...actually, it seems that exposing the breasts was quite common in fashion until the Victorian period, it seems that Queen Mary (of William and Mary fame) wore such garments quite a bit, as did Queen Elizabeth I (who, it seems, met Shakespeare with her dress open) - we see anachronistic remnants of this fashion in the dresses worn by girls in Bavaria, but with a 'modesty panel' added that covers the breasts. It seems that during the 16th and 17th centuries it was considered far more 'sexy' to show the ankles and shoulders than the breasts - pretty cool fashion statements in my opinion. I've attached some paintings showing a few ladies from the period; one is Henrietta Maria after whom the US state of Maryland is named. Not quite as enticing as those photos already added to this thread, but unfortunately, there were no cameras during this more 'enlightened' period.
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