The Bikini Breakout
The 1950s are an unusual decade that mixes liberalism with postwar prosperity and conservatism. Ironically it is post-war Europe, in particular France, that leads the way in beach exposure throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Which is fitting perhaps, since the bikini is born there.
Whatever the lure of the bikini--and many theories are suggested throughout this tome--it is not universally accepted, even in France. Its first confrontation is the Miss World competition, a beauty contest of somewhat dubious merit, where it is banned in 1952, after the hopefuls outdo each other with excess. By now bikini's media center focuses around Cannes, the French resort town on the Mediterranean and site of an international film competition. There, in front of ogling hordes of photographers, starlets begin wearing bikinis three or more inches below navel, and with extremely small tops. Benefactors of this rage include a young French actress Brigitte Bardot and a Swede, Ursula Andress.