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Maillot Skirted The maillot skirted silhouette is characterized by a tank top (although it can be haltered or strapless) and a short skirt which surrounds the crotch and buttocks. The maillot skirted is differentiated from the maillot tank because the tank does not contain a skirt covering the crotch. The maillot skirted is differentiated from the maillot skirted pantaloon in that no short leg are included. In time the skirt on the backside withers away, leaving only the skirt in the front, and at this juncture the species is deemed a maillot sheathed. Skirted Maillots Evolve Two silhouettes emerge as the pantaloon recedes. The pure maillot pantaloon becomes the maillot tank, and the skirted maillot pantaloon becomes the maillot skirted, aka the skirted maillot. These developments occur during the late 1920s, as the swimsuit consolidates, tightens onto the body, and reveals more and more leg (CB2L90, CB2720), and the curves of the body (CB2740-42). The skirted maillot becomes a standard Hollywood pinup costume (JC2750, JG2750). As rivals, the maillot tank and maillot skirted differ only in the modesty of a little skirt, which does little to prevent viewing of the crotch. But the difference is profound: the crotch is either clearly displayed, or it is more modest. And in the late 1920s; indeed throughout even the 1940s, the more modest approach will prevail, both in pinup media, and on the beach. When the skirt does give way it will do so gradually, uncovering the butt first during the early 1940s, but by the time the skirt is eliminated entirely the deux-pièces is already established, and the bikini is the rage. The Post-Bikini Maillot By the time of the emergence of the deux-pièces in the early 1940s and of bikini in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the maillot consolidates into a tighter-fitting silhouette that is often skirted, inevitable lined, and utilized elasticized fabrics and foundations--boning, wiring, girdling, shirring, cording, elasticized side panels, and separated bra cups. Two genre emerge, the more conservative maillot, and the youth-infected bikini. And we know in retrospect who the victor will be. Skirt Rediscovery Lost during the heyday of the bikini, skirts in swimwear will not be rediscovered until the 1980s when they emerge as an option to wear over the briefest bottom or g-strings (fig. 3-5).These rediscovered, often tube skirts can be worn solo or in numbers, and depending upon their size, put rugage and buttage into play, assuming the culotte is small enough to begin with. |
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