A History of Swimwear

A HISTORY OF SWIMWEAR 1900s Australian swimmer and later on actress Annette Kellerman was one of the first women to sport a figure revealing one piece swimsuit as opposed to pantaloons which were the accepted attire at the time. Annette was arrested on a Boston beach in 1909 for indecency after wearing a one piece fitted swimsuit that came above her knee. 1910s The 1910's saw the first big changes in fashion with knitted swimwear and tights although this style was still considered very daring. Jantzen Knitting Mill coined the term 'swimsuit' instead of the previously used 'bathing costume'. 1920s The more figure revealing swimsuits of the 1900/10s came into their own in the 1920s with younger women wearing figure hugging tank suits made from wool jersey. 1930s Swimwear started to become sexier in the 1930s with stars such as Jean Harlow, the original 'Blonde bombshell' posing in shorter more feminine styles. 1940s War rationing provided stimulus for the two-piece, when the U.S government ordered manufacturers to reduce the amount of fabric used when producing swimsuits, but the actual design was courtesy of Louis Réard who invented and coined the term 'bikini' in 1946. After struggling to find a model to sport his two-piece, Réard selected 19 year old Micheline Bernardini, a nude dancer from Paris. The original design was so small it fit inside a matchbox. 1950s Bikinis were banned from beauty pageants after the first miss world contest in 1951 but they weren't down and out for long. The most famous sex symbol icon of all time, Marilyn Monroe has become one of the most iconic female figures of the last century and not least because of this image of her in an itsy bitsy teeny weeny polka dot bikini! 1960s Ursula Andress caused a stir in her bikini as 'The Original Bond Girl' in the first ever James Bond film. Dr. No, the iconic film scene will remain part of film history for decades to come and 40 years later the infamous bikini sold for $60,000 at auction. 1970s 1970 saw the resurge of the 'one-piece' when sex-symbol and Charlie's Angels star Farrah Fawcett donned her iconic red bathing suit for which the accompanying poster shoot, made millions of dollars and started an overnight trend of super tight swimsuits with low necklines and high cut legs. 1980s Elle Macpherson, known as The Body' during her heyday poses here for the iconic Sports Illustrated magazine. The high waist bottoms scream classic 80s, as does the bold, two-tone design. High-waist bottoms have seen a comeback this summer, but let's just hope Elle's green bikini top stays in the 80s... nustrat 1990s The return of the one piece by Pamela Anderson in the cult 90's show Baywatch - enough said. 2000s The noughties moved away from the angular frame as a symbol of sexiness and fully embraced a return to the curves. One celeb who is not only renowned and celebrated for her curvaceous figure is none other than the gorgeous Beyonce Knowles. Вeyonce The Dieamg As You've New Dele 2010s Over the last few years Kim Kardashian of reality TV fame has appeared in her bikini on more magazine covers than we can keep count of to become the ultimate bikini wearing celebrity. Although the teeny weeny bikini is still popular in the 21st century, 2012/2013 has seen the revival of high-waisted bikini bottoms and a new twist on the immortalised one-piece complete with cut-out designs and accessorising.