Bathing Suit

On July 5, 1946, Louis Réard (1897–1984) introduced the first two-piece bathing suit small enough to expose the navel. When the style sparked controversy, fashion editor Diana Vreeland quipped: “it’s that kind of thinking that holds people back for thousands of years.” The Richmond woman who wore this bikini may have agreed. In1959, the excavation of a 4th century Roman villa in southern Italy proved Vreeland right, revealing an ancient Roman mosaic of female athletes wearing two-piece garments much like the modern day bikini