The Bikini Culture In Our life--- womens' bikini

Do you know how ‘old’ the bikini is? If you do not, you need not feel bad about it because most people don’t know either. The bikini will be sixty-four on July 5 this year. Are you surprised? However, it’s true that the bikini as it is known today has been around that long. Actually, the first recorded use of the bikini dates as far back as 300 AD. This amounts to over 1, 700 years. It is also true that the bikini has seen a lot of changes in its looks and designs over the years.
The name was actually adapted from the location where the first US post-war nuclear tests were carried out; Bikini Atoll. The creator of the bikini, Louis Reard named it after that island because the name atomic was been used to represent anything of great sensation. Reard wanted his new creation to be very sensational and he succeeded. The bikini emerged at a time when the world was comparatively conservative about women, their role as well as they what they wore. Swimsuits were one thing but two piece wears like this new creation that exposed the navel was difficult to accept by both men and women. In fact, the bikini was banned in some Catholic countries but in the United States, it was disdained. This remained the position until the 1960s, the era of what can be properly described as the ‘sexual revolution’.
There have been a lot of opinions formed, held and argued about the tiny strip of cloth that is called the bikini but it survived them all and is still going strong today. A host of fashion designers spend resources these days designing bikinis and a long queue of fashion models also vie for the honor of first wearing the new bikini designs.
One of the greatest moments in the life of the bikini was that instance when the Bond girl in the movie Dr. No emerged from the sea wearing a bikini and a knife strapped to her waist. This scene was recreated in 2002, forty years later when Halle Berry staged the same act yet another Bond movie, Die Another Day.
Today, the bikini has gained sufficient or even overwhelming acceptance so much so as to have shows hosted just to show off new designs. The Mercedes Benz Fashion Week featured a show known as the Miami Swim Show. During this show, some popular models and even fresh ones showed off new bikini designs. There are models these days that are referred to as ‘swimsuit’ models. They pose in swim wear including or more especially bikinis to show off the designs.
The media including the print and electronic have also been able to create a lot of hype with the bikini courtesy of magazines like Sports Illustrated and Playboy. After a brief period of comparative apathy towards the bikini, the popularity peaked again and so have the sales. The NPD Group, a market research company based in the US reported an 80% jump in the sale of two piece bikinis nationwide. That says a lot for its present day popularity.

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