HISTORY OF THE BIKINI : DIFFICULT TIMES IN THE "FIFTIES"...

The bikini emerged as a cultural icon at the end of the 1960s; however, prior to this period, it was not widely accepted.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the fashion for women's clothing did not evolve significantly. Women's bodies remained concealed from the neck to the ankles. This was also true for swimsuits, which were made of heavy fabrics and were not very comfortable when wet.

After the First World War, in the 1920s, societal morals were liberated. This marked the beginning of women's emancipation, which significantly impacted women's bathing costumes. Gradually, the sleeves became shorter, the legs were exposed, and the neckline began to lower modestly before eventually becoming more revealing.

The fabrics used in the production of one-piece swimsuits have evolved over time. Initially made from wool, which was uncomfortable and impractical, swimsuits began to incorporate synthetic fibers such as rayon in the 1920s. Rayon, a semi-synthetic fiber, is significantly lighter, more breathable, and offers better water resistance compared to wool.

Almost simultaneously, lastex emerged to revolutionize the swimwear worn by women. This elastic synthetic rubber thread enabled the creation of more refined, fitted, tighter, and practical designs in the 1930s. These swimsuits often featured lower necklines and sometimes even belts to accentuate the silhouette.

However, their use remains marginal compared to the woolen uniform, which still largely predominates.

In 1935, the first modern two-piece swimsuit was introduced, featuring a mid-rise top and a high-waisted bottom. This design, considered very daring for its time, marked a significant milestone in the evolution of swimwear and paved the way for the iconic bikini, created in France by Louis Réard in 1946.

The first bikini is a bold and revolutionary two-piece swimsuit that forever changed the landscape of swimwear design. Its minimalist design represented a radical departure from the modesty and conservatism of the time. Consisting of a bra-like top and panties, the bikini was designed to be form-fitting and liberating, accentuating the natural contours of the female body.

On July 5, 1946, at the Molitor swimming pool in Paris, Réard could not find any model willing to present his new invention to the public. Only the famous nude dancer, Micheline Bernardini, volunteered to dare to wear this revolutionary two-piece that was too avant-garde for the morality of the time.

Réard's presentation went largely unnoticed, except by the Vatican's religious authorities in Rome, who condemned and banned the bikini in 1947.

Indeed, the bikini is considered scandalous, and wearing it is perceived as immoral, indecent, and vulgar.

Subsequently, throughout the 1950s, the bikini became a more acceptable garment, especially due to star actresses such as Brigitte Bardot, Jayne Mansfield (photo), Marilyn Monroe, and Diana Dors, who wore it in films or at film festivals in Cannes or Venice. Even British Princess Margaret, photographed on a yacht in 1950 on the outskirts of the Costa del Sol, helped to make the bikini better known.

During the 1950s, swimwear models became more varied, featuring high-waisted bottoms and different styles of tops, such as halter tops and bandeaux. However, the one-piece swimsuit remained far more popular and best-selling, with more flattering cuts. The use of stretchy and elastic materials like lycra and nylon became more common, improving fit and comfort.

However, the wearing of bikinis on public beaches remained forbidden during those years, with the exception of the Mediterranean beaches in the south of France, and in Spain where, In order not to harm tourism, Franco's (photo) fascist regime surprisingly allowed women to wear the two small triangles of fabric that make up this kind of swimsuit.

The bikini was banned in Germany until 1970. However, in other regions, particularly in America, the rise of private swimming pools in the 1960s provided many women with the opportunity to wear this type of swimsuit without the scrutiny of onlookers.

Other reasons delayed the popular adoption of this piece of clothing. In politics, in France, communist thought "embarks" the bikini in the class struggle, due to its very high price, making it accessible only to the wealthy upper bourgeois class.

Feminists, on the other hand, oppose the bikini because, according to them, it reduces those who wear it to the status of an object, or objects of sexual desire.

Fashion magazines such as "Elle," Marie Claire, and Vogue were not particularly enamored with the bikini at this time, until the latter magazine declared it the "garment of the season" in 1959, having scorned it eight years earlier.

There was also a form of self-censorship in the sense that bikinis were deemed appropriate only for young women or teenage girls who conformed to beauty standards, namely: slim, without physical defects, and especially "without a big belly".

It referred to a kind of stereotype, a form of discrimination against imperfect, even unsightly bodies. Perhaps a legacy of the pin-up girls and the beautiful movie stars who made the bikini famous in the 1950s.

It was not until the women's liberation movements and the sexual revolution of the 1960s that the bikini became a staple of popular fashion and conquered beaches worldwide.

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THE  STORY  OF  THE  STEELERETTES,  THE  FIRST  CHEERLEADING  SQUAD  IN  THE  NATIONAL  FOOTBALL  LEAGUE.

For over a hundred years, American football has been associated with cheerleading.  First in schools, whether at the high school, college or university level.  Most fairly large educational institutions with a student football club had, and still have, a group of cheerleaders to support them.

National Football League (NFL) clubs were exceptions to this rule, until 1961, when the Pittsburgh Steelers, in conjunction with Robert Morris Junior College, decided to form a women's cheerleading team to cheer on the local club's players and spectators, also in hopes of improving ticket sales to Steelers games.  Because in those years, the team had little success on the field, which hurt ticket sales.

In 1961, William Day, an administrator at the Robert Morris college, who was also the entertainment coordinator for the Steelers, had this idea to hold tryouts at the college and select a group of young female students to perform on the field during Steelers games.  Robert Morris was a small college without a football team, and the students had unofficially adopted the Steelers as «their team».  So it was a natural union...

At tryouts, candidates were evaluated on their athletic ability, coordination, personality, gymnastics, and appearance.  They also had to know football well to prove that they would know when to cheer.  At games, the performed choreographed jazz routines to live jazz music performed by Harold Betters and band leader Benny Benack.  Steelerettes received one free ticket per game as pay.

1961

Without realizing it, the young Steelerettes were making history as the first cheerleading squad in the NFL.  They would be adorned in outfits befitting of the steel town image of Pittsburgh.  Their uniforms consisted of gold knee-lenght bibbed jumpers and hard hats.

The first group of Steelerettes that cheered during the 1961 season were : Eleanor Lineman (Captain), Virginia Davis, Patricia Zuvella, Margaret Hensler, Dolly Merante, Margie McCormick, Sandy McEachran, Linda Walters and Barbara Bishop.

Contrary to their habits, the Pittsburgh Steelers had more success at home that year, winning four of their seven games.  And the Steelerettes proved to be a tremendous success with both the fans and the media.

1963

The 1962 season started off with a frenzy of public appearances.  When the squad was selected, Bob Prince interviewed them on his weekly TV show, and they were being mentioned in newspaper articles.  The Pittsburgh Steelerettes had become the darlings of the local sports scene.

A group of young men, called «the Ingots», who were also Robert Morris students, were added to complement and assist the cheerleaders in their routines.  But the experience lasted only one season.  The Ingots did not return in 1963.

1964

That year (1963), the Steelerettes uniforms were a bit brighter and the girls no longer had to wear the hard hats.  They were making regular appearances at charity functions, hospitals and schools.  The talented ladies were also regular performers during halftime at the Duquesne University basketball games.

The squad was increased to ten girls, which made it possible to do a classic pyramid, which from then on became one of the Steelerettes trademark routines.

Carefully choreographed acrobatic maneuvers were used to disassemble the pyramid.  The girl in the top position did a backflip onto the field, then a series of cartwheels ending in a split to begin the formation.  The next two did their backflips and cartwheels ending in a split on each side of the first and so on until we ended up forming a «V» on the field.  The girls performed this several times during the game and it was a genuine crowd pleaser.

1968

But the pyramid was difficult to pull-off, and sometimes the girls collapsed into pile.  The 1963 Steelerettes, as well as the 1969 squad, are immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Among the films that are shown in the theater are bloopers.  The opening scenes of two such films show the pyramids collapsing in one of the Steelerettes humorous heaps.

Another well-rehearsed routine was the line dance that followed every Steelers score, performed to the rhythm of the «Pittsburgh Steelers Fight Song».

By the 1967 season, the idea of having cheerleaders on the sidelines had cought the attention of several other NFL teams, most notably the Dallas Cowboys, and times were changing.  The Steelerettes had always projected a wholesome, collegiate type image while the new wave of NFL cheerleaders mimicked the Cowboys cheerleaders and their go-go dancing «Rockettes» style.

The Steelerettes were starting to look a bit outdated.

By the late 1960's, Robert Morris' students body had grown and the school now had its own football team.  The decision to disband the Steelerettes was a joint decision between the Rooney family (owner of the Steelers) and Robert Morris.  Apparently, the cheerleaders wished to wear outfits that were more «modern» and «daring».

In response, the «very conservative» owner fired the team.  The last squad of Steelerettes left the field after the 1969 season, when the Steelers lost 13 of their 14 games.  They would never come back.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, to this day, are still among the few NFL teams that do not have cheerleaders.

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Three years later, Dallas Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm asked fashion designer Paula Van Wagoner to «modernize» the cheerleaders' uniforms of the team.  The result was the 1972 iconic DCC uniform which is in the Smithsonium Museum today...

Read the story here : (BIKINI AND POM POM GIRLS: 50 YEARS AGO, IN 1972, FASHION DESIGNER PAULA VAN WAGONER CREATED THE ICONIC UNIFORM OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS.)

A MONTH AFTER GINA LOLLOBRIGIDA, ANOTHER FAMOUS BIKINI GIRL, RAQUEL WELCH, PASSED AWAY.

By 1966, bikini was becoming increasingly popular, especially among young women, in Western countries.  This two-piece bathing suit was not the very minimalist one that had caused a scandal on the almost totally naked body of stripper Micheline Bernardini, in Paris, on July 5, 1946.  This was shortly after the creation of the tiny bikini by the French engineer Louis Réard.

In the early 1950s, only pin-up girls (or a few other women who sometimes received police fines for indecency on public beaches) most of them movie stars, such as Brigitte Bardot, Gina Lollobrigida, Esther Williams, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe, dared to appear in this very light outfit.

But for ordinary mortals, to appear in public, with so few clothes, was simply indecent, at least, for the mores of the time.

In the early 1960s, the American actress and signer Annette Funicello (brown hair girl on the photo above) will create the fashion of the Beach Party, in a series of movies around this theme.  Already a recognized artist thanks, among other things, to her roles in Disney studio productions, she is recommended by the producers to wear sober bathing suits, one-pieces, or, at least, not-too-revealing two-pieces that do not show her navel.

Because, for a woman, showing her navel was considered indecent, still, in puritanical America, at that time.

In 1963, from the first of this series of Beach Party films, that will be very popular, young people will imitate this kind of activity in their everyday life, obviously also wearing the famous bikini.

A little while before, in 1962, in a dazzling scene from the movie "Dr No", the famous Bond Girl Ursula Andress (photo), coming out of the sea with her splendid white bikini, had entered history, not only of cinema, but as a beauty icon who greatly contributed to the brand image of the bikini.

In 1966, Raquel Welch did the same by emerging from the water wearing a partially torn bikini, made of animal skin and fur, in the film "One Million Years B.C.".  The movie, almost totally silent, is a failure, and all Raquel Welch hopes is that it quickly sinks into oblivion, so that it does not damage her career, which is still in its infancy.

If this film, in which she says only three lines, is a failure, its promotional posters will be a phenomenal publicity stunt for Raquel Welch.  She appears in the foreground, dressed in her original cave woman bikini.  The sales sucesses of this poster are instant and overwhelming.  They break records and are distributed all over the planet. 

 

Overnight, thanks to this poster that testifies to her extreme beauty, Raquel Welch achieves worldwide fame, and she becomes a sex symbol, of which all moviegoers dream.  Every magazine wants photos of her, and she becomes an actress and a top model much sought after by film directors and fashion designers.  It is a total surprise for this young woman born in 1940, in Chicago, of an American mother, and a father of Bolivian origin.  

In her memoir (Raquel : Beyond the Cleavage, 2010) Welch wrote : "I was not brought up to be a sex symbol, nor is it in my nature to be one" (...) "The fact that I became one is probably the loveliest, most glamorous and fortunate misunderstanding".

Just before One Million Years B.C., Welch had the first success of her career thanks to her role in the sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage.  Previously, she had played small roles (including one, in 1964, in the film Roustabout starring Elvis Presley).  As was the case for Marilyn Monroe and Gina Lollobrigida, film producers confined Raquel Welch to many superficial roles, betting only on the beauty of her body.  Like her two famous colleagues, she will always protest against this categorazation of "woman object". 

 

Curiously, Welch, every man's sexual fantasy,  first owes her breakthrough in the Hollywood film industry (in 1965) to... a woman, the wife of producer Saul David, who, after seeing a magnificent photo of Raquel in Life magazine, sees great potential in her, and points it out to her husband.

David recommended Welch to a contract with 20th Century Fox.  She agreed to a lucrative seven-year contract, for five pictures over the next five years.  Almost forty other films will follow, as well as fifty television shows, making Raquel Welch a legend.

Her curves and beauty captured pop culture attention.  Playboy crowned her the "most desired woman" of the '70s, despite the fact that she never appeared completely naked in the magazine.  In 1995, she was named one of the 100 sexiest stars in film History.  The year after, she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  And in 2013, Welch nabbed the No. 2 spot (behind only Jennifer Aniston) on Men's Health's "Hottest Women of All Time" list.

The film and television industry had finally rewarded her talents as an actress, singer and dancer by awarding her a Golden Globe for her role as Constance Bonacieux in the fil "The Three Musketeers (1973, photo).  She was nominated for this award, in 1988, thanks to her excellent performance in the television film "Right to Die".

Her remarkable career spanned five decades.  Unlike Gina Lollobrigida, who became an actress by chance, to pay for her studies at the School of Fine Arts of Rome (she wanted to become a painter), Raquel Welch became an actress by training.

In 1942, to serve his country's war efforts, her father, an aeronautical engineer, moved his family to La Jolia, California.  Very early, the one who then bears the name of Jo-Raquel Tejada, will want to become an artist of show business.  She took classes un dance, singing and acting.  

Already, at 14 years old, aware of her advantageous physique, she won beauty contests, and she soon landed a few modeling contracts.  Funny enough, after seven years of ballet lessons, seeing how much her feminine attributes have grown, her instructor makes her give up a career in this field, telling her right away that she really does not have the physique of the job !

For posterity, Raquel Welch holds a very high place in the Pantheon of female beauty of all time.  This stunning and breathaking beauty, and her glorious acting and modeling careers will ensure that she will never be forgotten.  Even if she died last Wednesday, at the age of 82, she will remain, in a way, immortal...  And one of the most famous bikini girl of all time !

Here is an audio-visual montage that attests to her legendary iconic beauty.