While doing some webreading the other night on Roman Empire history (one of the subjects covered in my old college major), I came across photos of a mosaic of Roman girls cavorting, in what look very much like modern bikini swimsuits, at the ancient Villa Romana del Casale, Italy, dating from ca. 4th century AD:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/pingl-par-barbara-crawford-sur-chemises-and-baths--2040762317710477/Which got me to wondering, just how far back in time, even into antiquity, does the origin of the bikini swimsuit go?
Well, I found that Wikipedia had some interesting facts about
that, but what seemed
really interesting in the article about
the bikini in modern times was what I have boldfaced below:
"Evidence of bikini-style women's clothing has been found as early as 5600 BC, and the history of the bikini can be traced back to that era. Illustrations of women wearing bikini-like garments during competitive athletic events in the Roman era have been found in several locations, the most famous of which is at Villa Romana del Casale. Although two-piece bathing suits were being used by women as early as the 1930s, the modern bikini is dated to July 5, 1946, when, partly due to material rationing after World War II, French engineer Louis Reard introduced the modern bikini, modeled by Micheline Bernardini. Reard named his design after the Bikini Atoll, where the first post-war tests of the atomic bomb were taking place. French women welcomed the design but the Catholic Church, some media, and a majority of the public initially thought the design was risqué or even scandalous. Contestants in the first Miss World beauty pageant wore them in 1951, but the bikini was then banned from the competition. Actress Brigitte Bardot drew attention when she was photographed wearing a bikini on the beach during the Cannes Film Festival in 1953. Other actresses, including Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner, also received press attention when they wore bikinis. During the early 1960s, the design appeared on the cover of Playboy and Sports Illustrated, credited with giving it additional legitimacy. Ursula Andress made a huge impact when she emerged from the surf wearing what is now an iconic bikini in the James Bond movie Dr. No (1962). The deer skin bikini worn by Raquel Welch in the film One Million Years B.C. (1966) turned her into an international sex symbol and was described as a definitive look of the 1960s. The bikini gradually grew to gain wide acceptance in Western society. According to French fashion historian Olivier Saillard, the bikini is perhaps the most popular type of female beachwear around the globe because of "the power of women, and not the power of fashion". As he explains, "The emancipation of swimwear has always been linked to the emancipation of women." By the early 2000s, bikinis had become a US$811 million business annually, and boosted spin-off services like bikini waxing and sun tanning." Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/history_of_the_bikiniModel Micheline Bernardini in an early bikini:
https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2081310_2080985_2081024,00.htmlSo the reason, as some apparently believe, for how revealing the modern bikini is, is " ... partly due to material rationing after World War II?"
No kidding!
Or, as the French might say, "Vive le rationing!"
Of course such a "reason" might also just have been a convenient excuse, or just as likely a humorous one, causing everyone to wink knowingly, that was used for pushing the women's swimsuit fashion envelope a bit further, via the bikini!.
And it also is interesting to note that when the French post-war "material rationing" was eventually eliminated, as it eventually had to be, swimsuit fashion did not automatically revert to pre-bikini styles, and the bikini swimsuit was here to stay!