The origins of the one piece swimsuit lies in the bathing suits of the 1920s. Prior to the 1920s, swimwear consisted of woolen bloomers topped by a tunic-like dress. The Edwardian styles were replaced by athletic, form-fitting bathing attire with scooped necklines and bare shoulders, with or without a flirty skirt.
Today's one piece suits are definitely not your great-grandma's bathing attire from 100 years ago. There are as many suit styles as there are women to wear them. There are some terms that you should be aware of when searching for your one piece swimsuit.
Competition suits are the most modest of the one piece swimsuit styles. These suits have been designed to both stay in place and help swimming speed. Competition suits are most likely to have a racer back, keyhole back or U-back with the option of regular or high cut legs and wide or narrow straps.
Maillot is commonly used term for today's tank-top style suit that similar to a dancer's leotard with high cut legs. Maillots also include one piece suits with plunging necklines, halter tops, one-shoulder, bandeaux, and cut out suits.
Monokini was first used in 1964 for swimwear that only consisted of a bikini bottom. Today, monokini is used to describe the exotic, sexy line of one piece swimsuits. These suits feature low cut backs to resemble a bikini bottom and show a lot of skin from the front. The difference lies in the midriff is not entirely exposed. The monokini style is minimalist, so should probably not be worn when you engage in water sports such as diving and surfing.
There are as many advantages as there are women to wearing a one piece swimsuit. Some of the top reasons for wearing a one piece are:
- There are so many suit styles, any figure type looks great in a once piece. You can look taller, slimmer, and hide figure flaws.
- One piece suits look great at any age. You can be as modest or revealing as you wish.
- You can go from the water to shopping just by adding a skirt.
- You won't lose you top (or bottom when you are active in the water).
- You can stand out in the crowd.