Bikini – very brief swim trunks usually about 2 inches side length average.
"It was an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini…"--Brian Hyland, 1960Invented in 1946 by two Frenchmen, Jacques Heim and Louis Reard not working together!
Louis Reard (1897–1984) an engineer was running his mother's lingerie business, and designed two-piece swimsuit.
Four days before he was to show the world his new bikini in Paris, the U.S. Military provided him with a name. They exploded a nuclear device near several small islands in the Pacific known as the "Bikini Atoll". On July 5th, 1946, he unveiled the bikini.
Jacques Heim, a couturier designer from Cannes, France had created his own two-piece bathing suit, which he called "The Atome", (French for atom) which he described as "The world's smallest bathing suit.
Reard called his "Smaller than the world's smallest bathing suit."
Reard's "bikini" was so small, in fact, that no Parisian models at the time would wear it on the runway. He hired Micheline Bernardini, who had no qualms about strolling around in a bikini, seeing as her day job was a nude dancer at the Casino de Paris. Bernardini was not what you'd a classic beauty, but after photos of her in a reclining pose hit the press, she was swamped with fan mail, close to 50,000 letters.
Two-piece suits weren't new. As part of wartime rationing, the U.S. Government, in 1943, ordered a 10 percent reduction in the fabric used in woman's swimwear. Off went the skirt panel, and out came the bare midriff. But Reard pushed the envelope. He shrunk his suit down to 30 inches of fabric - basically a bra top and two inverted triangles of cloth connected by string - and put the navel on center stage.
The bikini caught on in the 1950’s on the French Riviera, thanks to French actress, Bridgitte Bardot who created a sensation by wearing a bikini in the 1958 film "And God Created Woman."
Boxer length -- Copied from pugilists wear and with square cut bottoms features a high elasticized waistband and usually no fly. Length can vary form 8 to 16 inches side length.
Brief – (Speedo a trademarked brand initiated this style) modeled like the underwear of the same name, the brief has a side length average of 4 inches, no fly and the bottom follow the contours of the top of the thigh. Good for maximum tan and serious swimming.
Cabana set – swimsuit for men with trunks and matching jacket, designed to be worn together. From the Spanish word "cabana", meaning "a small tent like shelter placed on the beach".
Long John trunks – men’s swimsuit with rope sash and just above the knee knit pants with wide stripes alternating with bright red, green or black. Inspired by the boxing trunks worn by John L. Sullivan (1858 – 1918) heavyweight boxing champion (1882-1892).
Racers – are boxer cut square cut bottoms short boxer style side split for increased leg movements.
Surf Trunks – long legged trunks with a draw string waist and no fly. Think Beach Boys.
Tank Suit --1940 one piece suit with wide shoulder straps. Early indoor swimming pools were called tanks. The style of the top of this suit evolved into tank tops.
Thong – Designed in 1974 by Austrian-born designer Rudi Gernreich (1922 – 1985), who also gave us the ladies topless swimsuit in 1964. It featured a Ban-Lon string to be worn in the style of a sumo wrestler’s strap. Just thought I’d mention it!
The "tanga or string" as seen on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, consisting of two tiny triangles of cloth joined by a cord over each hip hit the states in 1974.
Wet suit –skin fitting, rubber or rubberized, protective swimwear for surfers and divers, one or two piece in full or abbreviated styles.