Bikini – The Bold Swimsuit and Controversial Swimwear for Women

Bikini and board shorts are the most popular for lady to relax at beach. The bikini is hot. And bikini has been so, for more than 60 years now. The bikini has always created controversies too. Some people say that bikinis were introduced first way back in 1946 by Jacques Heim, who designed bikinis to make swimsuits look different than the traditional bikinis. Initially though, bikini was known as Atome, which is the French word for Atom. However some people do not agree to this. They say that bikinis were actually the brainchild of Louis Reard, who was an engineer from France. He named it “bikini” after the Pacific island of Bikini Atoll.

This unique bikinis created quite a storm immediately as bikini was expected – some people even said that bikinis were outrageous. They felt that bikinis were not a costume for swimming, but was in fact lingerie. In much of the western world, the bikini has now however become widely acceptable as a bikini, but that is not the case in many other areas of the world. Even today. So this means more controversies, and they never seem to end. Perhaps no other clothing has created such a stir as this bikini.

But in the western world, bikini has become extremely popular among females as beachwear, and even as the costume for the swimming pool. Women are often seeing sunbathing, playing beach volleyball, swimming, and even grilling barbecues or rock climbing wearing this attire. There are bikinis for mature women and for little girls too.

Bikini in the Early Days

Interestingly, the history of this unique bikinis may go back much beyond that, right to the days of Pompeii. Archeological findings have revealed a statue of the Goddess Venus bikinis wearing something that looks much like this. Several such statues have actually been found over time. Bikini is also a huge controversy back in 1907 when Annette Kellerman, the performer and swimmer from Australia, was taken into custody at a beach in Boston, USA for wearing bikinis that looks similar. Some people are thus of the opinion that bikini is quite an old dress. So though bikinis might have arrived earlier, but bikini is generally accepted today that the bikinis were first introduced in the 30s or the 40s.

The Two Types of Bikini

This unique bikini dress is now available in two types. There are those that come in bikinis, and there is the bikini costume as well. In the bikini dress, swimsuit covers the breast, while the other covers the groin region including the buttocks. In certain parts of the world, the lower piece is designed differently to leave the buttock area exposed. This is the thong. The bathing suits costume on the other hand covers the entire body from the breast area to the groin, and also the buttocks. There bikinis are the more conservative of the two varieties.

This is the typical beach or swimming bikini dress in warm weather places. Ladies or girls wear there bikinis either for swimming or for sunbathing. The bikinis are however also popular as an undergarment for scuba diving, wakeboarding, waterskiing or such other water sports. Many women like bikini.