The always sexy bikini turns 63 years old this week, and we think she’s looking better than ever! To celebrate her birthday, let’s look back at how she came to be the hottest part of our beach wardrobe.
Though two-piece outfits have been seen throughout history as far back 3000 BC, what we know as the modern bikini debuted in 1946 in Paris. During that summer, French engineer Louis Réard and designer Jacques Heim each independently designed a skimpier version of the traditional bathing suit. Heim’s design was the first to debut, but Réard gave the new swimsuit the name “le bikini” after the Bikini Atoll Island.
The new more revealing version of traditional two-piece suits was met with scandal and scorn all over the world and even the French models hired to wear them refused. It wasn’t until the early 50s that the bikini began to gain popularity along the French Riviera and it would take even longer to reach the United States (even Sports Illustrated blasted it as late as 1957!). Luckily the combination of private pools and the hit song “Itsy Bitsy, Teenie Weenie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” in 1960 finally brought acceptance of the bikini in the US. And we have never looked back!
So this weekend, as we celebrate the birth of the United States, lets also take some time to celebrate the birth of our sexiest beach ensemble. Cheers to Louis Reard, Jacques Heim, “itsy bitsy, teenie weenie” bikinis, and all the women who make them look fabulous!
A thought on how far we’ve come. From this:
To this:
Hooray for designer bikinis!
Im so glad I was born in this era! haha
me too! i would’ve hated to wear a suit like the one in that picture!
what a huge difference we aren’t shy at all
haha at all! you said it…
nice time eh
better time, not clothes wise though
I love retro but I agree… we have it made these days.
haha that suit is so bad that it doesn’t even classify as retro, that’s prehistoric!
huge almost covers her whole body can you imaging the weight
when wet!! unbearable
they can keep those suits
yeah, you could make like three of ours with one of theirs
Can you imagine having to swim in a pair of huge cotton pants?? Haha, I’m glad we’ve moved on….
that would’ve been so awkward!
pull you under i would think
yeah, probably sink so you had to stay on the shore
like a diaper felling i would guess
exactly, like it’s pulling you down…
I think my mom wears pants when she swims… I need to have a word with her.
please do but maybe whe is comfortable with that
yeah, if shes comfortable let her have her way
If i would have been present in the time when you had to wear swimsuits like those, i think i would’ve rathered staying at home! wouldn’t want to be the lady in that picture…
ya but that was the style and if you wore that you were in style
still… no style at all on those things
I think if I lived in that time period, I would’ve just swam in some ripped up panties!
nice that would cause some ruccus back than
ruccus and a half! they probably would’ve arrested you for indescent exposure haha
or naked, cause some controversy haha
it sure would in the time of being cover up at all times
yeah, probably the dead sentence for this one…
really no one touched on how nice that colouring on the opther suit is i really like it it jumps out at you
i don’t really like it, too bright for me…