One-piece swimsuit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2006)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Woman's one-piece bathing suit, 1920s, USA
Woman's one-piece bathing suit, 1920s, USA

A one-piece swimsuit is a usually skin-tight one-piece swimsuit used by women when swimming in the sea or in a swimming pool. The one-piece swimsuit usually covers the genitalia, the breasts and all of the front of the body in between. A special type is however the monokini, which is made in one piece but does not cover the breasts.

Before the invention of the bikini, virtually all swimsuits were in one piece and in older days men used similar swimsuits that covered equivalent areas of the body.

The most common type of one-piece suit is the maillot or tank suit, which resembles a sleeveless leotard, or bodysuit. Variants of this include halterneck and plunge front swimsuits, as well as wrap-round ("surplice") and bandeau styles. The pretzel suit is another special case of the one-piece swimsuit.

Recently, athletic swimsuits have used a variety of new shoulder strap styles, including the racerback, fastback, and flyback styles, some of which have also been used on other athletic wear.

Another recent innovation in one-piece swimsuits is the bodyskin, which superficially resembles a unitard or wetsuit. Although these cover the entire torso, arms and legs, their function is not modesty, but reducing friction through the water for professional swimmers. Their surfaces are made of textured technical fabrics which are engineered to cut through the water in the same way as fish or shark skin.

[edit] External links