The evolution of the swimsuit

Orig6 440

1898: Portrait of a bathing suit-clad woman and a swimming instructor lying close to the surf on Midland Beach, Staten Island, New York. (Photo by Museum of the City of New York/Byron Collection/Getty Images)

Four young women in matching beach wear run out of the surf, Los Angeles, California, circa 1910. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

Women in bathing suit with prize cups 1922

'Smokey' Buchanan from the West Palm Beach police force, measuring the bathing suit of Betty Fringle on Palm Beach, to ensure that it conforms with regulations introduced by the beach censors. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

14th May 1930: Leap-frogging on a Californian beach. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

22nd September 1933: A model in a Jantzen swimsuit with a tie belt. (Photo by Sasha/Getty Images)

22nd September 1933: Male models in 'Y-Back' swimsuits by Jantzen. One man is modelling 'Racaire' without skirt and the other, 'Speedaire' with skirt. (Photo by Sasha/Getty Images)

circa 1942: Judith Barrett, the Hollywood actress, seen here on a beach with Joseph Allen Jnr (left) and the two child actors Billy Lee and Carolyn Lee (no relations). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Michèle BERNARDINI, who has just won the prize for the prettiest 1946 swimmer of the Molitor swimming pool, showing off on July 5, 1946, the first bikini, created by the fashion designer Louis REARD. The box she holds in her left hand allows her to put the bathing suit away. Michèle BERNARDINI, qui vient de remporter le prix de la plus jolie baigneuse 1946 de la piscine Molitor, exhibant le 5 juillet 1946, le premier bikini, créé par le couturier Louis REARD. La boîte tenue dans la main gauche permet de ranger la maillot de bain.

Portrait of American model and actress Betty Grable (1916 ? 1973), as she stands in high heels and a one-piece bathing suit and looks over her shoulder, one hand on her waist, 1943. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

4th February 1948: A woman modelling a patterned swimming costume, cut low on the leg. (Photo by Chaloner Woods/Getty Images)

A young man and woman display the latest in swim wear with matching zebra print bathing suits, January 22, 1950. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1950s: Woman sitting near shore. (Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images)

American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) wearing a polka dot bikini, circa 1951. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

American film actor and sex symbol Jayne Mansfield (1933 - 1967) poses in a bikini by a lifeguard chair at the Dunes Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, mid 1950's. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

DR. NO, Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, 1962.

A young woman modelling a bikini, circa 1967. (Photo by Leo Vals/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

10, Bo Derek 1979

LOS ANGELES, CA - 1980: A model wears a western-style bathing suit by designer Catalina in this 1980 Los Angeles, California, studio photo shoot. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

BAYWATCH, Pamela Anderson, ca. 1995, 1989-2001

Sacha Baron Cohen as \"Borat\" during 2006 Cannes Film Festival - Borat Arrives in Cannes at Cannes Beach in Cannes, France. (Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage)

This product image courtesy of Panache shows their Loren tankini. Forget the pear-vs.-apple and curvy-vs.-curveless shape charts for a minute. There's another divide in the two-piece swimwear discussion: What if you actually have to get up and move around instead of laying on the chaise with a cool drink in hand? (AP Photo/Panache)

BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 28: Models present new beachwear from the 'Special Collection Bjoern Dunkerbeck by Camp David' collection at Brandenburg Gate on April 28, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Athanasios Gioumpasis/Getty Images)

A model presents a creation by Movimento during the 2015 Summer collections of the Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 3, 2014. AFP PHOTO / Nelson ALMEIDA (Photo credit should read NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images)