The bikini is 65 -- and barely showing its age.
65 years ago, French designer Louis Reard unveiled the first two-piece in Paris on July 5. It wasn't until the 1960s that Americans adopted the belly-baring style.
In the 1962 James Bond film "Dr. No," Ursula Andress walked smoothly out of the waves in a now-famous white bikini -- and straight into the permanent memories of anyone who witnessed the scene.
For a time, the bikini was even controlled by movie studios , who mandated that two-piece suits were allowed on-screen, but exposed navels were a no-no.
Since those heady early days, there have been compromises made.
Take the tankini, which tries to tread some middle ground by combining midriff-covering tank top with bikini bottom. Or the cut-out one-piece -- popularized by celebs like Paris Hilton and the Kardashians -- which stops just short of baring as much as the bikini does.
But nothing approaches the classic, controversial, even irresistible bikini.
What do you think?