Title of Dissertation: Bullet Bras and Bombshells – The shaping of a conical design for bras and breasts in the USA 1930s–1960s


There are numerous links between the ‘bullet bra’, weaponry, the military and the conical busty ideal that became known as ‘bombshell’. ’Bullet Bras and Bombshells‘ explores this complex relationship between military-driven changes in technology and the presentation and perception of the female body in the USA.


The increased standardisation of production during this period affected cultural perceptions of youth that were in turn inscribed upon the ideal female body and the fashion for an uplifted youthful bust line. The US entry into the Second World War marked a time of great change for the bra. The established concept of ‘uplifted youthfulness’ was used by the Corset and Brassiere Association of America to argue its essentiality as a time-saving labour device, essential for moulding an efficient female work force in the absence of male workers, in the hope that this could relieve the rations that affected bra production. Brassiere manufacturers such as Maiden Form engaged in wartime commissions for the military, manufacturing and even designing objects for use in the war effort. Furthermore, the increasingly structured shape of the bullet bra and breast ideal utilised the developments in synthetic materials that had resulted from the military-industrial complex. The development of plastic surgery was likewise accelerated during the War and resulted in its increased publicity as the ultimate method to uplift and shape the breast by permanently implanting the same synthetic materials that were used to mould bras and ‘falsies’.


Supported by: The Bard Graduate Center, New York student exchange programme