I wanna be beside the seaside!

Howdy, y'all! I'm headed for the beach tomorrow and plan to update daily, but for tonight I'm taking a look at that all-important summer staple, the bathing suit. I was thinking about it today, and what an outdated term that is!


I looked up the etymology of the term, and here's what I found:
The word "bathing" dates from the 1540s. "Bathing suits" were first named in 1852. However, the phrase "bathing costume" dates back to 1830. "Bathing beauties" first appeared on the vaudeville circuit around 1920. The bikini was named in 1947, probably from the Bikini Atoll where the US tested the atomic bomb in 1946. The phrase "tank top" was only coined in 1968, but derives its name from its resemblance to 1920s swimsuits, called "tank suits" because they were for swimming in "tanks" or "pools." 


The suits pictured below date from 2012 to the 1890s. As much as I love not having to wear a wool bathing suit in July, but every time I don my bikini, I feel a brief surge of nostalgia for those days. 


But then I go outside, feel how hot it is, and promptly stop caring.