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The History of the Bathing Suit
by
The Sider Group
The swimsuit is possibly the most enigmatic piece of clothing simply because it conceals and reveals at the same time. Nowadays, you have micro bikinis and micro briefs that challenge the concept of clothing itself. Has it always been like this? Let s take a brief look at the history of the bathing suit.
It s believed that the first bathing suits originated from ancient Greece where beautiful and rich women would indulge in the practice of public bathing. A few centuries later when the Roman Empire flourished, public bathing became a very popular pastime as highlighted by the construction of many Roman baths. In a classical Sicilian villa, images on a mosaic wall clearly showed Roman women dressed in two-piece garments which were compatible with the bikini worn by modern-day women. However, the bikini-style attire was not only used for bathing but it s also worn by the women when they performed a variety of exercises. As the Roman Empire declined, the popularity of public bathing also declined. For a few hundred years, the western world shied away from public bathing, and there was not much of a demand for swimsuits.
It was not until the early 18th century that people began to embrace the practice of public bathing again. Flocking to natural springs, men and women sported toga-style bathing suits, which were obviously borrowed from ancient Roman times. These classical bathing suits were phased out in no time as the women in Europe preferred a more modest style. Going to the beach, they would appear in heavy dresses of wool, and they would also wear hats, stockings, and shoes.
As the practice of public bathing spread to the United States, the evolution of the modern swimsuit would begin. In the early 1900s, a modest, tighter fitting swimsuit would be introduced to replace the woolen swimsuit. Instead of the woolen dress, women would wear leotard-type tops and shorts. Hats were still used but the stockings and shoes would be replaced by bathing socks. This bathing suit exposed the arms and knees, signaling a return to the more the bikini-style bathing suit of the Roman era. In the 1920s, the swimsuit changed radically as the social revolution for women picked up steam. Designers created more revealing and sexier swimsuits to exhibit the liberation of women in the United States. Necklines were plunging, skirts were shortening, and waists were tightening. In the 1930s, swimsuits featured even lower necklines, and the bare-back design was introduced, along with tight-fitting belted shorts.
The Great Depression and WWII put a halt to the evolution of the swimsuit. After the war, Americans rushed to the beaches in droves, ushering in the era of the bikini. In the 1950s, fashion designers continued to push the boundaries by recreating the one-piece bathing suit, culminating in see-through netting designs in the 1960s.
Through the years leading to present times, fashion designers experimented with fabrics, cuts, and styles to create the most captivating swimsuit. Today, the line between concealment and exposure is so thin it may just be a C-String away from becoming invisible.
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