On the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary, Assouline presents the authoritative volume on the bikini with iconic images from its history, a study of its symbolism, and a look at the most defining fashions.

A sexy alternative to the one-piece swimming costume, the bikini forever changed the way women relate to their bodies. Smaller than the world s smallest bathing suit, as it was first described by its creator Frenchman Louis Reard, the bikini has become a symbol of female sensuality and liberation.

Here is a four hundred page tribute to the Hollywood pin-ups of the 50s; Bond girls Ursula Andress and Halle Berry rising up from the sea; the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, birthplace of the tanga; Brigitte Bardot, topless and poolside in St. Tropez; the itsy bitsy teeny weeny styles of the 60s; beach bodies on spring break; the monokini, tankini, bandini, and v-kini; the strappy and the sporty; the sexy and the outrageous. But whether iconic or ordinary, scandalous or social, every image of the bikini in this luscious volume is about beauty.