Bra history before modern ages bra style and different size

In the Middle Ages the history of bra is rich of interesting and it was exceptional for women to restrict or support their breasts, and if they did, they probably used something like a cloth binder, as evidence suggests in descriptions of the time. A widely quoted statement is that an edict of Strasbourg in the Holy Roman Empire, dated 1374 states, "No woman will support the bust by the disposition of a blouse or by tightened dress. However, an exact source hasn’t been located. By the time of Charles VII of France (1403–1461), a gauze drape was used over the bust.

Generally, in the Middle Ages the breasts were minimization in dresses with straight bodices, full skirts and high necklines, designed primarily for function rather than emphasis on form. The 17th century ideal form was small breasted and full figured bra size, symbolizing abundance of fertility. By the time of the Renaissance, décolletage became very fashionable. There was some status to firm breasts in the lower classes, the women of which did not breast feed. Infants were given to wet nurses to breast feed, since nursing was bad if a girl wanted to maintain an ideal form. Among the wealthier classes, the corset was beginning to appear by the mid-17th century. Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589, wife of King Henry II of France) is widely, and wrongly, blamed for the corset. She was reported to have prohibited wide waists at court in the 1550s, legend suggesting she made them wear steel framework corsets

Elaborate constraints placed on women's figures over the years were not universal. Corsetry made it virtually impossible to work, so simpler functional garments were worn by women who worked inside or outside the home. Support for the breasts was often provided by a simple tie under the breast line, in the bodice