The bikini is typically defined as a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the cloth covers the breasts and the other one covers the groin, which will leave an uncovered area between the two. The bikini is once described as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a man's brief swimsuit". It is often worn in summer holiday, when you are enjoying swimming or sunbathing.The shapes of both parts of a bikini appear like women's underwear.
Before two-piece bathing suits become popular on the beach, the modern bikini was invented by French engineer Louis Reard in 1946. The name came from Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, the place where the Operation Crossroads nuclear weapon tests in July that year.
The bikini is possibly the most popular female beachwear in the world. French fashion historian Olivier Saillard regards the popularity of the bikini due to "the power of women, and not the power of fashion". As he explains, "The liberation of swimwear has always been related to the liberation of women." By the mid 2000s, bikinis had become a $811 million business annually, according to the NPD Group, a consumer and retail information company. The bikini has stimulated spin-off services like bikini waxing and the suntanning industries.