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This article is about the women's bathing suit. For other uses see Bikini (disambiguation) A bikini or '''two-piece''' is a type of women's Bathing Suit , characterized by two separate parts—one covering the Breasts , the other the groin (and optionally the buttocks), leaving an uncovered area between the two garments. The shapes of both parts of a bikini closely resemble women's underwear, and the lower part of a bikini can therefore range from the more revealing thong or G-string to briefs and the more modest square-cut shorts. Two-piece garments worn by women for athletic purposes have been observed on Greek Urn s and paintings, dated as early as 1400 BC . MODERN ORIGIN wearing the first modern bikini.]] The modern bikini was invented by engineer Louis Reard in Paris in 1946 (introduced on July 5 ), and named after Bikini Atoll , the site of Nuclear Weapon tests in the Marshall Islands , on the reasoning that the burst of excitement it would cause would be like the Atomic Bomb . Reard's suit was a refinement of the work of Jacques Heim who, two months earlier, had introduced the "Atome" (named for its size) and advertised it as the world's "smallest bathing suit". Reard split the "atome" even smaller, but could not find a model who would dare to wear his design. He ended up hiring Micheline Bernardini , a Nude Dancer from the Casino De Paris , as his model. BIKINIS IN MODERN CULTURE It took fifteen years for the bikini to be accepted in the United States . In 1951 bikinis were banned from the Miss World Contest . In 1957 , however, Brigitte Bardot 's bikini in '' And God Created Woman '' created a market for the swimwear in the US, and in 1960 , Brian Hyland 's pop song " Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini " inspired a bikini-buying spree. Finally the bikini caught on, and by 1963 , the movie '' Beach Party '', starring Annette Funicello (emphatically ''not'' in a bikini, by mentor Walt Disney 's personal request) and Frankie Avalon , led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol. People who are familiar with the history of Bikini Atoll —particularly opponents of Nuclear Proliferation —may find the etymology and use of the word "bikini" for a garment as inappropriate, as its tongue-in-cheek "explosive" reputation effectively reduces the significance of a Serious Historic Humanitarian Crisis —one that still influences the Politics Of The Marshall Islands —to a mere Popular Culture Sex Symbol in the minds of most people. The term two-piece is considered a neutral alternative. EVOLUTION OF THE BIKINI In recent years, the term ''. The '' Tankini '' is a swimsuit combining a Tank Top and a bikini bottom. A String Bikini is a more revealing alternative style where both top and bottom are reduced to triangles of cloth connected by strings. The lower part of the bikini was further reduced in size in the , Mini , Teardrop , Minimini , Micro , and, what could be called a double g-string, the Minimicro . Female athletes who play Beach Volleyball professionally are required to wear two-pieces. MEDIA DEPICTION .]] The obvious Sex Appeal of the apparel prompted numerous Film and Television productions as soon as public morals changed to accept it. They include the numerous Surf Movie s of the early 1960s and the Television Series , '' Baywatch ''. Iconic portrayals of bikinis in movies include Ursula Andress as Bond Girl Honey Ryder in '' Dr. No '' ( 1962 ), Raquel Welch as the prehistoric cavegirl in the 1966 film '' One Million Years B.C. '', and Phoebe Cates in the 1982 Teen Film '' Fast Times At Ridgemont High ''. These scenes were recently ranked 1, 86, and 84 in Channel 4 ( UK )'s '' 100 Greatest Sexy Moments ''. In addition, a variant of the bikini popular in Fantasy Literature is a bikini that is made up of metal to serve as (admittedly rather impractical) Armor (Sometimes referred to as a Chainmail Bikini). The character Red Sonja is a famous example. A Re-enactment term for such usage, where sex appeal is more important than actual practicality is ''babes-at-arms'' (parody from "men-at-arms" for a fully armoured soldier). IMAGES OF ROMAN BIKINIS SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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