Happy Birthday, Bikini (and Me)

Every year at this time (July), I raise a toast to Louis Reard, designer of the first bikini July 5, 1946. Louis shocked a lot of people, freed a lot of others, and brought smiles to the faces of millions.

He would not recognize today's bikinis (a string and two bandaids), but they follow faithfully in his philosophy of shock-wear. Good on you, Louis.

Your bikini and I are both 75 this month.

Micheline Bernardini

Wikipedia gives this account:

Reard "a French automotive and mechanical engineer, was running his mother's lingerie business near Les Folies Bergeres in Paris. 

"He noticed women on St. Tropez beaches rolling up the edges of their swimsuits to get a better tan and was inspired to produce a more minimal design. 

"He trimmed additional fabric off the bottom of the swimsuit, exposing the wearer's navel for the first time. Réard's string bikini consisted of four triangles made from 30 square inches of fabric printed with a newspaper pattern.

"When Réard sought a model to wear his design at his press conference, none of the usual models would wear the suit, so he hired 19-year-old nude dancer Micheline Bernardini from the Casino de Paris. 

"He introduced his design to the media and public on July 5, 1946, in Paris at Piscine Molitor, a public pool in Paris. Réard held the press conference five days after the first test of a nuclear device (nicknamed Able) over the Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads. His swimsuit design shocked the press and public because it was the first to reveal the wearer's navel."