Fashionable summer swimwear and swimsuit history

This thing is called the same age as the twentieth century. And even in the 19th century, its modern appearance would have shocked many. Over the course of its history, this thing has changed, breaking down the barriers of what was once considered decent, and even had something in common with atomic weapons. This thing is a swimsuit. It's summer outside, which means it's time to talk about it.

Swimsuit history

In hot weather, being next to the sea or ocean, and possibly a lake or river, people at all times and in all centuries certainly wanted to plunge and swim in such refreshing water. So throughout its history, mankind loved to swim, this is a fact. But only the costumes for bathing at one time or another were completely different. Swimwear in its modern form appears only at the beginning of the twentieth century. No wonder they are also called the same age as the last century.

What did you swim in before? Naked, in bedspreads, or without undressing at all. So in ancient Rome, light short tunics were used for bathing, and both men and women bathed in them.

But in the Middle Ages, swimming was not accepted. The Christian religion was strict. However, the inhabitants of medieval Europe could not afford to swim in rivers and lakes, they even took a bath quite rarely. So one of the French queens recalled that she washed herself twice in her life - the first time when she was born, the second when she got married. It was a little easier on the Russian lands, because here they always loved the bathhouse.

Fortunately, the dark European Middle Ages end by the 15th century. And interest in swimming in the seas and rivers is showing up again. It is true that only commoners could afford to swim naked, while girls and women of noble birth had to go into the water in dresses.

In the 18th century, women bathed in long bathing dresses, which were sewn from fabric that did not become transparent when wet. Ladies often wore caps on their heads when bathing. On his feet are stockings and cloth shoes. And so that the dress did not float under water, small metal weights were sewn into its hem.

However, it is not worth thinking about the fact that in the 18th and 19th centuries people swam in the usual sense for us. While both men and women simply entered the water in shallow water, near the shore, stomped in the water, splashed water into each other, the most daring ones floundered in it.

In the 19th century, with the advent of railways and the flourishing of resorts on the coasts of France and England, beach holidays became especially popular. The beaches were divided into separate halves: male and female, changing cabins appear on the beaches.

In the 19th century, there were also changes in women's swimwear. It now consists of a shorter dress and knee-length trousers. The most daring bathers enter the water without shoes.

The men's swimming suit appeared in the 18th century and practically did not change in the 19th century. It is a body-fitting suit, consisting of short trousers and a top with short sleeves, sewn together. This swimsuit looks more like underwear. But its colors were striped - in blue and white or red and white stripes.

At the end of the 19th century, swimming was declared an official Olympic sport, and, among other things, thanks to this, changes in swimwear began to occur much faster. And the fashion is set by athletes. The first to shock the public are male swimmers, who are fashioning form-fitting triangular red chintz bikini bottoms. The women's bathing suit is also changing. In 1880, for the first time, a joint bathing suit was born: shorts and a blouse sewn together, a distant prototype of modern swimwear, a skirt below the knee and a cap are attached to it.

With the onset of the twentieth century, swimwear began to decrease in size faster and faster, despite the fact that in those days women could even be arrested for excessive exposure of their bodies: legs, arms, neck. So in 1907, while participating in the underwater "show of ballerinas" - a variant of synchronized swimming, but with diving into glass tanks, professional swimmer Annette Kellerman who came to the USA from Australia was arrested, who came out in a tight-fitting swimsuit, and at the same time baring her neck , legs and arms. But the arrest could no longer change anything, thousands of women followed her example.

In the 1920s, relaxing on the beach became one of the favorite types of recreation for Europeans. It was during these years that swimsuits first lose their sleeves, exposing their arms, then pantaloons, exposing their legs, become smooth and well streamlined. The 1920s also saw the introduction of the first two-piece swimwear.

And in July 1946 a bikini swimsuit was born, consisting of very short swimming trunks and a narrow bra. Its inventor was the designer Louis Reard. The bikini swimsuit was named after the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, near which the US military conducted nuclear tests in 1946. Only Rudy Gernrich went further than Louis Reard, who introduced the world to the free and rebellious 1960s monokini - a swimsuit without a top (a swimsuit consisting of one single piece).

Types of swimwear that can hide figure flaws

Swimwear existing today can be divided into types and types. There are two types of swimwear - closed and open. It is these types, in turn, that are divided into types.

Among the closed swimsuits, there are such types as:

Maillot - classic one-piece swimsuit with sewn-on straps and v-neck, square or round neckline. This swimsuit is suitable for almost any shape. It can be used for both sports and recreation.

Tank - looks like mayobut with bust cups and wider straps. Visually makes the figure more slender.

Bandeau - also a one-piece swimsuitbut without straps. These swimsuits were especially fashionable in the 1950s in the United States. The bandeau swimsuit visually shortens the upper torso and reduces the hips.

Halter - the straps of such a leotard are fastened or tied around the neck. Halter visually enlarges the shoulders and also hides full hips.

Plange - swimsuit both with a deep cut in the back, and with no less, and possibly also a large cut in the front. Such a swimsuit visually enlarges the bust, lengthens the neck.

High neck - swimsuit with a very small cut, such a swimsuit is considered sports. Visually lengthens the body.

Swim dress - swimsuit with a skirt.

Burkini is a very closed swimsuit: both legs and arms are closed, it is sewn from thin and breathable fabric for those who are not allowed to be naked by religion, including on the beach.

Types of open (separate) swimwear:

Bikini - we have already mentioned it, a swimsuit that appeared in 1946, consisting of very short swimming trunks and a narrow bra, with thin straps. Swimwear like this look perfect on model figures.

Bando - the bodice of this leotard does not have straps.

Bandini - a kind of bandobut with a bodice that can go up to the waist.

Halter - as in closed and open swimsuits, its straps are fastened or tied around the neck. Looks good on the owners of a magnificent bust. Also balances the figure with full hips.

Tank - open swimsuit with a bodice in the form of a top. The top can be as long as the lower ribs - shortened, and up to the middle of the thigh - elongated. It has one-piece straps that provide good support for the chest.

Swim dress - as you may have guessed, by analogy with closed swimsuits, he also has a skirt. The skirt can be either straight or with flounces. It can look like a wide belt or reach the middle of the thigh.

There is also such a type of swimwear as trikini - in addition to the swimsuit itself, its set also includes a short skirt, pareos (large scarves with bright patterns that are tied both on the hips in the form of a skirt and under the arms in the form of a dress) or shorts.

My pick is a white swimsuit (Tara Matthews)

This summer, both one-piece swimsuits and open ones will be in fashion. One-piece swimsuits - both with straps and without them, but a closed swimsuit with a strap over one shoulder will be considered especially fashionable. When it comes to open swimwear, bikini, monokini, bandeau swimwear and one-shoulder swimwear are in vogue this summer. The colors are classic white, red, orange and yellow that are relevant this season, as well as combinations of shades of blue. Plus stripes, marine-themed prints, leopard prints, zebra, tiger patterns, and floral designs will also be in vogue.