and have the bright colors and plumage!

Look at the lioness--she doesn't need the stupid mane (must get hot in the summer, that thing) -- she does just fine with a simpler outfit.

Ever since the face powder, rouge and powdered wig days, it seems the men gradually became stuck in a sartorial rut, and the women went crazy with "styles."

The seventies and eighties were a bit of an exception to that general rule, I'd say!