A Skimpy History of The Bikini

The modern bikini would make its controversial debut during the summer of 1946. It was viewed by many at the time as an absolutely scandalous and lewd piece of attire. But why?

Ancient paintings and mosaics indicate that the Romans were ahead of their time in regards to this form of female attire. The painting above, dating back to the 4th century ad, depicts female Roman gymnasts dressed in garments that appear very similar to the modern incarnation of the bikini.

Since that time though, the morality in Europe and the United States altered dramatically, and by the 19thcentury, women in public were expected to be covered nearly head to toe in long gowns and head wear.

At this time, women wore elaborate, full-length, loose fitting swimming garments – more like heavy dresses than the modern, form fitting suits we see today.

The first form-fitting swim-suit was dawned by an Australian swimmer and silent film star named Annette Kellerman (pictured above). The suit which, by modern standards, was modest to say the least, created considerable uproar; and Kellerman was actually bought up on charges of indecent exposure when she wore it on a beach in America.

Standards soon relaxed though, and in fact, before the bikini debuted, women were wearing two-piece swim suits and gowns. The difference between these two-pieces and the bikini was the fact that the earlier two-pieces completely covered the hips, buttocks, and the navel. Interestingly, Hollywood production standards at the time dictated that the navel was not to be shown in moving pictures.

On July 5th, 1946, the proverbial bomb would drop. On that day in France, the swim-suit, designed by Louis Reard, that would come to be known as the bikini made its debut. The nick-name for the eye-popping piece of swimwear came from the fact that particularly attractive women at the time were called “bomb-shells.” In addition, only four days prior to the release of the suit, the United States had just conducted an atomic bomb test along the Bikini Atolls near Micronesia. It was this coincidence in timing that created one of the most evocative and memorable fashion monikers in history.

The outfit generated extreme controversy, even in France, and was viewed as absolutely scandalous in the United States. In fact, the bikini would not gain acceptance in the U.S. until the summer of 1960.

Clearly though, the bikini has finally caught on and looks as though it may be around to stay. By modern standards, with the advent of spaghetti straps, thongs, and other more adventurous styles of swimwear, the bikini has become almost tame in comparison – not quite grandmotherly, but sort of like your kinky aunt, the one people are always gossiping about because she likes to have a good time.