Recently, an @askhistorians user asked, "What was so appealing about the bra that it completely replace[d] the corset?" People really don& #39;t realize that they coexisted!

In the first decade of the 20th century, the top edge of the corset was made to sit fairly low on the torso, not providing very much support. It& #39;s not surprising that they would invent a garment to sit over the corset to give more.

(Love it when I post a picture and the preview is the bottom 1/3 of it ... You& #39;d think I& #39;d learn.)

The original brassiere was basically a tight corset cover, sometimes even with a little tab at the bottom to clip to the corset& #39;s busk. This one has some stiffening, but originally they were just a single layer of cotton.