Summer's almost here so let's get some sand in our shoes on today's stroll as we head on over to check out the beach and the bikinis!
I remember my first bikini, it was the 60's and my Dad never knew I had one but my Mama did. We had to hide it under my shorts and t-shirts as I headed over to the beach back home in Florida. It was actually pink with white polka dots.
The bikini is one of the few articles of clothing (if you can call it that) that has a song written about it. Sure we've had the Devil in the Blue Dress and others but this song lives on there is even a new salsa version out.
"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" by Brian Hyland, which you are listening to now. Now about that bikini, what did you picture when you heard it?
A suit with yellow polka dots or a yellow suit with polka dots?
Here's the two versions:
Either way I'm sure our male members don't care which, lol.
A little history of the bikini which has been worn by movie stars ( Jayne Mansfield, pictured below) that helped make it famous to the nervous teen wearing her first one.
Today, the bikini as we know it is a fairly standard item of clothing. You'll be able to find it in any clothing store in any mall come summer time, and be sure to see it paraded on the beach, in clubs and on the covers of both women's fashion and men's magazines. It has become a ubiquitous sign of beauty, youth and sex appeal through its representation in the popular media and can be found in endless varieties. From the pink Barbie ones to go with a 4 year olds water wings to the barely there metallic kind flaunted in hip hop music videos, you'd never guess that the bikini was over 50 years old and still getting smaller.
Two Frenchmen, namely Louis Reard and Jacques Heim are the ones normally credited with the invention of the bikini, however in truth, they were more like the re-inventors or the revolutionaries. There are many instances of bikini like outfits found drawn or carved on friezes and wall paintings dating back to about 1600 B.C - although the mammoth fur bikinis made iconic in One Million Years B.C can probably be attributed to modern day marketing men.
Since the early 1930s, women on European beaches had been wearing modest two piece swimsuits that consisted of a pair of shorts and a halter neck top. But all these showed off - and this only in the most daring designs - was a small sliver of midriff, the bellybutton was always covered. Even still, these two piece designs only made their way to American coast-lines during World War II when, like everything else, the material used to make women's swimsuits was rationed. This saw designers removing fabric from the skirt panel, back and other areas where it could be deemed as too superfluous. As the war progressed, the production of fashionable swim wear was obviously not high on anyone's to-do list, and combined with the fact that, particularly in Europe, the beaches were no longer regarded as the carefree frolicking grounds they had been seen as pre-War, not much happened to progress the state of undress any further.
However, come 1946, people all over Europe came out from inside and flocked to celebrate the first war-free summer in years. The feeling of liberation was tangible and every designer was keen to provide something to match the consumers attitudes. No doubt it would come down to the French to be the first to make a splash in the world of fashion!
Shocking the masses Early in the spring, Heim announced his creation - The Atome - and began to market it by hiring a skywriting plane to scrawl "Atome -- the world's smallest bathing suit" across the skies of France. Unbeknown to him however, a one time designer and engineer for Renault named Louis Reard had been developing his own version of a free spirited two piece. Just three weeks later Reard first showcased his design.
Not be outdone by his main rival he wanted to put on a show. He hired another plane to write the words "Bikini -- smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world." for all to view. He had named it the bikini after the tiny Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean where the American military had been carrying out nuclear weapons tests in the previous years.
Naturally there were those who were outraged by its overt sexuality and in deeply religious countries such as Italy and Spain, the swimsuit was banned from all public beaches. Those in the USA were shocked by the outfits being flaunted on foreign shores and many fashion magazines rushed to denounce the garment as indecent and something no classy woman would ever wear. And by 1951 decency leagues had even managed to ban it from all beauty pageants and local beaches and had pressured Hollywood into keeping it out of movies.As the bikinis popularity grew in leaps and bounds, Spain and Italy lifted their bans and eventually, in 1960, America followed suit and bikinis were brought en masse to its beaches. It was from here on that the bikini began to make its iconic mark on popular culture.
They tend to get smaller and smaller every year, it's my belief that the trend is going to have to go the other way soon. I now wear something called a Tankini, that has a tank type top and a skirted brief bottom....makes me still feel like I'm still part of the bikini generation though.
Either way, my bikini wearing days are long gone, if they weren't you might see something like this:
Until next time, pull up a chair and enjoy!!
