With the weather being so hot and sunny for the past few days, I thought i would look into the history of the bikini. For many years celebrities have been the envy of us sat at home wishing we firstly looked like them secondly had their bodies and thirdly could be on a beach like them.
One of the most iconic bikini moments is definately Ursula Andress in the James Bond Film Dr No. She emerged from the sea in a white bikini and became the pin up for men across the world, so much so that more recently Halle Berry channelled this same look in Die Another Day but with an orange bikini.
'And God created Woman' was film produced in the 1950's and is iconic in the fact that it promoted the bikini as an item of sexy clothing. Brigitte Bardot played a ditsy almost tomboy character in the film, she became the icon of women at the time because film stars then were seen as more glamourous and 'made-up' almost unachievable. Bardot however, wore less make up, had messy hair and a more casual approach, women wanted to copy this and so the bikini was more popular.
Sports Illustrated showcases the best celebrity female figures in tiny bikinis.
Bikinis were seen as a very risqué garment to wear. The first bikini, designed by Louis Reard and seen in the top left image was named after Bikini Atoll, a site where nuclear weapons were tested in the South Pacific. He believed that the bikini would explode like a nuclear weapon. The model he used to showcase his designs was a nude french dancer, because no other model at the time thought it to be very respectable. Over the years swimwear has evolved from head to toe outfits to the tiniest two pieces.
Today anything is acceptable from monokinis, thong bathing suits and even back to the vintage style swimsuits of the 1950's.
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| New Look - £12.99 top £7.99 bottoms |
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| River Island - £15 |
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| ASOS.com - £195 |
This summer I really like the ruffled effect bikinis. The middle bandeau style from River Island i feel would be very flattering as it has quite a lot of coverage whilst stopping any horrible tan lines. The top bikini has good support for the larger bust and the colours would look really nice against a tan. However, top of my wish list is the white bikini at the bottom. I love the scalloped edges and just the shape in general however the fact it is white is a small downside because it does not mix well with suncream although it does always looks good... due to the price i think this will be staying on my wish list for a very long time.
So unfortunately for now I shall be bikini window shopping and enjoying the nice weather in sunny England.
