Stroll down Fort Lauderdale Seashore at present and also you’ll see all of it: cheeky bikini bottoms, cut-out one-pieces, speedos, sarongs—and never a lot left to the creativeness. However rewind 100 years, and the shoreline regarded extra like a Victorian picnic than a modern-day scorching spot.
Image this: You’re basking in the summertime solar, chilly drink in hand, however as an alternative of a breezy bikini, you’re decked out in an extended wool robe, full stockings, bathing tights, and lace-up footwear. Sure, footwear. Going to the seaside wasn’t about getting a tan—it was about not drowning in your outfit.
Within the mid-Nineteenth century, “bathing clothes” had been all the fad—heavy, modest clothes manufactured from flannel or wool that clung to the physique (and never in a great way) as soon as moist. Beneath these clothes had been bloomers, tights, and layers meant extra for overlaying up than cooling off.
Because the many years rolled on, swimwear slowly loosened up. Girls started sporting shorter sleeves, tighter tops, and—gasp—uncovered knees. Some even wore seaside corsets, which had been thought-about “dainty and serviceable” however about as comfy as a sunburn.
Then got here the roaring Nineteen Twenties and ‘30s, when knitted swimsuits hugged curves in new methods, even when they drooped like damp sweaters after a dip. Seashore pajamas and breezy units grew to become well-liked for lounging, as individuals started to affiliate the ocean extra with leisure than only a cautious wade.
After which, in 1946, got here the game-changer: the bikini. Sufficiently small to “slot in a sardine can,” it shocked the world—and cemented its place as the final word image of summer time. From Brigitte Bardot to Fort Lauderdale spring breakers, the bikini has been embraced, reimagined, and celebrated ever since.
So the subsequent time you see somebody in a string bikini or sunbathing in barely-there swimwear, simply keep in mind: we’ve come a great distance from wool and waist cinchers. The bikini revolution is alive and nicely—and in Fort Lauderdale, it’s on full, wonderful show.
