How'd Those Swimsuits Get So Skimpy?

American wisecracker Will Rogers once said, "I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they now do." And he combed his last beach in 1935, eleven years before the birth of the belly-baring bikini!

Since then, bathing suits have gotten positively Roman. At their beloved baths, Romans let it all hang out, or wrapped themselves in scanty straps of cloth or leather for a little exercise support. How'd we get back to that? Here's a "brief" history--a look at how yesterday's big bloomers became today's shrinking briefs. Our story starts outside London, around the time Roman-style baths came back into vogue.

Members, read this article now

Get it as an easy-print PDF