ADVERTIsem*nT
If you don’t know what a bullet bra is then you could be forgiven for thinking it’s something dangerous. And in a way it is, because its extremely conical points are sharp enough to poke your eye out.
You don’t see many of these vintage bras these days but they were very popular during the 1940s and 1950s. They were made famous by the sweater girls (various Hollywood actresses who adopted the fashion of wearing tight sweaters over a bullet-shaped or cone bra), and Madonna even wore one designed by Jean Paul Gaultier during her Blond Ambition Tour back in 1990. A vintage fashion lingerie company called What Katie Did was the first company to bring bullet bras back into modern production in 1999, and since then other companies have also started to make their own version of the iconic underwear. Scroll down for a collection of vintage photos featuring women modeling bullet bras in true 1950s fashion. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite!
(h/t: vintage everyday)
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
A Sweater Girl
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#2
Vintage Underwear
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Master Markus Community Member Follow
This is the one picture so far that looks alright to me. Probably because it's not under a sweater, making it look like the woman has oddly deformed breasts.
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#3
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
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Allison co*ckburn Community Member Follow
Really thinking I need to invest in one of these bad boys. Bring this fashion trend back!
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#4
The One And Only Marilyn Monroe
Final score:
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coffee zombie Community Member Follow
Maybe it's because Marilyn Monroe is wearing them but this picture doesn't look ridiculous
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#5
Elizabeth Taylor
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Allana Rose Community Member Follow
Liz could be wearing a burlap sack and still look fabulous in it!
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#6
Old Hollywood Fashion
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79points
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jacluckycat Community Member Follow
I love that old hollywood glamour
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#7
Vintage Look
Final score:
67points
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Flora Polvado Community Member Follow
Cute outfit.
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#8
Bullet Bra
Final score:
64points
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Amaranthim Talon Community Member Follow
Think those have their own zip code...
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#9
Jayne Mansfield
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Sara Duckett Community Member Follow
Pretty sure this is Jayne Mansfield.
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#10
Vintage Outfit
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44points
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John Holden Community Member Follow
"You'll poke your eye out, kid!"
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#11
Vintage Blonde Bombshell
Final score:
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Dawna Glow Community Member Follow
ever wonder what a teenage boy thought when he saw the real boob?
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#12
Marilyn Monroe
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Sharon Vaughn Community Member Follow
The darts in the top make them even pointier.
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#13
Bullet Bra Fashion
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34points
#14
Vintage Glamour
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Christopher Willmot Community Member Follow
Beautiful
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#15
Bullet Bra
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Leah Forgy Community Member Follow
That's not from the 40s
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#16
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
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Jilltdcatlady Community Member Follow
TV Announcer: before the Wonder Bra, before the Push Up Bra,before Plastic Surgery there was (dramatic music)...THE BULLET BRA! (Audience applause)
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#17
A Sweater Girl
Final score:
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Janice Foster Community Member Follow
But....WHY??! They look ridiculous!
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#18
Jayne Mansfield
Final score:
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Debra Starr Moon Community Member Follow
Jane Mansfield. Mariska Hargitay's (from law and order) mother. You can see the resemblance.
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#19
Marilyn Monroe
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Jilltdcatlady Community Member Follow
Are her pointy boobs closer to her waist than modern day boobs? Or is it an illusion created by the clothes and point of view?
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#20
Bullet Bra
Final score:
24points
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Aprille Park Community Member Follow
You'll poke your eye out, kid.
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#21
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
22points
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Lilibeth Rodriguez Community Member Follow
Ooooh her shoes!!!!!
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#22
Vintage Undergarments
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21points
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Jilltdcatlady Community Member Follow
I just realized... there is no possible way to create cleavage.
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#23
Bullet Bra
Final score:
20points
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Patagoniakid Patagoniakid Community Member Follow
Her waist is more impressive!
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#24
Sweater Girl
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#25
Vintage Outfit
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Mibo Dumplings Community Member Follow
Imagine hugging her
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#26
Bullet Bra Fashion
Final score:
19points
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ispeak catanese Community Member Follow
I had a waist like that when I was 9. *bursts into sobs*
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#27
Rhonda Fleming
Final score:
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Dave Community Member Follow
Rhonda Fleming
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#28
Jane Russell
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Debra Starr Moon Community Member Follow
The beautiful Jane Russell.
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#29
Bettie Page
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#30
Vintage Fashion
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Mark Short Community Member Follow
Torpedos !!
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#31
Carole Lesley
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14points
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Debbie Saloman Community Member Follow
This is the British actress Carole Lesley - she was a friend of my Grandma.
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#32
Fashionable Looks
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#33
Jayne Mansfield And Diana Dors
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Lesley Watts Community Member Follow
Jayne Mansfield and Diana Dors
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#34
Vintage Fashion
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13points
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Sharon Vaughn Community Member Follow
Anne Francis? She had a mole (beauty mark) on the right of her chin.
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#35
Glamour Shot
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Master Markus Community Member Follow
That hypotenuse.
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#36
Bullet Bra
Final score:
12points
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Lisa Jarvis Community Member Follow
Looks like my gram
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#37
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
12points
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OdangaUsagi Community Member Follow
"Al...most.. free.... just..a.. little further...!"
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9points
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#38
Vintage Summer Look
Final score:
11points
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Leah Forgy Community Member Follow
Oh my.
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#39
Vintage Sporty Look
Final score:
11points
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Kara Neice Community Member Follow
She looks uncomfortable in so many ways... 😂
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#40
Dorothy Lamour
Final score:
11points
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Connie Martin Community Member Follow
Okay, on Dorothy Lamour it almost looks natural. For one thing they're not hiked up to her armpits.
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#41
Brigitte Bardot
Final score:
10points
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
Lovely, and NOT pointed, at least not by 1960's norms.This the lift and separate look you heard advertised on radio and TV.This might be the playtex 18 hour which some today might consider a bullet style, but thank goodness no spear points.
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#42
Bullet Bra Fashion
Final score:
9points
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Connie Martin Community Member Follow
AAs in a bullet bra. Not good. Not that DDs are either.
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#43
Tina Louise
Final score:
9points
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Cathy Lowery Community Member Follow
Tina Louise from Gilligan's Island?
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#44
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
9points
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Jacques Godin Community Member Follow
Honey, I packed you a full thermos of hot milk for lunch! LOL
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#45
Blonde Bombshell
Final score:
9points
#46
Vintage Undergarments
Final score:
8points
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Cathie Kaye Community Member Follow
They still sell these bras in marks and Spencer's 🤣
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4points
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#47
Vintage Look
Final score:
8points
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Susan Jones Community Member Follow
That is a super classy look.
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#48
Bullet Bra
Final score:
8points
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Mat Gdowski Community Member Follow
She might fit behind the tree to hide, but her bullet boobs won't! LOL! 🤣🤣
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#49
Hollywood Starlet
Final score:
8points
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Becca Britton Community Member Follow
Wow.. she bears a strong resemblance to Brittany murphy..
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#50
Vintage Glamour
Final score:
8points
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#51
Vintage Look
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8points
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#52
Joan Collins And Jayne Mansfield
Final score:
8points
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Tracy Taylor Community Member Follow
Joan Collins and Jayne Mansfield
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#53
Vintage Photoshoot
Final score:
7points
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#54
Vintage Summer Look
Final score:
7points
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Mandy Martinez Community Member Follow
Back when thighs were allowed to be real, you go girl!
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10points
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#55
Vintage Photoshoot
Final score:
7points
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Connie Martin Community Member Follow
Her posture is so silly
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#56
Bunny Yeager
Final score:
7points
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Drexel Delaney Community Member Follow
Bunny was once a guest on "What's My Line?". Available on YouTube.
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#57
Marilyn Monroe
Final score:
7points
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
Marilyn was making a face here I had never seen before. I didn't know it was her until in another place it was verified as her.
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#58
Yvonne DeCarlo
Final score:
7points
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ispeak catanese Community Member Follow
Gorgeous.
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2points
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#59
Diana Dors
Final score:
7points
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Maajed Alrabi Community Member Follow
من
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#60
Bettie Page
Final score:
7points
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Terri Rowland Community Member Follow
Reminds me of the dark haired daughter out of Dirty Dancing 💃
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2points
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#61
Bullet Bra Fashion
Final score:
6points
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Karolína T. Community Member Follow
Missing a part of her head...!
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8points
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#62
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
6points
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Debra Starr Moon Community Member Follow
Am I the only one who thinks she looks a bit like Anna Nicole smith?
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#63
Patti Page
Final score:
6points
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Enzo MiMo Community Member Follow
Patti's cheekbones are more impressive than her boob-ular appendages.
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#64
Karen Steele
Final score:
6points
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Friedlander Rosenzweig Community Member Follow
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0824606/mediaviewer/rm168536832 Karen Steele played Eve McHuron on Star Trek.
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#65
Bullet Bra Fashion
Final score:
6points
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Mat Gdowski Community Member Follow
The hair dryer looks like the bra. Maybe that is where he inspiration came from? 😳
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#66
Vintage Underwear
Final score:
6points
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Lucia Benard-Martinez Community Member Follow
When models are real girls not like this days!
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5points
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#67
Gloria Talbott
Final score:
5points
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David Hogan Community Member Follow
A good actress, famed as the unhappy bride in I Married a Monster from Outer Space (silly title for a thoughtful, scary thriller).
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#68
Evelyn West
Final score:
5points
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Terri Rowland Community Member Follow
Alien super heroine...possibly early star trek character lol
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#69
Martha Hyer
Final score:
5points
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
Oh, now that looks really nice.
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#70
Vintage Glamour
Final score:
5points
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
Gorgeous
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#71
Sweater Girl
Final score:
5points
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Connie Martin Community Member Follow
It's about the sheer damn sweaters, gals. It looks like your nipples are going to poke through, and that makes viewers uncomfortable.
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6points
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#72
Vintage Summer Fashion
Final score:
5points
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Athena Cadena Community Member Follow
When thick was beautiful.
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4points
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#73
Vintage Magazine Cover Photo
Final score:
5points
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Grahame Ware Community Member Follow
Somewhere between Paris and London, a fashion accident occurs...
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#74
Mamie Van Doren
Final score:
4points
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Princess of Mirth Community Member Follow
The still lovely Mamie Van Doren
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#75
Piper Laurie
Final score:
4points
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Debra Starr Moon Community Member Follow
Piper Laurie, the mother from the original "Carrie" with Sissy Spacek.
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2points
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#76
Patti Page
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4points
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#77
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
4points
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Scott Griffin Community Member Follow
Yolanda Betbeze, Miss America 1951, 1950
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#78
Bullet Bra
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4points
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
Wow she's kind of sexy.
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#79
Vintage Photoshoot
Final score:
4points
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Johanna Tøugu Community Member Follow
wow those legs!!
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#80
Vintage Fashion
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
She's cute.
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#81
Bullet Bra Fashion
Final score:
4points
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Drexel Delaney Community Member Follow
Smoking will stunt your ... growth!
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2points
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#82
Vintage Underwear
Final score:
3points
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Jacques Godin Community Member Follow
And I thought I was the only one to show up at work in my underwear, I had forgotten to wear my pants! LOL
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4points
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#83
Vintage Bullet Bra
Final score:
3points
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
SEXY
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2points
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#84
Jane Russell
Final score:
3points
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Cathy Lowery Community Member Follow
Jane Russell
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2points
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#85
Vintage Glamour
Final score:
3points
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Bettye McKee Community Member Follow
A little too gothic.
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#86
Janet Leigh
Final score:
3points
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#87
Sweater Girl
Final score:
3points
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Mat Gdowski Community Member Follow
Uhhhh funny bra and no pants? 😳😳😳
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#88
Betty Grable
Final score:
3points
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#89
Bullet Bra Fashion
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2points
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
Cute face but wow that figure.
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#90
Bullet Bra
Final score:
2points
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#91
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
2points
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Morgan Painter Community Member Follow
Something is wrong with the one in the middle. Her bullets are pointing at the ground!
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#92
Bullet Bra
Final score:
2points
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Jacques Godin Community Member Follow
And I thought that they couldn't wear that on the streets, it's quite unsafe, distracting male drivers!
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#93
Barbara Windsor
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2points
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#94
Vintage Fashion
Final score:
2points
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Enzo MiMo Community Member Follow
KEYHOLE sweater FTW! The "porthole" is shaped exactly like my face! :D
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#95
Vera Day
Final score:
2points
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Jilltdcatlady Community Member Follow
I keep getting the "I'm not talking to you" "well I'm not talking to you either" vibe with some of the pictures.
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#96
Dorothy Malone
Final score:
1point
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Lesley Watts Community Member Follow
Dorothy Malone from Peyton place
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#97
Bullet Bra
Final score:
0points
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Connie Martin Community Member Follow
Nope nope nope nope nope
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As a writer and image editor for Bored Panda, Giedrė crafts posts on many different topics to push them to their potential. She's also glad that her Bachelor’s degree in English Philology didn’t go to waste (although collecting dust in the attic could also be considered an achievement of aesthetic value!) Giedrė is an avid fan of cats, photography, and mysteries, and a keen observer of the Internet culture which is what she is most excited to write about. Since she's embarked on her journalistic endeavor, Giedrė has over 600 articles under her belt and hopes for twice as much (fingers crossed - half of them are about cats).
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Darius B. Community Member Follow
Special mention to the Mazinger Z female mechas :P venusalfa-...26f709.gif
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Shari H Community Member Follow
I never realized this was an intentional fashion trend, and have always been thankful that bra technology advanced past "cone boob" phase. I guess some day people will look back at our round boob bras and wonder "WTF were they thinking?"
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Jilltdcatlady Community Member Follow
I had the same idea! Only I thought it had to do with shortages caused by WW2, the major ingredients like cotton and rubber. And they Had to be that shape because there wasn't any other materials available for the "boob" shape.
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Wezbie Community Member Follow
I just want to see how boobs actually fit in that space. Wouldn't there be a massive gap between boob to point of cone? I suppose they are good protection for bumping against stuff XD
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Mieke Sorée Community Member Follow
But if you would bump into something, wouldn't that create a dent? How ridiculous would that look!
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Darius B. Community Member Follow
Special mention to the Mazinger Z female mechas :P venusalfa-...26f709.gif
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40points
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Shari H Community Member Follow
I never realized this was an intentional fashion trend, and have always been thankful that bra technology advanced past "cone boob" phase. I guess some day people will look back at our round boob bras and wonder "WTF were they thinking?"
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13points
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Jilltdcatlady Community Member Follow
I had the same idea! Only I thought it had to do with shortages caused by WW2, the major ingredients like cotton and rubber. And they Had to be that shape because there wasn't any other materials available for the "boob" shape.
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Wezbie Community Member Follow
I just want to see how boobs actually fit in that space. Wouldn't there be a massive gap between boob to point of cone? I suppose they are good protection for bumping against stuff XD
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Mieke Sorée Community Member Follow
But if you would bump into something, wouldn't that create a dent? How ridiculous would that look!
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