A bikini or two-piece is a type of women's swimsuit

Bikini

1st c. AD 'bikini' briefs, from Roman London.

A bikini or two-piece is a type of women's swimsuit, characterized by
two separate parts—one covering the breasts, the other the groin (and
optionally the buttocks), leaving an uncovered area between the two
garments. The shapes of both parts of a bikini closely resemble
women's underwear, and the lower part of a bikini can therefore range
from the more revealing thong or g-string to briefs and the more
modest square-cut shorts.

Two-piece garments worn by women for athletic purposes have been
observed on Greek urns and paintings, dated as early as 1400 BC.

Sometimes the term bikini is used to describe the type of man's
swimsuit also known as speedos.
Contents

* 1 Modern origin
* 2 Bikinis in modern culture
* 3 Development of the bikini
* 4 Media depiction
* 5 See also
* 6 External links

Modern origin
Micheline Bernardini modelling the first true bikini.
Micheline Bernardini modelling the first true bikini.

According to the official version, the modern bikini was invented by
French engineer Louis Réard and fashion designer Jacques Heim in Paris
in 1946 and introduced on July 5 at a fashion show at Piscine Molitor
in Paris. It was a string bikini with a g-string back. It was named
after Bikini Atoll, the site of nuclear weapon tests a few days
earlier in the Marshall Islands, on the reasoning that the burst of
excitement it would cause would be like the nuclear device. However,
women in Paris were wearing such items of clothing as the microkini
one year before the bikini was "invented". This fact is documented
with pictures in the July 16, 1945 issue of Life. Film of
holidaymakers in Germany in the 1930's show women wearing two-piece
bathing suits. Anyone who has seen the elaborately and lavishly
assembled Busby Berkeley film spectacle, "Footlight Parade" of 1932
(James Cagney, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Joan Blondell, etc.), would
have been treated to a stunning aquachoreography that profusely
featured what could only be regarded as bikini swimwear. They were to
be seen again a year later in "Gold Nuggets of 1933".

Of course the magazine article did not attach the name "bikini" to the
swimsuit. At that time the atomic bomb test was a year in the future
and virtually no one had ever heard of Bikini Atoll. The article
instead spoke of the "French Bathing Suits". But although the name had
not yet been adopted, the swimsuits that the Parisian women were
wearing are clearly recognizable as bikinis in style and coverage.

Coincidentally, the date of publication of the magazine, July 16,
1945, was the very same day that the first atomic bomb was detonated
in the desert outside Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Reard's suit was a refinement of the work of Jacques Heim who, two
months earlier, had introduced the "Atome" (named for its size) and
advertised it as the world's "smallest bathing suit". Reard 'split the
"atome"' even smaller, but could not find a model who would dare to
wear his design. He ended up hiring Micheline Bernardini, a nude
dancer from the Casino de Paris as his model.

Bikinis in modern culture

In 1951 bikinis were banned from the Miss World Contest. In 1957,
however, Brigitte Bardot's bikini in And God Created Woman created a
market for the swimwear in the US, and in 1960, Brian Hyland's pop
song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" inspired a
bikini-buying spree. Finally the bikini caught on, and by 1963, the
movie Beach Party, starring Annette Funicello (emphatically not in a
bikini, by mentor Walt Disney's personal request) and Frankie Avalon,
led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol.

In Malta bikinis took time to be introduced. In the 1960s the police
fended off Bishop Michael Gonzi's request to ban bikini clad tourists
following fear of compromising Malta as a tourist destination. Malta
Labour Party girls felt protected to put on bikinis during beach
parties but this was unacceptable by those supporting the Nationalist
Party.

Development of the bikini
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Women often wear bikinis when tanning.
Women often wear bikinis when tanning.

In recent years, the term monokini has come into use for topless
bathing by women: where the bikini has two parts, the monokini is the
lower part. Where monokinis are in use, the word bikini may jokingly
refer to a two-piece outfit consisting of a monokini and a sun hat.
The term was coined by Rudi Gernreich.

The tankini is a swimsuit combining a tank top and a bikini bottom.

The string bikini is a renovation of the traditional bikini that
generally consists of the barest minimal fabric coverage for the top
and bottoms, both are reduced to triangles of cloth connected by
strings. For some women, the string bikini may actually be the most
flattering bikini style. The string bikini style looks best on women
with small busts or boyish shapes. Because women with small breasts do
not need a large amount of bra-style support, a traditional triangle
top can serve to add more shape and curve to the breasts. In addition,
triangle tops with built-in under wires can work similarly to a
push-up bra to maximize the breasts.

The lower part of the bikini was further reduced in size in the 1970s
to the Brazilian thong, where the back of the suit is so thin that it
disappears into the buttocks.

Female athletes who play beach volleyball professionally are required
to wear two-pieces.

Media depiction

The obvious sex appeal of the apparel prompted numerous film and
television productions as soon as public morals changed to accept it.
They include the numerous surf movies of the early 1960s and the
television series, Baywatch. Iconic portrayals of bikinis in movies
include Ursula Andress as Bond girl Honey Ryder in Dr. No (1962),
Raquel Welch as the prehistoric cavegirl in the 1966 film One Million
Years B.C., and Phoebe Cates in the 1982 teen film Fast Times at
Ridgemont High. These scenes were recently ranked 1, 86, and 84 in
Channel 4 (UK)'s 100 Greatest Sexy Moments (in film) respectively.

In addition, a variant of the bikini popular in fantasy literature is
a bikini that is made up of metal to serve as (admittedly rather
impractical) armor, sometimes referred to as a "chainmail bikini" or
"brass bikini"; the character Red Sonja is a famous example. A term
for such usage, where sex appeal is more important than actual
practicality, is babes-at-arms (parodying "men-at-arms" for fully
armoured soldiers).

In science fiction, Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi
features the notable "Princess Leia's metal bikini" costume, that is
worn by the character Princess Leia when she is held captive at the
film's beginning. This particular "bikini" has since been elevated to
pop culture icon status, spawning various spoofs and parodies (most
notably the episode of Friends,The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy)
and even a dedicated fansite, Leia's Metal Bikini.

Labels: Bikini