A important garments for lady in 19th century is bra

What is regarded as the world's oldest push-up bra was discovered in storage at the Science Museum in London. Designed to enhance cleavage, the brassiere is said to be from the early 19th Century.

There are considerable differences of opinion as to who 'invented' the brassiere or bra. Patents indicate some of the landmark developments of the period. A large number of patents for bra-like devices were granted in the 19th century.

A bra-like device that gave a symmetrical rotundity to the wearer's breasts was patented in 1859 by Henry S. Lasher of Brooklyn, New York. In 1863, a "corset substitute" was patented by Lumen L. Chapman of Camden, New Jersey. Historians refer to it as a "proto-brassiere".

In 1876, dressmaker Olivia Flynt was granted four patents covering the "true Corset" or "Flynt Waist". It was aimed at the larger-breasted woman. Reformers stimulated demand for and probably purchased these early garments on 'hygienic' grounds because of their concerns about the corset. Initially Flynt's garments were only available by mail order, but they eventually appeared in department and clothing stores and catalogues. Her designs won a bronze medal at the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association in 1878, at the Cotton Centennial Expoostion in Atlanta in 1885-5, and at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1894.

According to Life magazine, in 1892 Herminie Cadolle of France invented the first modern bra. It appeared in a corset catalogue as a two-piece undergarment, which she originally called the corselet gorge, and later le bien-être (or 'the well-being'). Her garment effectively cut the traditional corset in two. The lower part was a corset for the waist, the upper supporting the breasts by means of shoulder straps. Her description reads "designed to sustain the bosom and supported by the shoulders". She patented her invention and showed it at the Great Exhibition of 1890. The company, still family-owned, claims today that Herminie 'freed women by inventing the first Bra. Her garment was probably more comfortable than the original corsets. By 1912 the upper half was being sold separately as a soutien-gorge, the name by which bras are still known in France. She also introduced the use of "rubber thread" or elastic.

In 1893, Marie Tucek received a U.S. patent for a device that consisted of separate pockets for each breast above a metal supporting plate and shoulder straps fastened by hook-and-eye. This invention more closely resembled the modern bra size known today, and was a precursor to the underwire bra. Apparently she failed to successfully market it.

Since women's magazines printed patterns, home-sewn garments competed with factory-made ready-to-wear garments. The brassiere was at first an alternative to the corset, for negligée or at-home wear, or was worn by those women who had medical issues with corsets. After the straight-fronted corset became fashionable in the early 20th century, a brassiere or "bust supporter" became a importance for full-busted women and their bra size is fixed , as the straight-fronted corset did not offer as much support and containment as the Victorian styles. Early brassieres were either wrap-around bodices or boned, close-fitting camisoles (both worn over the corset).They were designed to hold the bust in and down against the corset, which provided upward support.

Advertising of the times, typically in periodicals, stressed the advantages of bras in health and comfort over corsets, and portrayed garments with shoulder supports, in a mono-bosom style and with limited adaptability. Their major appeal was to those for whom lung function and mobility were priorities, rather than outer appearance.