10 Retro Bikinis to Celebrate 65 Years of the Two Piece

on July 5, 2011 at 3:10 PM

girls in bikinis
Happy birthday, Bikini!Whether you're a fan of the two-piece bathing suit or not, today we should all toast to the bikini -- she turns 65 today. Hooray! It was on July 5 in 1946 when daring French fashion designer Louis Reard paid Parisian exotic dancer Micheline Bernardini to wear his outrageous new bathing suit to a popular swimming pool in Paris, and the rest is history. The bikini quickly took off and became totally in vogue after WWII. Our summers at the beach haven't been the same since.

I salute Reard's invention. A tan stomach and ease using the bathroom during a beach or pool visit are priceless summertime commodities. So to honor the bikini on her 65th birthday, I've rounded up ten retro bikini looks that hearken back to the good old days when "beach blanket" movies ruled and surf culture was a viable way of life. Take a look!

Splendid Ruffle Bikini, $120Blue and white polka dots and a little ruffle? Totally retro-chic. Love it with bangles, too.

nanette lepore bikini
Nanette Lepore Coquette Bikini, $156Bold floral prints and full coverage will keep you looking both vintage and modern.

tori paver swim
Tori Praver Hula Ruffled Bikini, $154I really like dark, fall colors for swimwear.

tori paver swim
Tori Praver Betty Bikini (call store for price)Doesn't get more high-waisted than this. The clean lines and '60s silhouette will flatter most body types.

Juicy Couture Bikini, $91.50Can't you just see her lounging on set with Frankie and Annette?

High Sun Bikini (call store for pricing)

The vibrant color block, tie details, and high bikini briefs are oh so retro.

pop of dots bikini
Pop-Of-Dots Bikini (call store for pricing)Love the fluorescence and the triangle top!

Crocheted Bikini, $84Simple and sexy. The color and the cut are retro-inspired with a modern twist.

Camera Pose Bikini (call store for pricing)Surfs up, dudette!

Seafolly Bikini, $171A little playful va va voom on the beach isn't a bad thing, is it?

Would you wear a retro-inspired bikini?

Photo via Jemingway/Flickr

About the author Lindsay Mannering

is a blogger, a pub quiz connoisseur, and a spicy food athlete.

Filed Under: swimwear, style

Comments (5)

knfisch

on Jul 5, 2011 at 3:19 PM

Half of those look like underwear. I hate the tops that look like bras no matter how many times you call it a bathing suit it still is just a bra to me.

Report this comment

Nonmember comment from PootOnMyBoot

on Jul 5, 2011 at 3:35 PM

Agreed. The tops look like bras, the high-waisted bottoms look like diapers, and the models look like skeletons. None of which is a good look.

jonellg

on Jul 5, 2011 at 3:36 PM

I have some very similar, I love the green polka dots. I have 20ish bikini's I'm not sure if I could justify another one. lol

SpikedMango

on Jul 5, 2011 at 4:13 PM

Do people really spend that much on swim suits?? Holy eff cakes. No wonder so many people have a bad grip on their finances, lol.

PonyChaser

on Jul 6, 2011 at 12:04 AM

I'm surprised that you didn't include a halter-style top. I remember pics of my mom from the '50s in her bikini, and she was wearing those high-waisted style bottoms, but her tops were almost always the halter/tie behind the neck variety. And almost always in light colors (all the pics were b/w, so I'm not sure what colors, exactly). By the way, she was a knockout!