But, in 2008, archaeologists investigating a rubbish pit in Lengberg Castle, Austria, discovered a cache of clothing, including underpants and four very modern-looking ‘bras’, complete with ‘bags’ – what we would call ‘cups’.
Carbon dating shows the bras were worn sometime between 1440 and 1485. In 1889, a German woman, Christine Hardt, received a patent for a modern bra.
However, in 1914 socialite Mary Phelps Jacob famously patented an invention she’d created from some handkerchiefs and a piece of pink ribbon one night before going out. This ‘backless brassiere’ became the basis for the bras we know today.