…went along with any whaleboned stays, to hold them in place on the body and to lift the breasts high. Throughout the 16th century shoulder straps were right on the shoulders. In the 17th straps gradually slipped off to the top of the arm. By the middle of the century they were off the shoulder an across the arm, creating an oval neckline notable of the period.
(Sketch: 1600’s Tudor Pair of Bodys with shoulder straps)