Bullet Bra

A pin-up classic & vintage silhouette

From the classic 1950’s pin-up girl to 1990’s Madonna, there’s no denying that the bullet bra is a lingerie icon that keeps finding its way back into the spotlight, even if only for brief spans of time every few decades. And when this vintage style bra resurfaces in popular culture, it makes quite an impression.

A pin-up girl must-have, the conical shape of the bullet bra’s cups is what gives the breasts that classic pointy shape all pin-up girls are known for. Though this particular silhouette isn’t as popular in modern times, it’s still a look that many women like to have on certain occasions and under certain outfits.

Now commonly referred to as a conical bra, the extremely pointy bullet bra has evolved over the years to be softer and slightly more rounded.

A little history

This pointy cone bra style first hit the scene in the mid-1940s with the creation of Maidenform’s Chansonette bra. By the 1950’s, the pin-up fashion had emerged and women were looking for a more “aggressively shaped” breast silhouette. At this time, the cone shape of the bullet bra was created by spiral stitching, which made the pointy silhouette highly exaggerated. This gave women what many considered to be the perfect pin up silhouette.

Since that time, women who do want to wear a bullet bra but don’t want to look as exaggerated and pointy opt to wear more modern bullet bra styles (which are less harsh) and often like to wear them under 1950s-inspired outfits. If you’re wearing a 1950’s vintage style, it’s not as unusual to have a more conical breast shape.

Wearing a 1950s bullet bra

Although the first bullet bras were made with spiral stitching, there are now many bras that give you a conical shape but feature horizontal and vertical seams instead. They are very supportive and comfortable, and work for all sizes – especially fuller figures (DD+ cup sizes).

Because this pointy cone bra is so comfortable, you can wear a bullet bra on any occasion. Try wearing a bullet bra under a soft blouse, sweater, swing-style dress, tube top or crop top. Because these bras have such thorough construction and support in the cups, you don’t need a lot of extra padding or underwires. HerRoom offers a wide selection of 1950s bullet bras for sale, available in plus sizes.