June 3: On This Day on 1946 - The First Bikini on Display

June 3, 1946: On this day, the first bikini was displayed in Paris. The bikini was invented by Louis Reard, a French designer. He named it after the site of the Operation Crossroads nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, Bikini Atoll. He explained the name by saying that the "burst of excitement" created by his design would be like a nuclear device.

Reard and model wearing one of his first bikinis

Comments

[Lady Rebecca Bates]

That's a really cute bikini too

[Lisa]

hey now.....that bikini looks like it prompted a song....perhaps that is where the song "itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka-dot bikini" came from?? Anyone know?

[bikini]

Most of us try to live our lives in a healthy way. We want to keep our bodies feeling and looking great all year round, but the summer this is crucial