Brazilian model Jessica Canizales in a microkini A microkini (or micro bikini) is an extremely skimpy bikini.Microkini at Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary The designs for both women and men typically use only enough fabric to cover the genitals, so it is often considered necessary to remove or trim the pubic hair. Any additional straps are merely to keep the garment attached to the wearer's body. Some variations of the microkini use adhesive or wire to hold the fabric in place over the genitals.
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These designs do not require any additional side straps to keep the garment in place. The most radical variations of the microkini are simply thin straps which cover little or none of the wearer's body. The term "microkini" was coined in 1995 in an online community dedicated to enthusiasts of the extreme designs. Microkinis keep the wearer just within legal limits of decency and fill a niche between nudism and conservative swimwear.
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Jessica Canizales in a microkini. Jessica Canizales (born 30 July 1979) is a Brazilian-American model and also the prize winner of Miss Miami Beach in 2006, Miss Grand Prix in 2005, and Miss September 2003 Hawaiian topic. She was the playmate of January 2007 for the Mexican edition of Playboy and the playmate of May 2008 for the Colombian edition.
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The minimalist bikini design became common in most Western countries by the mid-1960s as both swimwear and underwear. By the late 20th century it was widely used as sportswear in beach volleyball and bodybuilding. There are a number of modern stylistic variations of the design used for marketing purposes and as industry classifications, including, but not limited to, monokini, microkini, tankini, trikini, pubikini, and skirtini. A man's single-piece brief swimsuit may also be called a bikini.
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"The Language Report: The ultimate record of what we're saying and how we're saying it ", Science News (from Article Archive), August 7, 2004 Although "bikini" was originally a registered trademark of Réard, it has since become genericized. Variations of the term are used to describe stylistic variations for promotional purposes and industry classifications, including monokini, microkini, tankini, trikini, pubikini, bandeaukini and skirtini. A man's brief swimsuit may also be referred to as a bikini. Similarly, a variety of men's and women's underwear types are described as bikini underwear.
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For women who cannot dispense with a swimsuit, they at times tan with the back strap undone while lying on the front, or removing shoulder straps, besides wearing swimsuits which cover less area than their normal clothing. Any exposure is subject to local community standards and personal choice. Some people tan in the privacy of their backyard where they can at times tan without clothes, and some countries have set aside clothing-optional swimming areas (popularly known as nude beaches), where people can tan and swim clothes-free. Some people tan topless, and others wear very brief swimwear, such as a microkini or thong.
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By making an analogy with words like bilingual and bilateral containing the Latin prefix "bi-" (meaning "two" in Latin), the word bikini was first back-derived as consisting of two parts, [bi + kini] by Rudi Gernreich, who introduced the monokini in 1964. Later swimsuit designs like the tankini and trikini further cemented this derivation. Over time the "–kini family" (as dubbed by author William SafireWilliam Safire, No Uncertain Terms, page 291, Simon & Schuster, 2003, ), including the "–ini sisters" (as dubbed by designer Anne ColeTrish Donnally, ""Inis" Are In", San Francisco Chronicle, May 18, 1999), expanded into a variety of swimwear including the monokini (also known as a numokini or unikini), seekini, tankini, camikini, (also hipkini), minikini, face-kini, burkini, and microkini. The Language Report, compiled by lexicographer Susie Dent and published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) in 2003, considers lexicographic inventions like bandeaukini and camkini, two variants of the tankini, important to observe.
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