WHEN THIS PHOTO was taken, the bikini had finally established a beachhead on American soil. It had taken a while; back when the navel-baring bikini was introduced, 60 YEARS AGO this month, the effect was shocking. It’s not that TWO-PIECE SWIMSUITS were unheard of. But it took a couple of Frenchmen to make them skimpy and sensational-Jacques Heim with the Atome, “the world’s smallest bathing suit,” and Louis Reard, who answered with the bikini, “smaller than the smallest bathing suit in the world.” The inspiration, of course, was the American nuclear testing that year on BIKINI ATOLL in the Pacific. In 1948 the explosive suit made its way to LAKE MICHIGAN BEACHES, but, as one practical Chicagoan told the Tribune, “to wear a two-piece suit takes a perfect figure and an expensive suit.” By 1965 either the figures or the suits must have gotten better, because the bikini was here to stay.
– Total land area of Bikini Atoll: 3.4 SQUARE MILES. Number of nuclear tests conducted there by the U.S. between 1946 and 1958: 23.
– Number of neckties used to make a novelty bikini in 1951: 5.
– Raquel Welch’s original name: JO RAQUEL TEJADA.
– European countries that once banned the bikini: SPAIN, PORTUGAL AND ITALY.
– Percentage of women who’d rather get their wisdom teeth pulled than shop for swimsuits: 27.
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“A bikini is not a bikini unless it can be pulled through a wedding ring.”
–DESIGNER LOUIS REARD
Sources: Tribune archives, news reports, Bikiniatoll.com, Everythingbikini.com.
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nwatkins@tribune.com
