If anyone wants to pick my brain about period clothing, my PM box is open.  This is what I do for a living, and I teach fashion history.  I also regularly distort and redesign clothing to suit the needs of show settings ;).<br/><br/>The Romans actually invented the bandeau and the first prototype of the bikini, but despite the early use of the term brassiere in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the modern bra as we know it today didn't come into existance until Howard Hughes created the underwire, pushup bra for Jane Russell for<em>The Outlaw</em>in the 40's.<br/><br/>There have been some recent discoveries of brassiere like garments in medieval garment finds, which is really interesting from a costume history perspective.  I personally can't believe that women wouldn't have figured out<em>some </em>kind of garment that provided support for their breasts until corsetry in the late Quattrocento.<br/><br/>Oh and, I have all kinds of pictures I can share.<br/><br/>Annnnnnd, my geek is showing.  *backs away slowly*