bust improver

plural bust improvers

1. historicalA late Victorian and Edwardian-era woman’s undergarment providing padding for the breasts.

   The advertisement which I see most often, whether it be of a perfume which I never use, or of a lady’s “bust-improver” which is no concern of mine, is the one which sticks in my memory.

   1899, Vincent O’Sullivan, “Same”, in The Green Window, London: Leonard Smithers, page 14

   1 more example

   I walked along a tiled corridor decorated with advertisements for lingerie and bust improvers—was allotted a tiny cabin and a blue print chemise and told to undress and find the Warm Room as soon as possible.

   1913, Katherine Mansfield, “Bains Turcs”, in The Blue Review, volume I, number 3, page 181