Swimsuit

A monokini, sometimes referred to as a unikini, is a women's one-piece garment

equivalent to the lower half of a bikini. The term monokini is also now used for any
topless swimsuit, particularly a bikini bottom worn without a bikini top. In !"#, $udi
%ernreich, an Austrian fashion designer, designed the original monokini in the &'.
%ernreich also invented its name, and the word monokini is first recorded in (nglish that
year. %ernreich's monokini looked like a one-piece swimsuit suspended from two halter
straps in the cleavage of bared breasts. It had only two small straps over the shoulders,
leaving the breasts bare. )espite the reaction of fashion critics and church officials,
shoppers purchased the monokini in record numbers that summer, though very few
monokinis were ever worn in public. *y the end of the season, %ernreich had sold +,,,
swimsuits at -.# apiece, which meant a tidy profit for such a minuscule amount of fabric.
It was not very successful in the &'A, where although allowing the se/es equal e/posure
above the waist, have never accepted it for the beach. 0any women who wanted to
sunbathe topless simply wore the bottom part of a bikini. 0anufacturers and retailers
quickly adapted to selling tops and bottoms separately. %ernreich later created the lesser
known pubikini.
'wimsuits can be skin-tight or loose-fitting. They are often lined with another layer of
fabric if the outer fabric becomes transparent when wet. 'wimsuits range from designs
that almost completely cover the body to designs that e/pose almost all of the body. The
choice of swimsuit will depend on personal and community standards of modesty and on
considerations such as how much or how little sun protection is desired, and prevailing
fashions. Almost all swimsuits cover the genitals and pubic hair, while most e/cept
thongs cover much or all of the buttocks. 0ost swimsuits in western culture leave at least
the head, shoulders, arms, and lower part of the leg e/posed. 1omen's swimsuits
generally cover at least the aereola and bottom half of the breasts, but some are designed
for the top part of the swimsuit to be removed . In many countries, young girls and
sometimes women choose not to wear a swimsuit top, and this can vary with the
occasion, location, age, etc. 0en's swimsuits which cover the upper body are relatively
rare in western culture. *oth men and women may sometimes wear swimsuits covering
more of the body when swimming in cold water. In colder temperatures, the swimwear is
needed to conserve body heat and protect the body core from hypothermia.
Micro Bikini :The tankini is a swimsuit combining a tank top, mostly made of spande/-
and-cotton or 2ycra-and-nylon, and a bikini bottom introduced in the late !!,s.
According to author 1illiam 'afire, 3The most recent evolution of the -kini family is the
tankini, a cropped tank top supported by spaghetti-like strings.3 The tankini is
distinguished from the classic bikini by the difference in tops, the top of the tankini
essentially being a tank top. The tankini top e/tends downward to somewhere between
4ust above the navel and the top of the hips. The word is a neologism combining the tank
of tank top with the end of the word bikini. This go-between nature of tankini has
rendered its name to things ranging from a lemonade-based martini to server architecture.
This type of swimwear is considered by some to provide modesty closer to that of a one
piece suit but with the convenience of a two piece suit, such as not needing to remove the
entire suit in order to use a lavatory. )esigner Anne 5ole, described as a godmother of
swimwear in the &'A, was originator of this style. 'he scored what would be her biggest
hit in !!6 when her label introduced the tankini. A two-piece suit with a top half that
covered more of a woman's torso than a standard bikini top, the suit was an instant hit
with customers. 7ariations of the tankini, made of spande/-and-cotton or 2ycra-and-
nylon, have been named camkini, with spaghetti straps instead of tank-shaped straps over
a bikini bottom, and even bandeaukini, with a bandeau worn as the top. Tankinis come in
a variety of styles, colors and shapes, some include features such as integrated push-up
bras. It is particularly popular as children's beachwear, and athletic outfit good enough for
a triathlon. According to 8atherine *etts, 7ogue's fashion-news director, this amphibious
sportswear for sand or sea lets the user go rafting, playing volleyball and swimming
without worrying about losing their top.
Made In Italy Beachwear
In the !.,s, swimsuits were made from burlap. )uring the !.,s and !+,s, people
shifted from 3taking the waters3 at spas along the $iviera and in 9lorida to 3taking the
sun,3 and swimsuit designs accommodated this shift. $ayon was used in the !.,s to
manufacture tight-fitting swimsuits, but its durability and appearance retention were low,
especially when wet. $ayon also had the lowest elastic recovery of any fiber. :ersey and
silk were also used in the !.,s. *y the !+,s, manufacturers had lowered necklines in
the back, removed sleeves, and cut away the sides. ;ollywood endorsed the new glamor
in films like <eptune's )aughter in which (sther 1illiams wore provocatively named
costumes such as 3)ouble (ntendre3 and 3;oney 5hild3. 1ith new materials like late/
and nylon, by !+# the swimsuit started hugging the body and had shoulder straps that
the wearer could lower to allow more tanning. *y the early !#,s, two-piece swimsuits
were frequent on American beaches. )uring 1orld 1ar II, war production required vast
amounts of cotton, silk, nylon, wool, leather, and rubber. The 1ar =roduction *oard
issued $egulation 2-6> in !#. that rationed the use of natural fibers, reducing the
amount of fabric in women's beachwear by , percent. To meet the regulations, swimsuit
manufacturers produced two-piece suits with bare midriffs.
A string bikini is scantier and more revealing than a tanga bikini. It gets its name from the
string characteristics of its design. It consists of two triangular shaped pieces connected at
the groin but not at the sides, where a thin 3string3 wraps around the waist connecting the
two parts. 'tring bikini tops are similar and are tied in place by the attached 3string3
pieces. 'tring pieces can either be continuous or tied. A string bikini bottom can have
minimal to ma/imum coverage of a woman's backside. It is claimed that *ra?ilian
fashion model $ose de =rimallio created the first string bikini when she had to sew one
with insufficient fabric available to her for a photoshoot. The first formal presentation of
string bikini was done by %len Tororich, a public relations agent, and his wife *randi
=erret-)u:on, a fashion model, for the opening of 2e =etite 5entre, a shopping area in the
9rench @uarter of the <ew Arleans, 2ouisiana in !B#. Inspired by a picture of a $io de
:aneiro fashion model in an issue of 1omen's 1ear )aily, they had local fashion
designer 2apin create a string bikini for the event. 0odels recruited by talent agent =eter
)asigner presented it by removing fur coats by Alberto 2emon on stage. The presentation
was covered by local television stations and the <ew Arleans Times-=icayune
newspaper, and was sent out via the wire news services of the Associated =ress and
&nited =ress International. 'tring bikinis are one of the most popular variations of bikini.
*ikinis are also worn at the hips, but the fabric at the sides is narrower. In the string
bikini, it disappears altogether to leave the waistband as a 3string3. The rear coverage of
the bikini is not as full as with the brief. *ikini is the most widely worn style among
women worldwide.
Brasilian Bottom : =eggy 0offitt modeled the suit for %ernreich. 'he said it was a
logical evolution of %ernreich's avant-garde ideas in swimwear design as much as a
scandalous symbol of the permissive society. In the !",s, the monokini led the way into
the se/ual revolution by emphasi?ing a woman's personal freedom of dress, even when
her attire was provocative and e/posed more skin than had been the norm during the
more conservative !>,s. 2ike all swimsuits, the monokini bottom portion of the
swimsuit can vary in cut. 'ome have g-string style backs, while others provide full
coverage of the rear. The bottom of the monokini may be high cut, reaching to the waist,
with high cut legs, or may be a much lower cut, e/posing the belly button. The modern
monokini, which is less racy than %ernreich's original design, takes its design from the
bikini, and is also described as 3more of a cut-out one-piece swimsuit,3 with designers
using fabric, mesh, chain, or other materials to link the top and bottom sections together,
though the appearance may not be functional, but rather only aesthetic. In recent years,
the term has come into use for topless bathing by womenC where the bikini has two parts,
the monokini is the lower part. 1here monokinis are in use, the word bikini may 4okingly
refer to a two-piece outfit consisting of a monokini and a sun hat. The original monokini
is still sold by 7ictoria's 'ecret as a half-kini.
Push Up Top These derivations of the word bikini were created through inappropriate
analogy with words like bilingual, bifocal and bilateral, which contain the 2atin prefi/
3bi-3, the word bikini was first misinterpreted as consisting of two parts, by $udi
%ernreich when he designed the monokini in !"#. 2ater swimsuit designs like the
tankini and trikini were also named based on the erroneous assumption that the 3bi-3 in
bikini denotes a two-piece swimsuit. These new coinages falsely presumed that the back-
formation was purposeful. The 3-kini family3, including the 3-ini sisters3 has grown to
include a large number of subsequent variations, often with a hilarious le/icon. 0a4or
stylistic variations and an array of spinoff styles include string bikini, monokini or
numokini, tankini, camikini, hikini or hipkini, thong, slingshot or sling bikini, minimini,
teardrop, seekini, microkini and granny bikini. In 4ust one ma4or fashion show in !6>,
there were two-piece suits with cropped tank tops instead of the usual skimpy bandeau/,
suits that are bikinis in front and one-piece behind, suspender straps, ruffles, and daring,
navel-baring cutouts.
Mix Match Swimwear In the !.,s, swimsuits were made from burlap. )uring the
!.,s and !+,s, people shifted from 3taking the waters3 at spas along the $iviera and in
9lorida to 3taking the sun,3 and swimsuit designs accommodated this shift. $ayon was
used in the !.,s to manufacture tight-fitting swimsuits, but its durability and appearance
retention were low, especially when wet. $ayon also had the lowest elastic recovery of
any fiber. :ersey and silk were also used in the !.,s. *y the !+,s, manufacturers had
lowered necklines in the back, removed sleeves, and cut away the sides. ;ollywood
endorsed the new glamor in films like <eptune's )aughter in which (sther 1illiams
wore provocatively named costumes such as 3)ouble (ntendre3 and 3;oney 5hild3.
1ith new materials like late/ and nylon, by !+# the swimsuit started hugging the body
and had shoulder straps that the wearer could lower to allow more tanning. *y the early
!#,s, two-piece swimsuits were frequent on American beaches. )uring 1orld 1ar II,
war production required vast amounts of cotton, silk, nylon, wool, leather, and rubber.
The 1ar =roduction *oard issued $egulation 2-6> in !#. that rationed the use of
natural fibers, reducing the amount of fabric in women's beachwear by , percent. To
meet the regulations, swimsuit manufacturers produced two-piece suits with bare
midriffs.
0ore resultsC
'wimwear 'e/y 5uts *rasilian *ottom