The women who dared to bare – Bikini’s rise to power

At the dawn of the 20th century, swimsuits were far from the sleek, stylish designs we know today. Back then, they were bulky, full-body garments made from wool, designed to keep swimmers covered and protected from the sun. This wasn’t about fashion — it was about modesty.

Strict dress codes were common at beaches across the U.S. According to Kathleen Morgan Drowne and Patrick Huber in their book on 1920s pop culture, places like Chicago’s Clarendon Beach even hired tailors to make on-the-spot adjustments to swimsuits deemed too revealing.

Similar rules popped up nationwide — Coney Island, for example, banned bathing socks in 1915 if they exposed “dimpled knees.” In Washington, DC, beach police were known to enforce these codes with tape measures in hand.

Arrested for a one-piece?

The early 1900s were all about covering up. Men and women alike were expected to wear suits that went from neck to knee — no exceptions. If any skin was exposed? Well, that was considered scandalous.

But change was on the horizon. In 1907, Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman became one of the first to challenge these norms when she wore a one-piece suit that revealed her arms, legs, and neck, instead of the then-accepted pantaloons.