Celebrate Bikini Day Every July 5

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Love ‘em or hate ‘em, July 5 is a day to celebrate ‘em. It’s Bikini Day.

And it’s legally required that all women wear bikinis all day, everywhere they go.

Ok, it’s not really. But if you’d like to spend the day in a bikini, go for it!

At any rate, the reason we celebrate the bikini on July 5 is because that’s the day, back in 1946, when the world got its first look at the modern bikini. Parisian fashion designer Louis Reard created the scandalous suit and debuted it at a popular Paris pool, the Piscine Molitor.

Although we know the reason for the date, we haven’t been able to discover who first started the annual Bikini Day observance.

 

Bikini Trivia

Did you ever wonder why the two-piece swimsuit and an atoll in the Pacific Ocean had the same name? I did (although I didn’t wonder too hard or I would have gone looking for the answer). And I kinda, sorta always assumed the atoll was named after the swimsuit.

Oops. Wrong.

When James Reard named his new swimwear creation the atomic tests on Bikini Atoll had just taken place a few days earlier. Apparently he thought his scraps of fabric held together with string (and containing just 30 inches of fabric) would hit the public with the force of a bomb. So he named it the bikini.

Mr. Reard couldn’t get any runway models to agree to wear so little out in public. So his model for the day was an exotic dancer.

Another French designer, Jacques Heim, created a similar bathing suit around the same time as Reard. He marketed it as “the world’s smallest bathing suit,” and named it the “atom.”

Reard responded by calling his “smaller than the world’s smallest bathing suit,” and he was right.

But these weren’t actually the first two-piece swimsuits. European women were wearing much more modest versions in the 1930s. But they were basically halter tops and shorts that left very little midriff exposed.

Liberated women across Europe loved the new, tiny suits (and we assume many men were rather fond of them too). But they weren’t universally loved. Spain and Italy actually banned wearing bikinis on public beaches. The ban didn’t last.

Oddly, although Bikini Day seems to be an American holiday, wearing bikinis didn’t become popular here until the early 1960s. Brian Hyland’s Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini probably didn’t hurt the cause any.

And apparently the ancient Romans were even more liberated than either the Europeans or us prudish Americans. On a 1700-year-old mosaic, Chamber of the Ten Maidens, you can see women wearing bandeau-style tops and tiny bottoms. Who knew?!

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial beachy holiday.

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How to Celebrate Bikini Day

In theory the only appropriate way to celebrate is by wearing a bikini and hitting the beach or pool.

Don’t have a bikini? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. But if you’re ready to try one again, this would be the perfect day to buy a bikini you love (and then wear it!).

No beaches near you? Plan a trip to one! Hawaii and the Maldives have gorgeous beaches. As do the Philippines, Bali and others.

Where’s your dream beach vacation?

But please, with all that exposed skin, don’t forget the sunscreen!

Still not convinced you want to wear a bikini? Find a beach volleyball tournament to watch online, on TV or at a beach near you. Admire the players’ confidence and vow to be that confident in a bikini next year. (No, you don’t have to look like them, because face it most of us never will. Just be as confident as them. :) )

Will you be wearing a bikini to celebrate the day? Or maybe you like the bikini any day of the year?

 

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