The 20th-century War on Women's Swimwear

In the 19th century, train travel and then the automobile enabled people to take trips to the beach. But while men stripped down to their body-hugging swimwear and went right in, women were supposed to cover up their forms, even in the water. Elaborates costumes were designed for beachwear that were barely less than a woman would wear on city streets. That wasn't good for swimming, or even staying afloat. But some woman pushed the boundaries, and gradually styles changed. See a timeline of photographs of women's swimwear as it evolved over the last hundred or so years at The Week.