It may not have been polka dotted , but when the bikini debuted at a poolside fashion show on July 5 , 1946 , it was the itsy - bitsy - teenie - weeniest slice of fashion the world had seen . Former mechanical engineer Louis Reard ’s foundation even scandalized the models , who reject to don it . He had to lease an alien dancer named Micheline Bernardini to model it for him , and picture of her in the presume bathing suit made their way around the Earth .

July 5 was the debut of the two-piece in a mode setting , two men really came up with the melodic theme at the same clip . One was just more successful in promoting it . Jacques Heim was the first architect of the two-piece , a flyspeck cause he call the " atome , " as in the atombomb . Reard named his " le bikini , " four days after atomic testing began at the Bikini Atoll . Both Man bank on the shocking design combined with the volatile name to launch their intersection . Both human race claim their suit was the tiniest in the world , and both were highly controversial . Reard won .

Why was the bikini so disgraceful ? That might be easier to excuse if you ’ve ever heard of abathing automobile , a crucial part of beach life for nineteenth - century women . Think of it as a small shed on wheels . A woman change inside the bathing machine , which was then wheel into the water . Once in the water , she would dismount from a step ladder . Bathing suits then were basically just like regular apparel , which included shoes and hat . Eventually this getup evolved into a washup dress , which was basically a tunic over bloomers , often in a heavy fabric like face cloth or wool . When besotted , it probably weigh 20 or 30 Cypriot pound . Over time , the blooper disappeared , arms were bared and hemline rose . By the forties , two - spell bathing suits were turn over acceptable fashion , part because of World War II fabric confinement . Movie stars like Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner were often snap in two - piece washup suits .

So what was the liberal great deal ? Something very small , in reality – the navel . TheMotion Picture Production Codeof 1930 , cognise as the Hays Code or Hays Production Code , prohibited mavin from " indecent or undue exposure , " and the navel was take a no - no . Midriffs could be shown , but only the upper orbit – apparently ribs do n’t possess the samesexappeal as the bellybutton .

Although the bikini became pop in France in the ' forty , it did n’t make a real splash in the United States until the ' 60s . Brigitte Bardot ’s act in " … And God Created Woman " ( 1956 ) help kick off the drift , while Annette Funicello movies like " Bikini Beach " ( 1964 )   and " How to overgorge a Wild Bikini " ( 1965 ) helped make the bikini more popular to the masses . Funicello ’s wholesome cuteness supply a certain sense of girl - next - doorway acceptability that steamy Raquel Welch in " One Million Years B.C. " ( 1966 ) did not . The first Sports Illustrated bathing costume   edition in 1964 sealed the deal with Babette March in a ashen bikini .

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