Welcome back to the Perfectly O-kay blog!
Taking advantage of the fact that summer has already started, today I am going to make a summary of the history of bikinis.
Bikinis are one of the star clothing summer after summer, but since when? and how did they become so popular?
The first bikinis are found in the Bikinis Mosaic, which is from IV B.C. and can be found in Sicily.
In these representations from both Roman and Greek ancient times, bikinis were used as feminine sportswear, however women’s clothing later evolved into much more conservative outfits.
At the end of the 19th century, swimsuits were again two-piece, but covered up to the wrists and ankles, which made them gain weight considerably when wet, making them very uncomfortable to go to the beach, lakes or pools.
But, during the first half of the decade, these bathing suits were replaced by sets that revealed part of the abdomen, without actually showing the belly button. This type of swimwear was the precedent for bikinis, which would first appear in the summer of 1946.
There’s a bit of confusion about who exactly created the first bikini that year, as Jacques Heim released a two-piece model that exposed the abdomen, but covered the belly button.
On the other hand, the French engineer Louis Réard created a swimsuit that exposed the entire abdomen of the woman, this was expected to be so shocking that the designer of the garment stated that “it was going to be more explosive than the bombs Bikini ” (Atoll where the US government did nuclear tests). Due to how revolutionary it was, many women refused to wear it, as they feared criticism; The first to decide “get her feet wet” was the stripper and dancer Micheline Bernardini.
The creation of bikinis divided society into two groups, those who believed that bikinis helped to show the liberation of women, who claimed the right to choose over their bodies, and those who considered it a display of unpleasant exhibitionism.
In later years, the great stars of Hollywood and fashion magazines began to use the bikini openly, which served to make great icons such as Briggitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe or Ava Gardner
Marilyn Monroe 
Briggitte Bardot
Since then the bikini has been used by millions of women throughout the planet year after year.
And you? Have you already chosen the one you are going to use this summer?
