Ever wonder how the world came to embrace the itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie (yellow polka-dot) bikini? In 2006, Julia Turner set out to explain, taking a look at the history of the popular bathing suit – with pictures. The original article and slide show are reprinted below.
Sixty years ago this week, the world’s first bikini made its debut at a poolside fashion show in Paris. The swimsuit is now so ubiquitous – and, when compared with, say, the sight of Britney’s pregnant, naked haunches on the cover of Bazaar, so demure – it’s hard to comprehend how shocking people once found it. When the bikini first arrived, its revealing cut scandalized even the French fashion models who were supposed to wear it; they refused, and the original designer had to enlist a stripper instead. View a slide show that explains how the bikini slowly gained acceptance – first on the Riviera, then in the United States – and became a beachfront staple.
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Click here to launch a slide show on a brief history of the bikini.
August 6, 2010
