On July 5, 1946, showgirl Micheline Bernardini modeled the first bikini — named after the coral reef Bikini Atoll — designed by mechanical engineer Louis Réard at Paris’s Piscine Molitor. Less splashy was the arrival of the tankini circa the late ’90s. It might have the suffix -kini, but it doesn’t have quite the je ne sais quoi of a bikini. (There’s no tankini version of the “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini,” if that tells you anything.) I’d even say that between the years 2010 to 2019, the tankini was basically considered bathing-suit pariah.
Last summer was the first time I tried a tankini since I was a kid — when preteen me wanted to look like a star of Disney Channel’s Rip Girls. I was reminded of what I liked about tankinis in the first place: You don’t have to choose between the bravery of a bikini and the safety of a one-piece. And your navel is free! I’m not the only one who’s returned to the style recently. Hunza G and Burberry’s collaboration included a tankini in the form of a tube top (that turns into a swim skirt), and Lands’ End is carrying a variety of tankinis, too. Just last week, I heard about Youswim’s Verve, which Zoë Sessums wears to “apricate” (as in, bask in the sun).
