The modern bikini is said to have been created and designed by the French engineer and inventor, Louis Reard and a fashion designer Jacques Heim in 1946.  It was introduced in Paris at a fashion show on July 25, 1946.  Named after the nuclear weapon test site, Bikini Atoll, where nuclear tests had been done in the days preceding it’s introduction, the idea and name were based upon the belief that the introduction of the new swimwear would cause as great a reaction in the fashion industry as the nuclear device itself.  This would be an understatement in the overall history of the swimsuit industry. 

Famous Moments In Swimsuit History

The bikini took America by storm, appearing in movies, song lyrics, posters and beaches in a relatively short time following its European debut in 1946.  Brigitte Bardot’s 1957 appearance in a bikini in the movie, And God Created Woman, created an instant retail demand in the American swimwear market.

The 1960 popular song, “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” was a direct reflection of how widespread this swimsuit style was becoming in the popular American marketplace.  After the songs popular release, women across American began to take an interest in buying a bikini of their own.

However, it wasn’t until the 1962 “Bond Girl” Ursula Andress appeared in a white bikini, walking out of the ocean, onto the beach, in Dr. No that sales hit their high point across the United States and earned the public acceptance overall.  This universal acceptance was immediately noticed when Disney’s star, Annette Funicello, appeared opposite Frankie Avalon in Beach Party wearing a bikini. 

The Bikini Becomes An Icon In American Pop Culture

The marketing ability of the bikini has provided the foundation for many successful television shows in the American pop culture.  Shows such as Baywatch were based entirely upon male and female actors dressed in swimwear during the show, with the plot of each segment based upon a situation that allowed for the constant wearing of swimwear.  It was quite obvious that the plot of the show was secondary to the models that were onscreen clad only in different swimsuits.

Movie bikini icons such as the 1966 One Million Years B.C., showing Raquel Welch in a prehistoric cave girl fashioned costume and Carrie Fisher in a two minute segment in the 1983 release of Return of The Jedi clad in a Gold Bikini are legendary in American pop culture. 

Today, women have numerous options when purchasing swimsuits. There are one-piece and two-piece swimsuits. There are bikinis and there are tankinis. There is designer swimwear in nearly every color, design, and size imaginable! However, we cannot fully appreciate the variety of swimsuits available today, without revisiting those of the past.

When Swimwear Was Bodywear

The demand for Victorian swimwear took off after railways in Britain gave average citizens the opportunity to visit the beach frequently. Victorian swimwear modelled contemporary attire, which was extremely modest and nearly covered a woman’s entire body. Compared to today’s designer swimwear, modern women would find such early swimsuits to be restricting and uncomfortable.

During the earliest period of the Victoria era, women wore bathing dresses that were constructed of dark flannel or a type of woollen cloth referred to as serge. However, two piece costumes with belts became substitutes for these previous styles, in the 1960s. The bodice or top of the swimwear resembled a jacket, while the swimwear bottom portion included three quarter-length trousers. Ironically, when Ameleia Bloomer had encouraged women a decade earlier to wear them, they had not become fashionable. Bloomer, an American, had suggested that women wear the trousers like those that Turkish women sported. 

The next versions of swimsuits during the Victoria era remained bulky. While they were more eye-catching and sensible than previous swimsuits of the era, they still were extremely uncomfortable, compared to today’s designer swimwear.

Those Blooming Bloomers

Much of society during England’s late Victorian era accepted bloomers, which Ameleia Bloomer had inspired. However, they were worn as cycling clothing, and had not become part of mainstream fashion yet.

This resistance to fashion evolution helps to explain why swimwear fashion altered little and gradually during this era. For instance, women began the sport short cap sleeves. Within time, sleeveless styles of swimsuits were produced, revealing bare ankles underneath the bloomers. Fortunately for modern women, today’s designer swimwear looks great and feels comfortable.

Shedding Swimsuit Sleeves

Today, wearing an Edwardian swimsuit to the beach, rather than a designer swimwear, may raise a few people’s eyebrows. However, the Edwardian swimsuits greatly resembled Victorian swimsuits. For instance, they were still produced from wool. These newer swimsuits included bloomers with a wool overdress layered atop it. This dress lacked sleeves. Also, the outfit was enhanced with black stockings and footwear that contained lace. By the 1920s, the neckline of the Edwardian swimwear had been lowered slightly, and the overdress had been further raised above the ankles.
 
Today’s swimwear for women has evolved greatly from that of the cumbersome Victorian and Edwardian era. This gives women a seemingly limitless number of options when purchasing designer swimwear. 
 

People often comment about the trouble with our country, the permissiveness that is leading us into destruction.  It is often wondered how this has happened so quickly, moving from popular culture to governmental issues, the concern is how we have moved so far away from integrity and personal values when it comes to lifestyles and behaviors in our world today.

Swimwear Provides A Glimpse In The Changing Cultural Morals Of America

As with anything in our culture, examining it with a microscopic eye will produce interesting conversational arguments as to how and why our society has changed.  Swimwear can be used as a micro example of how dramatically our morals have changed throughout the years of history.

Through a short examination of swimwear through history, examining only the American history itself, the first suits that appeared on the public beaches were actually bloomers and stockings. In 1855 it became fashionable to include bottoms so that exposure did not accidentally occur with the movement of the water.  By the end of the 19th century, swimsuits were modified into a blouse and trouser combination combined covering the body completely from next to leg.  Modesty and protecting the female body by complete coverage was a key element in designing swimwear.

The twentieth century began to see less material and more skin, slowly swimwear began moving in and upon itself with less material covering the shoulders and legs.  In 1907 an Australian woman, Annette Kellerman, was arrested while visiting the United States after she appeared in a one-piece swimsuit that was considered “lewd” for it’s time.  However, within a short passing of time, this suit soon became the accepted style for swimsuits in the United States.

The Swimwear Revolution has Made An Impact In The History Of Our World

The twentieth century was the start of the swimsuit revolution that has continued through the years.  As swimming and recreational sports grew in popularity, the swimsuit was soon designed for comfort while actively swimming, resulting in less material and coverage of the body.  Additionally, European influences increased the overall exposure of skin in the swimwear industry by designing swimsuits that were more exotic in their appearance. 

Each decade introduced a new fashion in the swimwear industry; the 1930’s delivered a sleek, functional suit that molded to the female body in a manner that had never before been seen.  The 1940’s showed pinup girls in glamorous poses while wearing swimsuits, high heels and jewelry.  In 1946, a designer introduced the two-piece swimsuit that took the world by storm; the bikini swimsuit was like no other piece of swimwear in history. 
Today The Swimsuit Isn’t Designed For Swimming At All

Swimwear today is either functional or designed for exhibitionism.  The morals are such that many wear designer swimsuits that contain less fabric that a handkerchief.  If you want to examine and argue the worlds lack of morals today, why not use the swimsuit industry as a foundation upon which to build your soapbox.