Posted on 07/07/2011 2:59:16 AM PDT by Libloather
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIKINI: 65 Years In The Life Of The Two-Piece
Simone Foxman | Jul. 5, 2011, 5:31 PM
From ridicule to ubiquity, the bikini has come a long way over the past 65 years.
It was on this date in 1946 that French fashion designer Louis Réard hired a nude dancer to sport his two-piece creation after the runway models he approached refused to wear it.
But despite provoking controversy -- centering around everything from morality to skin cancer to liposuction -- it is clear that the teenie weenie suit is here to stay.
Click here to see the most iconic moments in the history of the bikini >
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
The first modern bikini made its debut on July 5, 1946, at the Piscine Molitor in Paris. Designer Louis Réard couldn't find a model to wear his suit, so he ended up hiring nude dancer Micheline Bernardini to sport his design.
Sweet.
She appears to be holding a testicle lock-box.
I believe the bikini got its name from Bikini Atoll, a small island upon which the US government was testing the then-new hydrogen fusion bomb which outdid the older plutonium and uranium fission bombs by a factor of ten or more. Maybe this garment was reputed to make the girl look as hot as the fireball generated by this bomb? The “nude dancer” in the photo doesn’t look all that hot in the new bikini, though. Looks like she’s showing much wear and tear.
To think French models were so prudish in that day. All I see is a homemade looking bra and loincloth. How far the West has fallen.
But she is wearing stripper shoes!
Which might look sexy on an actual stripper — but illogical for a beach chick.
But fashion designers are just copycats.
Mosaic on a floor of the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily. Circa 300 AD.
Venus in a Bikini. Statue recovered in Pompeii.
But I do notice ancient Romans seemed to have a better handle on the problem of cellulite.
Bikini atoll and the slight pun on “bi” for two part, as opposed to the monokini. If I have to choose ....
L.O.L. "I got you now!"
You did your home work well,history is a wonderful tool.
I remember seeing a girls in butt-thongs at a public beach about twenty years ago. Those things sure went out like a light.
I remember seeing a girls in butt-thongs at a public beach about twenty years ago. Those things sure went out like a light.
I’m going to bookmark this topic for my ongoing sociological study. Thanks Libloather.
:’)
An excellent move on Monsieur Réards’ part....(golf clap)
a thread of historical significance
My late father was at two of the Bikini Island nuclear tests as a member of the US Navy. He told me they placed animals on target ships, both on deck and below. The bombs were detonated a distance away. Once the cloud lifted enough for them to navigate, they went right out to the ships to check the results. My Dad used to tell me he and his shipmates tingled for weeks even though they were ordered to scrub when they got back. I’m pretty sure this was done in 1946/47. Unbelievable but true!
“I got you now!”
The TRUE invisible hand!
lol...
The bikini was not the first two piece swimsuit. The bikini was new in that the bottom was smaller than on previous swimsuits.
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq76-1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads
“”Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. Its purpose was to investigate the effect of nuclear weapons on naval ships. The series consisted of two detonations, each with a yield of 23 kilotons:
Able was detonated at an altitude of 520 feet (158 m) on July 1, 1946; Baker was detonated 90 feet (27 m) underwater on July 25, 1946. A third burst, Charlie, planned for 1947, was canceled primarily because of the Navy’s inability to decontaminate the target ships after the Baker test...
The Crossroads tests were the fourth and fifth nuclear explosions conducted by the United States (following the Trinity test and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki)...
“”
Some liberty was taken by the artists, or else the two ball players are men who thought they needed a sweat band around their chests.
One would wonder about that cube. If she was a naked dancer in strip teases, maybe that’s where patrons would put money.
Ursula Andress in Dr. No....BEST bikini shot ever....
One of the tests at Operation Crossroads in 1946 at Bikini. I was on the opposite side of the globe at the time, though later served aboad ships which took part in the operation.
That rumble you feel is Adam Smith rolling over.
One of the projects during the late 1940's to early 1950's was to drastically reduce the size and weight of the 20 kT plutonium implosion device so it could be carried by smaller planes. Indeed, by the time of the Mike test of the first thermonuclear bomb, a 20 kT plutonium bomb was small enough that the B-47 could carry (I believe) four of these new, very small fission-type nuclear bombs.
But getting back on topic, the designer of the first bikini swim suit really did have a hard time trying to find a model to show off the new creation--no "regular" model wanted to wear one. It took a performer from the Folies Bergeré to finally get someone to model it.
If Helen Thomas shows up on this thread, somebody’s going to pay.
Oof! Simply delightful, thank you Erik Latranyi!
At least they went out of public view. But you can still catch a glimpse of the “whale tail” when they bend over in their jeans.
” If Helen Thomas shows up on this thread, somebody’s going to pay. “
That’s a heavy-duty sense of dread lurking around your psyche. It’s not good for either of us! Did you, by any chance, sneak into your girlfriend’s room to lose your virginity one dark night, only to discover your grandmother in her place? A thing like that could stunt your growth, you know!
Ha!
Great line.
(There just might be a reason that Mr. Smith never married...)
Hottie Ping!
To be on or off the Hottie Ping List please FReepmail me.
Thanks to AZ .44 MAG for the catch.
This thread is relevant to my interests and this is not a bookmark for later...........
LOL
I knew I wouldn’t regret clicking on this thread.
BOOKMARK!!!
The rooster?
Venus has man feet.
That is, without doubt, the best foto of her I’ve ever seen.
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