History of the Bikini

The Itsy, Bitsy, Teenie, Weenie, Little Bikini

Imagine 70 years ago walking onto a beach and seeing women in full covered, head-to-toe, “swimsuits”. No bare legs, arms, or midriffs. This is how most women went swimming until the 1960’s when the bikini, introduced in the 1940’s finally, made its big splash into the world of fashion. Though this new swimsuit was introduced in the 1940’s, it will take nearly 20 years, at the dawn of sexual and moral revolution, before women would truly embrace the bikini. Once accepted though, there was no turning back; for women – and men – began their love affair with this itty bitty little bikini (“The”).

“A bikini is not a bikini unless it can be pulled through a wedding ring” (“1945”). These are the words of Frenchman Louis Reard who, at the same time as Jacques Heim, introduced the bikini to the world in 1946. It is said he named the bikini after Bikini Atoll, a chain of islands in the South Pacific, which is the site of the Operation Crossroads atomic testing that occurred on July 1, 1946 (Kuah). The impact this testing had on the world was enormous and the event was plastered across all the major newspapers causing a large reaction. This is the reaction Reard was hoping to receive, as the bomb did, and create talk and shock across the world. According to Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, the bikini is “the atom bomb of fashion” (“1945”). Soon the bikini will be the talk of the town, and people everywhere will challenge the traditional views of swimwear.

Reard and Heim were hoping that their bikinis would generate the same excitement on a similar scale that the nuclear bomb had created. Each one, Reard and Heim, created their own versions of the bikini which now exposed the naval and hips which was very controversial during this time period. Though they had two piece swimwear for women, the bottoms came up high past the navel (Hermes). The bikini consisted of a bra-like top, and bottoms that were two triangles connected...