In 1907, Australian born competitive swimmer, women’s advocate and world record breaker Annette Kellerman was arrested for indecent exposure on Revere Beach in Massachusetts. She wore a fitted bathing suit that exposed her arms, legs and neck. And although she was jailed, her audacious stance would prove to be a pivotal point in the evolution of freeing the female form. However, in order to understand why Kellerman’s conduct was so scandalous, we have to review the past.

Hygiene in the 19th century was questionable to say the least and beach-going was not a typical activity. Known as “bathing costumes,” swimwear of the late 1800s were cumbersome, unflattering and uncomfortable. Victorian fashion, stocked with bustles, corsets and multiple layers of clothing, were phasing out as a result of increased intrigue to the newest social sporting activity, bicycling. In order to participate, women’s voluminous garments had to be stripped down to manageable practicality. Women, who now had the same access to this new freedom of transportation as men, wore bloomers, taking part in the sport and experiencing autonomy, which fed the blossoming suffragette movement.

Bathing costumes consisted of oversize dark-colored tops made of wool or flannel, bloomers or short pants, and stockings. Weights were sewn into the hemlines of the costume tops, to prevent floating once submerged. Bathing boots were generally worn as means of further concealment; however, they were also used pragmatically as protection against foreign debris underfoot.

The beginning of the 20th century ushered in the wasp-waist, pigeon-breasted “S” shape silhouette of the Edwardian era. As concern with hygienic health grew, the privileged class (compelled by the modern theory of saltwater’s healing capabilities) began to gravitate to the seaside. Naturally beach-going would work itself into the mainstream. The use of bathing machines became prevalent. Women would change into their bathing costumes inside of a horse-drawn (or at times manpower was used) wooden room that would transport them to the water, where a woman could then discretely bathe.

For the free-spirited revolutionist, Kellerman stitched hosiery onto her controversial one-piece bathing suit in order to arrive at a resolution with the court. This resulted in a number of women exchanging their ill-fitting costumes for increasingly comfortable bathing suits. Kellerman’s story was depicted in the splashy MGM aqua-musical film, MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID (‘52) starring swimming mega-star, Esther Williams.

Before Kellerman’s career was over, she starred on vaudeville, became an author and silent movie star, appearing in over eight films, and is credited as having the first nude scene in a feature-length film as seen in A DAUGHTER OF THE GODS (‘16). Although she was the catalyst for measurable advancement, ironically, Kellerman was not an avid fan of the bikini. In a 1953 Boston Globe interview, she stated, “The Bikini bathing suit is a mistake. Only two women in a million can wear it. And it’s a very big mistake to try.“ As a parallel to the free-flowing jazz age of the 1920s and the flapper fashion of the era, more flesh was revealed as legs were shown to approximately the mid-thigh in the newer style bathing suits. Necklines lowered and arm holes became larger. Still, beachgoers had to contend with the “swimwear police” who measured skirt lengths in the interest of modesty.

The 1930s experienced The Great Depression. In an effort to offer a respite of escapism, Hollywood churned out opulent fantasy films, in which the clinging satin feminine line returned. The two main styles of swimsuits were the Dressmaker, a less fitted top with an A-line skirt, famously worn by Grace Kelly in HIGH SOCIETY (‘56), and the Maillot where the top half was a fitted swimsuit and the bottom half was basically boy shorts, as seen on Claudette Colbert in BLUEBEARD’S EIGHTH WIFE (‘38).

With the 1940s came WWII, The Good Neighbor policy, bolder prints and the birth of the pinup. It brought sweetheart necklines and ruched fabrics that were also reflective in swimwear. The two-piece bathing suit which showed the midriff (bottoms of which always covered the belly button) made its debut in the 1930s but came into prominence in the 1940s. The Andy Hardy series, with its bevy of young starlets, were ideal examples of ‘40s swimwear. Likely, the most famous bathing suit of the decade was undoubtedly Betty Grable’s iconic one-piece pin-up swimsuit. In 1946, French engineer Louis Réard would introduce the bikini. Wracked with scandal, Réard hired Micheline Bernardini, a burlesque performer and the only woman who would agree to model the shocking swimsuit in public.

The early 50s would see a variety of swimsuit styles including the Empire waist, princess and baby-doll swimsuits. The female curve was back with a vengeance as the ideal body style was that of the hourglass-shaped bombshell, reflected in fashion and prominently on screen with a series of the implausibly spectacular bacchanalia of Berkeley’s aqua-musicals (in Technicolor no less), starring Esther Williams. The bikini continued to gain popularity through the 1960s (how could it not)? In America, production companies took full advantage of the pop song “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie” by Brian Hyland, which upon its release in 1960 catapulted the sale of the bathing suit. In response, studios pumped out an onslaught of California teen beach party films. Annette Funicello, became the epitome of the 60s bikini teen idol, starring alongside Frankie Avalon in such films as BEACH BLANKET BINGO (‘65), BEACH PARTY (‘63) and BIKINI BEACH (‘64).

Beginning with Bohemia and ending with disco, the ‘70s saw an array of fashion styles, and the bathing suit was no exception. The Pill came into prominence and along with it, the new wave of soul surrendering euphoric dance music: disco. An authentic representation of ‘70s swimwear appeared in the film JAWS (‘75), as well as a myriad of television shows, including Fantasy Island, starring the sensual and suave classic film actor Ricardo Montalbán. Halters, tie fronts, keyhole cut-outs, backless, and of course Farah Fawcett’s deep v-cut one-piece swimwear style of the 1970s seemed endless. Bright, brighter and the brightest colors dominated the excessive “Me Generation” of the 1980s aesthetic. A mashup of style, it wouldn’t take too much effort for a keen eye to trace each of the prior decade’s influences. Thongs, which were introduced by Brazil during the ‘70s, and high cut, V-hips monopolized the decade, especially reflective in the music videos of the new, iconic cable television station MTV.

During the ‘90s, the high-cut waist and bikinis of the ‘80s remained, and glamorous designer swimsuits graced the runway. Tankinis came back into fashion as a nod to the ‘40s. Still, the red one-piece bathing suit, popularized by Pamela Anderson of the ‘90s television show Baywatch captured the decade. The 2000s (and beyond) brought mix-and-match suits and offered multiple choices of varying options including the Burkini. The rise of positive body image injected a necessary confidence boost to women who did not fit the stereotypical, force-fed, beauty standard.