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Callalily

(14,889 posts)
Mon Jul 5, 2021, 07:00 AM Jul 2021

Today in history: the first bikini

Today In History



The First Bikini
July 5, 1946

The bikini was introduced on July 5, 1946, at a swimming pool in Paris, France. Created by French designer Louis Réard, the string two-piece swimsuit — made from only 30 inches of fabric with a newspaper print pattern — was an expression of freedom, and controversial from the start. Though one newspaper declared it “four triangles of nothing,” Réard was undeterred. When he could not find an established model to wear it for the photo shoot, he hired an exotic dancer who had little issue showing off her belly button.

The name “bikini” was also a bit cheeky. The mid-1940s were the atomic age, and beautiful women were sometimes referred to as “bombshells” and “atomic.” Several days before the swimsuit reveal, the U.S. had begun testing nuclear weapons near a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean called the Bikini Atoll. Being a master marketer, Réard named his new bathing outfit after this explosive state of affairs. After its reveal, the Vatican declared the swimwear a sin, and even in the U.S. the bikini didn’t catch on until 1960 due its revealing nature. But Réard truly thought he was putting something good into a world still reeling from World War II. Later in life, he told a reporter he had wanted to design something that showed “life can start over and be beautiful.”

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Today in history: the first bikini (Original Post) Callalily Jul 2021 OP
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie keithbvadu2 Jul 2021 #1
That song immediately came to my mind, too! Rhiannon12866 Jul 2021 #5
Look at that awkward pose she put herself into. Baitball Blogger Jul 2021 #2
Hasn't it always been? Wounded Bear Jul 2021 #3
wrong! first known bikinis appear in roman floor tiles in sicily from 1600 yrs ago... msongs Jul 2021 #4

Wounded Bear

(58,647 posts)
3. Hasn't it always been?
Mon Jul 5, 2021, 11:28 AM
Jul 2021

Generally speaking, comfortable poses don't necessarily show off the garments on display.

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