Gone are the days when women across the country and beyond went on intensive and often ‘fad’ diets before they embarked on their summer vacation to pass their own rules on looking good enough in a bikini.
Thankfully, there is much more of a relaxed attitude to body image for both men and women these days and even though there is still considerable room for improvement, there are definite benefits to being a woman in the modern day. Now, stylish and more modest one-piece swimsuits are the height of fashion and if you are interested in why this has come about, then you should continue reading.
Table of Contents
The Beginnings Of The Modern Day One-Piece
It wasn’t until after the end of the first world war that women’s swimwear became more of a fashionable aspiration and less of a practical and modest cover-up for those who wanted to swim in the ocean.
Here in the United States, as well as in mainland Europe, knitted swimwear was the main go-to for women, with the former being decidedly more practical and the latter being slightly more ostentatious. In Europe, especially Spain, Greece, and Italy, different classes of women could be told apart by how luxurious the fabric of their costume was, whereas, in the US, the suits were more of a standard.
Interestingly, the first one-piece to feature on the cover of the infamous fashion magazine Vogue was way back in 1932, with a slender woman sporting a red knitted one-piece.
Mid & Late 20th Century
In 1931, a new material was created, named lastex yarn, which revolutionized the way swimwear was manufactured. Instead of knitted one-pieces, which invariably lost their shape and fitted nature when saturated, lastex yarn was entirely more suited for being immersed in water.
The other reason why lastex yarn was the ultimate game-changer for swimwear for women across the Western world was that now, one-pieces could be made in a wide variety of styles and far more importantly, colors.
In 1946, the bikini was created, back then referred to as a two-piece garment, by a French designer named Jacques Heim and exceedingly quickly, the bikini became the favored choice for women.
Throughout the 1990s, women were encouraged to wear as small as a bikini as possible without being arrested on the beach, and even into the early 2000s, micro bikinis and G-string bikinis were the only thing to be ‘seen’ at the pool and the beach.
The Modern Day
Even though the bikini dominated the world of swimwear fashion for many decades, the move back towards a stylish one piece swimsuit is palpable, both in the world of fashion houses and designers and ordinary women too.
Endnote
Arguably, the one-piece is not only sexier than a bikini, as it leaves more to the imagination, but the one-piece is also far more suited to the curves and aesthetics of a woman’s body and can double up as a leotard or bodysuit as part of an outfit and allow for more freedom of movement.
