There is actually some interesting history here. The first conical shaping of breasts was in the 50′s shortly after WWII.  The poster girls for that era included Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe.  The second upswing in popularity came in the late 80′s with Madonna’s ‘Blonde Ambition’ Tour, where she wore costumes designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier that had extreme cone shapes over her breasts.

So, with these two events, the British are extrapolating that since both happened immediately after a recession (WWII and the Wall Street Crash of 1987), we are now due for a repeat of this same fashion trend. 

Are they nuts?  I think so.  First we need to understand that the bra as we know it today was first designed in the 1950′s by a man – Howard Hughes.  Of course, men would think our breasts are shaped this way and make a garment with cones for breasts!  Fortunately, women stepped in and got the shape right.  Then, Madonna comes along and wears this ridiculous cone shape in a concert, and we are to embrace this as a trend?

Personally, I think the Brits are grasping here. Maybe a woman with very little breast tissue might find this a fun fad, but anyone with a good-size cup is not going to buy into this one.

That said, we do get phone calls every once in a while asking which bras we carry at HerRoom that give a pointed silhouette.  And, I will tell you that most calls asking this are from men who like to wear ladies lingerie.  But, if you happen to like this silhouette, the Fantasie Belle 6010 and Goddess Longline 689 are two good choices.

This isn’t the first time Marilyn Monroe’s bra has been in the news–last summer a bra custom-made for Marilyn Monroe sold at auction for over $5000.

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For me, this was an exciting and fascinating discovery.  A bra from the 1950′s sold at auction last week for more than $5,000.  It was made for Marilyn Monroe and could have been worn under her famous white dress known for flying up over a New York City subway vent in the movie "Seven Year Itch."
 
There are so many intruiging aspects to this bra.  Marilyn was a size 36D, but this bra was designed to give her an even larger bustline.  Let’s start with the double straps.  This was a very clever design because it pulled the breasts up from both sides – like a cradle or hammock – to maximize projection and volume.  Back then, the conical shape breast positioned straight out in front was the preferred look. This bra would definitely achieve that look.
 
There are said to be two cups inside this bra.  The inside cup is an underwire half-cup or shelf bra style.  It would be similar to today’s support panels that help support the breasts from below and position them up higher to show off a woman’s waist.  Then, another cup on the outside was fashioned.  It actually projected one inch from the undercup.  This gave Marilyn the illusion of more breast tissue.  Today we use bump pads to achieve this same affect.  This outer cup has vertical ribbon seaming for additional support as well. It looks a lot like our very popular Shirley of Hollywood chopper bra.  

This bra for Monroe was a combination of cream and nude tones to look invisible under clothing.  So, when you think about it, this bra was way ahead of its time and incorporated technology and themes common in today’s bras – support, volume and invisible coloring.  Truly a fascinating find.  I only wish I had known about it in time to bid on it.

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Bras

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