Now, bra with handgun holster to help women defend themselves

The bra is attached with a thermoplastic shell that is able to store one of more than 20 hand gun styles already on the market.

The bra offers a modern-day take on traditional female self-defense systems such as the garter belt holster made popular in American Old Western films of the early Forties.

"I really never intended to create a holster line, that was never something that I wanted to do. I just did this for myself but as I was talking to other women, they were like "oh my gosh, this is great, I have the same problem"," a major newspaper quoted the inventor Lisa Looper as telling a major news channel.

"It was kind of like, where can I put this thing so it won't show," she said.

She found that a woman's bra was the most logical place to place a gun, where women can simply yank at a handle on the holster to release the weapon.

"Women have this natural little overhang here and it's a great spot to tuck a gun," she said.

The garment's slogan reads "Nothing comes between a girl and her gun".

"You can't get to the phone and call 911 all the time, you know you need to be able to defend yourself," Looper said.

It is said that the average time it takes to draw the gun from the bra, which retails for 40 dollars online, and fire the gun is 1.5seconds.

An online shopping website account that is selling the design comes with further details.

"Statistics show that most gunfights last about 2.5 seconds, there are multiple attackers over 80 percent of the time, and the fight will be in extreme close quarters, usually within touching distance," it said.

"You need the ability to draw and fire as soon as possible without alerting the suspect to your intentions until they receive your gun fire.

"Weapon retention is paramount, meaning purse carry is rarely a viable solution," the the account added.

For the fashion-conscious, the bra comes in a range of colours, including hot pink, nude and black, as well as sizes.