Bathing suits of today bear little resemblance to swimwear of yesteryear. The bathing suit's "explosive" past has evolved from bloomers to bikinis.
Bathing suits - Small, sexy, light, fun, cool. Right? Maybe now, but not always. Few items of clothing have evolved as far as the bathing suit.
The real surge in the popularity of bathing suits started in the early 1700s, when, thanks in part to railroads, beaches became a popular destination for fun. With that came the need for something to wear at the beach. The first solution was the "bathing gowns," which were nothing more than regular dresses made from material that wouldn't become see-through when wet. Big and long, these dresses had to have weights sewn into the hems so the skirts would not float to the surface of the water. Over the years, that style bathing suit became two-piece - but not like the two-piece bikinis of today. Those two-pieces just combined the dresses with pantaloons. And men's styles weren't any more comfortable. Their bathing suits, more like long underwear, had long sleeves and legs and were made of wool.
This cumbersome style pretty much remained the same through the beginning of the 1900s. But then, something changed. Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman became famous for her fight to allow women to wear a fitted, one-piece, less conservative bathing suit - a fight that eventually led to her own line of swimwear. Kellerman was also credited with creating the sport of "synchronized swimming" and, after her swimming career, went on to become a famous actress.
The advent of Kellerman's new, more stylish bathing suit started in1907, when she was in the United States as an "underwater ballerina," performing the first water ballet - synchronized swimming - in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome. During that US visit, she went to a Boston beach wearing one of her bathing suits and was arrested for indecent exposure, because the suit showed her arms, legs and neck. She redesigned her suits to have long sleeves, legs and a collar, but kept the close fit.
From then on, the bathing suit design continued to slowly shrink, a process that led to today beyond-skimpy styles. First, arms began to be exposed. Then the legs, up to the mid-thigh, began to be shown. Collars slowly began to creep lower, eventually down to the top of the bosom. Materials were more relaxed, lighter and closer fitting.
By the time the 1940s arrived, the world was ready for its first real version of the "bikini," which bore little resemblance to today's bikinis. While still covering most of the space between the shoulders and hips, the bikini did have a space under the breast that exposed bare midriff. Despite the reasonable assumption that the word "bikini" is derived from the word "bi," as in "two," it isn't. The bikini is named after Bikini Atoll, a reef off the South pacific where nuclear weapons were tested and detonated. Like the atomic bombs, the new two-piece suits were expected to have an explosive effect. Then, 1946, a bikini was worn by fashion model Micheline Bernaderdini at a Parish fashion show. It was explosive, and the rest is history.
For the next 10 years, the shrinking bikini bottoms came up only to the navel. But then came the rebellious, revolutionary 1960s, and, like in the popular song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," bikinis got smaller and smaller. In another breakthrough, in 1964, the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine featured a bikini-clad woman, another first. The bikini's popularity continued to grow, and in the 1990s, the thong - the smallest of small bikinis - became a fad in the United States.
Beach-goers today have an abundance of choices when choosing bikinis: the thong bikini, triangle bikini, tie-front bikini, halter bikini, demi-cup bikini, cut-out bikini - even frilly bikinis, belt-buckle bikinis and yes, a one-piece bikini. Take a look at the latest in bikinis and other fashion trends at www.2hotbrazil.com.
Bathing suits - Small, sexy, light, fun, cool. Right? Maybe now, but not always. Few items of clothing have evolved as far as the bathing suit.
The real surge in the popularity of bathing suits started in the early 1700s, when, thanks in part to railroads, beaches became a popular destination for fun. With that came the need for something to wear at the beach. The first solution was the "bathing gowns," which were nothing more than regular dresses made from material that wouldn't become see-through when wet. Big and long, these dresses had to have weights sewn into the hems so the skirts would not float to the surface of the water. Over the years, that style bathing suit became two-piece - but not like the two-piece bikinis of today. Those two-pieces just combined the dresses with pantaloons. And men's styles weren't any more comfortable. Their bathing suits, more like long underwear, had long sleeves and legs and were made of wool.
This cumbersome style pretty much remained the same through the beginning of the 1900s. But then, something changed. Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman became famous for her fight to allow women to wear a fitted, one-piece, less conservative bathing suit - a fight that eventually led to her own line of swimwear. Kellerman was also credited with creating the sport of "synchronized swimming" and, after her swimming career, went on to become a famous actress.
The advent of Kellerman's new, more stylish bathing suit started in1907, when she was in the United States as an "underwater ballerina," performing the first water ballet - synchronized swimming - in a glass tank at the New York Hippodrome. During that US visit, she went to a Boston beach wearing one of her bathing suits and was arrested for indecent exposure, because the suit showed her arms, legs and neck. She redesigned her suits to have long sleeves, legs and a collar, but kept the close fit.
From then on, the bathing suit design continued to slowly shrink, a process that led to today beyond-skimpy styles. First, arms began to be exposed. Then the legs, up to the mid-thigh, began to be shown. Collars slowly began to creep lower, eventually down to the top of the bosom. Materials were more relaxed, lighter and closer fitting.
By the time the 1940s arrived, the world was ready for its first real version of the "bikini," which bore little resemblance to today's bikinis. While still covering most of the space between the shoulders and hips, the bikini did have a space under the breast that exposed bare midriff. Despite the reasonable assumption that the word "bikini" is derived from the word "bi," as in "two," it isn't. The bikini is named after Bikini Atoll, a reef off the South pacific where nuclear weapons were tested and detonated. Like the atomic bombs, the new two-piece suits were expected to have an explosive effect. Then, 1946, a bikini was worn by fashion model Micheline Bernaderdini at a Parish fashion show. It was explosive, and the rest is history.
For the next 10 years, the shrinking bikini bottoms came up only to the navel. But then came the rebellious, revolutionary 1960s, and, like in the popular song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," bikinis got smaller and smaller. In another breakthrough, in 1964, the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine featured a bikini-clad woman, another first. The bikini's popularity continued to grow, and in the 1990s, the thong - the smallest of small bikinis - became a fad in the United States.
Beach-goers today have an abundance of choices when choosing bikinis: the thong bikini, triangle bikini, tie-front bikini, halter bikini, demi-cup bikini, cut-out bikini - even frilly bikinis, belt-buckle bikinis and yes, a one-piece bikini. Take a look at the latest in bikinis and other fashion trends at www.2hotbrazil.com.
About the Author:
David Falk operates 2HotBrazil.com. For the best of tiniest bikini See the complete line of white panties products at www.2hotbrazil.com. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.
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