The History of the Bikini

The Original Itsy-Bitsy Girl
Micheline Bernardini, a nude dancer, was the first woman ever to wear a bikini, during a July 11, 1946, showing for the press at the fashionable Piscine Molitor in Paris. The bikini was so small it could fit into a matchbox, like the one she's holding. Unsurprisingly, Bernardini received plenty of fan mail.

• The Evolution of the Bikini