Know Your Bikini History!

         Summer is nearly here, which means more skin will be showing this season than any other season. There will be days lounging at the pool or spent on the beach and bathing suits are a must. Even if you wanted to be a little more modest, there’s only so much a cover-up can cover up, unless you want an uneven tan of course. There’s a lot of pressure on a woman to look good and, MORE IMPORTANTLY, feel confident in her bathing suit. But, where did this sexy two-piece originate? When did we start wearing bikinis and displaying our goods in this way?

        Historians say that the bikini has been around since 1600 BCE, where paintings on the Minoan cave walls depicted women in two-piece outfits that appear a lot like today’s bikini. The women of ancient Rome also donned swimming suits and evidence of this can be found on Greek urns and in paintings.

At that time, showing that much skin was acceptable to society. As the years go by, bathing suits became bigger and the more revealing it was, the more taboo and unacceptable it became. Women of the 18^th century wore bathing suits that appeared more like loose-fitting, sleeveless, dresses with the hem ending a bit above their knees. The bathing suit didn’t get smaller for a while, but it did get tighter and this allowed a woman the really show the shape of her body without displaying too much flesh. 

        In the 1940’s, the material that swimsuits were made with became a bit smaller and midriffs and back begin to be exposed. In 1946, French designer Louis Reard coined the term “bikini”, inspired by Bikini Reef, an island in the South Pacific. The bikini was daring and showed more skin that ever before, so many Parisian models were hesitant to wear it for fear of damaging their reputations. A year later, the bikini made its way into America and sales did not boom because the sexy two-piece was deemed scandalous and even banned on some U.S. public beaches. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that women began to wear them with pride. Today, the bikini is the most popular form of beachwear and the fabric used to make it has certainly gotten smaller. Women now wear revealing thongs and Brazilian tangas, proud to show off the bodies that they have. 

And who’s to stop them? 

If you’ve got it, flaunt it!




Author: Rebecca Lawrence