The modern bikini was invented by French engineer Louis Réard and introduced on July 5, 1946 at a fashion show at Piscine Molitor in Paris. It was a string bikini with a g-string back. It was named after Bikini Atoll, the Pacific Ocean site of a nuclear weapon test on July 1st, with the reasoning that the burst of excitement it would cause would be like a nuclear explosion. Réard promoted his bathing suit by selling it in a matchbox and declaring, "A bikini is not a bikini unless it can be pulled through a wedding ring". None of Paris's fashion models would wear Réard's creation, so it was introduced by Micheline Bernardini, a nude dancer at the Casino de Paris. Reard's inspiration came from watching young women at the beach rolling down the waists of their two-piece swimsuits and hitching up their tops to catch more sun.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfyvXblUCPbWsg1hf3H-y-hxb8eUS4V8XtDwQ7GNQ8qx_DTd6nhgHVIYIDqBK5VJNhqlXNa-iH8VTjGYPRaOG47awiKW9mYcmH1vu2wktZ7xoEog9cnWbJivNpa6VDs7oVzaZkWwj3xCPW/s400/0705_first-bikini2.jpg)
Compare the above photo with the one below of a young Marilyn Monroe modeling what was then considered a risque bikini. Marilyn's bikini covers a little more of her chest, but the bottom covers her belly button, hips, and rear.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YK1-fDN1WEI61RTps0-Mn_ROkytkFIxzHOKhrgNc1OOFusTPgjwBvMy3TrzYguai1Zeoomq1O-F-qZrwm6j8CJdnVRC3RydYJqkHkiRdMMBowrEKnjJ0cs0-bUEqvGj6PzeGNk88tsk5/s400/marilyn-monroe-june1946.jpg)
Catholic countries like Spain, Portugal and Italy banned the bikini. Decency leagues pressured Hollywood to keep bikinis from being featured in Hollywood movies. One writer described it as a "two piece bathing suit which reveals everything about a girl except for her mother's maiden name." And Modern Girl magazine wrote, "It is hardly necessary to waste words over the so-called bikini since it is inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency would ever wear such a thing."
In 1957, however, Brigitte Bardot's bikini in "And God Created Woman" began to create a market for the swimwear in the US. Brian Hyland's 1960 pop song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" inspired a bikini-buying spree. Ursula Andress emerged from the sea, and into cultural icon status, wearing a white bikini in 1962's "Dr. No". It has been called "the best bikini scene ever", and a "defining moment in the sixties liberalization of screen eroticism
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLB5UtvaQf9I642upi72-2XfLrt4clJcPDrDV7rKNyf1cova5dyY4aEY13haRG-x0AzaiFbjbBhuMMEO6qJOBPNUojUDOJXvHN2olMW7p0Wqe4jb0YqO7s8B6ThNSCeGnoTIi1zzu5irWM/s400/andress-bikini_02.jpg)
In 1964, Sports Illustrated published it's first swimsuit issue, which has been credited with making the bikini a legitimate piece of apparel. That same year even the pure and virtuous Annette Funicello wore a bikini for "Bikini Beach". The bikini was here to stay.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXgXJ3qvQUGtdubyfhiN3OgqzgVSS3OS4NSwUr7jgj0GlLH_CknWUNgzbKIteJWd6VWjAHCwmK4roIPE_eWeY8OSQldt3aYsg2NsRT6UwubojmN8tk-TrGKqLDvbGOfA8nVyKdKl8pH7J/s400/First_SI_Swimsuit_Issue.jpg)
Here's a few pics of models and regular girls showing why the bikini is perhaps the greatest invention of all time. Alright, maybe that's a little over the top, but it's up there ;)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvVR3SqCjaf1JSCoxt3EVUfhMs1LxmfB5rK5ghjGGBTpgwU3Eccav9x208xdV85jzC80Mr7mJr2W56NEbyOoclhJtqBmnLy8h1nMHuQwBTadehyphenhyphen2pGAeJP_s0-KnEAJ61Wx4QatrIeBV6/s400/SW%2520(84).jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyBOB2eF2jkAwuRvQ3I2f_bIHMJSszFKAJBCFeHJ3PTZ-UNTJeHhPuVrz7BVuL1_opf80PC4W0yDtS-A4t-_KIfrg15wXADuF1bKwSd-bdvZp_Oawl5oGo7KrrrmvlMKscDQwZA_cOvw_/s400/SW%2520(52).jpg)
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRwE1eK065suKg14qhJ5l5UfjzOmmrh1kaTs81ztwXlL8jLMiJK2wJco1CF5FZhzyuwSxn9YvRtdXyVVqlL0PF4FY7BGae4EbDJzgh5hAR5TImMwuwMcTG3JywcVIOiVy3HZhyphenhyphenjmLKecH/s400/candid-beach-07.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLUuEbQyRwpfzfUtking2AiKaP8VYdGZZ8fB50C1wGj2MqFyvS0kb27nNBg-bFIkAFQMybFbsiKDyZ4_bbYqhfRUJJA0UJl7kWQ_IvKn80T5C0SMVbQeczhD26pvYUHT9Q3D78daYanj03/s400/candid-beach-105.jpg)