l due pezzi, the bikini: a view as common on the world’s beaches as sunscreen and flip flops. More or less revealing, in a variety of styles and colors, it remains the most popular swimsuit style for women. Once upon a time, more or less rigorously worn only by perfectly-shaped, model-like young girls, today it is embraced by all, young and old, skinny and chubby, an unexpected symbol of body acceptance and equality.

Most of us are familiar with its inception, or at least, with the story behind its name: up to the 1930s, swimsuits for women were very covering and very “one-piece,” and while the trend of separates developed we were still light years away from the revealing styles we wear today. We’d have to wait until 1946 to see the first “modern” two-pieces on our beaches.