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But when you look back the history of swimwear, we should consider ourselves lucky.
Here’s a glimpse into how swimsuits have drastically changed over time.
But that isn’t exactly the case.
The museum states that scholars agree that the women in the painting are competing in an athletic competition.
Female sports contests were fairly common among the elite and were a great show of the host’s status.
Late 1600s
In the Western world, bathing was a luxury.
Not exactly the swimsuit style choice of today.
But that wasn’t all.
All of this came in a heavy flannel, that would easily weigh you down in the water.
Thisswimsuit alonestill wasn’t modest enough for some Victorians.
Plus, she appeared in vaudeville shows asThe Australian Mermaid.
Her shocking swimsuit was a one-piece with tank top straps and shorts.
Swimwear had now evolved into close fitting one-pieces withsmall skirts or shorts.
Though these suits looked much more akin to what we wear today, they would have felt very different.
Imagine swimming in a tight fitting sweater.
Still, these suits allowed women to move freely and reveal a bit more of their bodies.
Jantzen began to weave Lastex (a form of elastic thread) into their swim suits.
When Lastex swimwear got the Hollywood seal of approval, knit swimsuits were over and done.
World War II (1941-1945)
Therationing of World War IIaffected every American, including swimsuit manufacturers.
But who would have thought it would take a World War to lead to a woman wearing a two-piece?
In 1943, the government ordered that makers of swimsuits had toreduce their fabric used by ten percent.
The best way to do that was to make a two-piece.
By showing off a little midriff, you were doing your duty for America.
These suits still weren’t terribly revealing, featuring very high waisted bottoms with tops that showed minimal cleavage.
Still, this was a big step towards women choosing what they wanted to wear to the beach.
So, they came up with the skimpiest swimsuit style to date,the bikini.
Reard took the name from the location of a US atomic test near the Bikini Atoll.
And this new look was pretty explosive.
But by the time the ’60s rolled around andBond girlsand cave women were sporting skimpy two-pieces bikinis became common.
Most ofSports Illustrated’stop picks of the ’70s are one-pieces similar in shape to the one Fawcett made famous.
Photographer Keith McManus documented the spring breaks between 1982 and 1993 in his bookRites of Passage.
In the ’90s, string bikinis were still popular, but thetankinibecame the latest trend.
The combination of tank top and swim bottoms brought a lot more coverage to two-piece swimwear.
The 21st century brought about a mix of everything.CosmopolitanrevealedBrazilian-style skimpy bottoms as all the rage in 2014.
But swimwear styles are up to the wearer!
