A revolutionary discovery is rewriting the history of underwear: Some 600 years ago, women wore bras.

The University of Innsbruck said Wednesday that archeologists found four linen bras dating from the Middle Ages in an Austrian castle. Fashion experts describe the find as surprising because the bra had commonly been thought to be only little more than 100 years old as women abandoned the tight corset.

Instead, it appears the bra came first, followed by the corset, followed by the reinvented bra.

One specimen in particular "looks exactly like a (modern) brassiere," says Hilary Davidson, fashion curator for the London Museum. "These are amazing finds."

Although the linen garments were unearthed in 2008, they did not make news until now says Beatrix Nutz, the archaeologist responsible for the discovery.

Researching the items and carbon dating them to make sure they were genuine took some time. She delivered a lecture on them last year but the information stayed within academic circles until a recent article in the BBC History Magazine.

"We didn't believe it ourselves," she said in a telephone call from the Tyrolean city of Innsbruck. "From what we knew, there was no such thing as bra-like garments in the 15th century."

The university said the four bras were among more than 2,700 textile fragments — some linen, others linen combined with cotton — that were found intermixed with dirt, wood, straw and pieces of leather.

"Four linen textiles resemble modern-time bras" with distinct cups and one in particular looks like today's version, it said, with "two broad shoulder straps and a possible back strap, not preserved but indicated by partially torn edges of the cups onto which it was attached."

And the lingerie was not only functional.

The bras were intricately decorated with lace and other ornamentation, the statement said, suggesting they were also meant to please a suitor.

While paintings of the era show outerwear, they do not reveal what women wore beneath. Davidson, the fashion curator, described the finds as "kind of a missing link" in the history of women's underwear.

Women started experimenting with bra-like garments in the late 1800s and the first modern brassiere was patented in the early 19th century. It is thought to have been invented by New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob, who was unhappy with the look of her gown over a stiff corset.

Also found at Lemberg Castle in Tyrol was a linen undergarment that looks very much like a pair of panties. But Nutz said it is men's underwear — women did not wear anything under their flowing skirts back then.

"Underpants were considered a symbol of male dominance and power," she said.

Medieval drawings often show a man and a woman fighting for a pair of underpants in a symbolic battle to see who "wears the trousers" in the family. (AP)

<한글 기사>

600년 전 女 브래지어 놀랄 정도로 흡사

600년 전 여성들은 어떤 모양의 브래지어를 사용했을까.

놀랍게도 요즘 나오는 제품과 비슷하리 만큼 닮은 모양이었다.

19일(한국시각) 외신에 따르면 지난 2008년 오스트리아의 렘베르그 성(城)에서 발견됐다 최근 공개된 브래지어가 오늘날의 디자인과 그 맥을 같이 했다. 이는 서양 복식사에서 놀라운 일로 받아들여지고 있다.

요즘 착용하는 여성 브래지어가 실질적으로 등장한 것은 약 100년 정도 전의 일. 결국 고성(古城)에서 발견된 이 브래지어는 이보다 500년 더 거슬러 올라간 것으로 그 누구도 상상못했던 일이다.

공개된 브래지어는 모두 4개로 레이스로 장식된 이 브래지어는 요즘 생산되는 것과 거의 같은 형태의 컵이 있으며 어깨끈은 다소 넓은 편이다.

서양복식사에서 브래지어는 1800년대 후반경 중세 속옷에 해당하는 코로셋이 사라지면서 대체 용품으로 등장했다는 것이 지금까지의 정설.

따라서 이번 공개된 브래지어는 이미 적어도 1400년대엔 사용됐으며 이후 코르셋에 밀려 자취를 감췄다 1800년경 다시 등장한 것으로 추론하고 있다.

프랑스어인 브래지어란 용어도 1907년 발행된 보그 잡지에 처음 등장했고, 미국의 마리 펠프스 야곱사가 브래지어 디자인으로 미국에서 특허를 받은 것도 이 무렵이다. 당시 특허를 받은 디자인은 두 개의 손수건을 리본에 붙인 모양으로 전해진다.

(코리아 헤럴드 7월22일 字  )