With women's day coming up on march 8, the trip tells you how three destinations inspired the names for items in a woman's wardrobe
With women's day coming up on march 8, the trip tells you how three destinations inspired the names for items in a woman's wardrobe
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The Bikini (Bikini Atoll)
From a 30-inch fabric that conservatives shunned for its "indecency" to its cult-like status today, the bikini is arguably the most controversial piece of clothing to make an entry into a woman's wardrobe in the 20th century. How this two-piece bathing costume got its name is an interesting tale. Between 1946 and 1958, Bikini Atoll, one of the Marshall Islands in the West Pacific Ocean was where the US conducted 23 nuclear bomb tests. In 1946, French engineer-turned-lingerie businessman Louis Reard was in the race with his countryman, designer Jacques Heim to produce the world's smallest swimsuit. While Heim's two-piece was the first to be worn on the beach, Reard gave the bikini its iconic name. It made a commercial debut soon after the first post-war nuclear tests were carried out. Words like bomb were used by the media to describe this sensational invention. The rest, as Pamela Anderson and Co. will swear, is history.
Capris (Isleu00a0of Capri)
Two European designers stake claim to creating the Capris. Interestingly, both borrowed its name from the luxurious, sun-kissed Isle of Capri in Italy. The first story claims that Emilio Pucci di Barsento introduced these tight-fitting, calf-length women's pants in his boutique on the Isle of Capri, in 1949. Known to be the playground of the rich and famous, it quickly caught attention of female clients who packed them back to America and the rest of Europe. The second story credits it to Prussian-born Sonja de Lennart, who designed these pants and named them after the isle, since her family was fond of it. The design, with short slit on the side flap was meant to undo the masculinity attached to women's trousers in that era. By 1949, leading German and Austrian actresses posed for Sonja's creations, until it reached Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe for her movie, Sabrina. Soon, the influential and stylish Marilyn Monroe and Sophia
Loren had publicity photos taken wearing capris.
Panama Hats (Ecuador)
Although originally from the Ecuafrom the Ecuador, the Panama hat earned its name in the 16th century, after the Spanish captured the Isthmus of Panama, and headed towards Ecuador. The Isthmus emerged as an important trading point between the East and Western worlds. Later, when the Panama Canal was constructed, these hats were sent from Ecuador abroad, through the Panama Canal. The name stuck. Made of palm straw, these trendy hats are woven such that it facilitates circulation, while blocking the sun -- ideal for workers in sultry Central America. Soon, they grew in popularity as heads of states and the Hollywood clique sported them. Today, Ecuadorian Panama hats are still handmade by indigenous people in Montecristi, in the Manabi province.
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