Let's begin by contradicting a popular myth, that the bikini was "invented" in 1946. Yes, French designer Louis Reard's swimwear fashion design was named "bikini" in 1946, but women wore scanty 2 piece garments many centuries ago. Proof of that can be seen in 4th century mosaics at Piazza Armerina in Sicily (graphic to the left), where a woman is exercising in a 2 piece outfit that looks strikingly like a modern bandeau bikini. And further examples can also be seen in Greece as far back as 1400 BC, where two-piece bikini-like garments were worn for athletic purposes.

The fact that bikinis existed in ancient Rome should not be too much of a surprise, after all, they also had such "modern" conveniences as flush toilets and central heating, but that's for another article!

So with the "invention myth" out of the way, let's jump forward to 1946, because for our purposes here at Sexy Bikini Swimwear, that is when the "bikini" entered into the modern world of mass produced fashion. The hero of our story thus becomes Louis Réard, a French automotive engineer who also happened to be running his mother's lingerie store and knew that "less is best" when it comes to women's fashion. So he took the already exisiting 2 piece swimsuit and, in a stroke of genius, removed much of the fabric, shrinking it down considerably. For this, the men of the world sing his praises!

In addition to Mr. Réard's engineering skills, he also had a flair for marketing. At the time that he was scheduled to present the bikini to the media (in 1946 that would be mostly newspapers, magazines & radio), he was asked what he called this minimalist bathing suit, and in a flash of absolute inspiration, he answered "bikini".

So why the word "bikini"? Well, in the summer of 1946 the US military began the first of 23 atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, which is a group of small islands that are part of the larger Marshall Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean (Bikini Island is only 2.5 miles long). To the natives of the Marshall Islands, the word "bikini" had been used throughout their history, and refers to two words meaning "surface" and "coconuts" (how incredibly appropriate!). Because of the widespread publicity and sensationalism involving these atomic detonations, the Bikini Atoll was in the news very regularly, and thus when asked what he intended to name his skimpy swimwear, he replied "The Bikini". Curiously, another French designer by the name of Jacques Heim had simultaneously created his own tiny 2 piece swimwear, which by sheer coincidence he called "The Atome", and referred to it as "the world's smallest bathing suit". But it was the word "bikini" that captured the world's fancy, and the rest as they say is history.

At first the sight of women wearing such tiny swimsuits was scandalous, and in fact they were banned from beaches in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, and for decades were banned from some of the most prestigious beauty contests. Nevertheless, young women are more daring than the old men who make these rules, so when in 1957 the great French film goddess Bridget Bardot smashed any remaining resistance by wearing a tiny bikini in her film "And God Created Woman", it created it's own atomic reaction. After the women of the world saw how beautiful and sexy she looked in that movie, there was no going back ~ bikini sales went wild!

The bikini was now a worldwide phenomenon, and like all phenomenons, was celebrated in mass marketing, especially in the USA. So we have, in 1960, teen idol Brian Hyland singing "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," which triggered a bikini-buying frenzy among American teenagers. The bikini's impact on film continued with the extraordinary popularity of the James Bond movies, and in particular, the moment in "Dr. No" (1962) when Ursula Andress rises from the sea wearing a sexy white bikini. That one scene had so much impact it has has been described as a "defining moment in the sixties liberalization of screen eroticism".

Then came a bolt of lightning that no one expected, when America's sweetheart Annette Funicello, the beloved Disney Mouseketeer, starred in 7 beach oriented movies, beginning with "Beach Party" (1963) and continuing through such cinematic classics as "Beach Blanket Bingo" and the final film in the series, "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1966). Annette, we will love you always, because to the young women of America, if it was OK for Annette to wear a bikini, then there was no reason on earth why they shouldn't wear one too.

By the mid-sixties, with so many film stars posing in tiny bikinis, polite society's resistance was crumbling. Then in 1964 came the final blow ~ the first Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Suddenly and forever, the ramparts had fallen ~ women were free to soak up the sun wearing as little as they wanted ... and the world is a better place for it!