The Swimsuit: A History of Twentieth-Century Fashion Book

From bare ankles to bare midriffs, voluminous Victorian crinolines to mere wisps of fabric, the swimsuit has acted as a clothing barometer of our times. It is more than pure coincidence that the monokini arrived along with the Pill, or that the voluptuous hourglass–corset costume returned after the frugal hardships of wartime. Women’s liberation and lifestyle changes were—and continue to be—reflected in the increasing exposure of skin on public beaches and in the advertising used to promote not just swimwear sales but everything from motor oil to cola.

While early twentieth–century fashions concealed, and 1950s designs used corsetry and textile innovations to push and pull the body into curvy shape, by the 1980s the body reigned supreme with swimwear designed to show off the aerobicized female.