"The French may have invented the bikini (believe it or not, in
July of 1946), but the Brazilians keep recreating it each summer, coming
up with more fabulous designs and hot new styles. On a trip to Rio -
and what immediately follows, a walk on the beach - anyone can't help
but be utterly fascinated by the teeny-weeny, colorful, and beautifully
designed beachwear on the golden bodies of the women from Ipanema. There
is such a variety of shapes, cuts, gorgeous prints and details, that
you ask yourself: how do they do it? How can they keep coming up with
something different all the time, when all they have to work with is
a few inches of fabric? It helps, of course, to have a source of inspiration
in some of the most magnificent scenery on the planet, year-round warm
weather and a large consumer base, considering that no woman seems to
be too old or too chunky to wear a bikini in Rio. Middle-aged mothers,
pregnant young women with swolen bellies, even wrinkled little old ladies,
walk and bathe in their small suits right next to some lithesome goddesses,
and no one seems to notice; in fact, no one cares. The important thing
is to get a tan, exercise, and socialize with your friends and neighbors."
Society & Mores.
