The Bikini

When we think of summer we think of bikini season - getting the perfect bikini body, finding the perfect swimsuit, and of course, going to the perfect beach. Although some variations of bathing suits and swimwear have been around for hundreds of years, the bikini has its own story.

The first bikini-esque attire dates all the way back to 5000 BC, but is more notably depicted on Ancient Greek urns showing athletic women dressed in two-pieces. Artwork in Sicily depicts women in bikinis as far back at 285AD! At the Villa Ramona del Casale, the mosaic artwork features images of ten women, dubbed the "Bikini Girls," exercising in clothing that would pass as bikinis today. In fact, there were even images found from the ancient city of Pompeii that depicted women wearing bikinis!

Between the 6th century AD and the late 1800s portrayals of bikinis become scarce. In 1830 the first "decency" swimsuit appeared. Prior to then swimsuits were considered immoral due to religious and Puritanical beliefs about showing skin and the human body. The decency swimsuit covered the entire body - from ankles to wrists - and had stripes like a prison uniform. Over the next hundred years as people become more comfortable about showing skin and laws become more lax, bathing suits became skimpier and revealed more of the body.

By 1913, women were allowed to show some leg and arm thanks to Carl Jantzen's design. He made the first functional two-piece swimwear, a close fitting one-piece with shorts on the bottom and short sleeves on top. By the 1930s, sleeves of bathing suits were removed and necklines started to get lower.

In the 1940's the United States and most of the world was at war causing the government to order a 10% cut in fabric used for women's swimsuits. More and more two-piece suits were being made now and started to be seen more on the beaches. Popular actresses at the time like Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, and Lana Turner boosted popularity by wearing two pieces.

1946 saw the creation of the modern bikini in France by both Louis Réard, an engineer, and designer Jacques Heim. It was met with both acceptance and disapproval. The swimsuit was banned in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Here in the United States, women could be issued citations for wearing bikinis, which were considered scandalous and lewd.

The taboo status of the bikini began to change in the 60s thanks to actresses like Ursula Andress who donned the now famous white bikini in the James Bond film Dr. No. Between more mainstream depictions, in films and TV, and the burgeoning hippie movement, the bikini slowly became more acceptable.

In the 80's and 90's the bikini continued to push the envelope of both fashion and what was considered appropriate. Thong and g-string bikinis made regular appearances on the cover of Sports Illustrated and images of tanned bodies on the beaches of South America showed off a much more revealing style than Americans were used to. Slowly these different styles have made their way into U.S beachwear along with other swimsuit innovations such as the monokini, tankini, bandeau top, and many more.

Today's bikinis are a far cry from the cumbersome two pieces of the 40's and 50's and bathing suit designers continue to find new, creative ways to design stylish, flattering pieces that every women will want to wear!