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Abstract Select from the following table of contents for details on various species of the -tard family. Table of Species Unitard Leotard Tights Stockings and Hose Leg Warmers (Leggings) Overview The few species gathered here combine one genuine swimsuit species (the unitard) with a smattering of related species which are mostly diminutives. The connecting tissue, so to speak here, is the leg, for by and large all of these formations play with the legs, and although they survive into the present ,the heyday of the tards in swimwear ranges from the late 19-oughts through the late 1910s. The unitard is a costume that covers the full body, including the legs and the feet. At one time a unitard may have been considered a type of leotard, a late 1800s gymnastic costume which we currently define as a garment covering only the torso, and leaving the legs bare. All sleeve combinations--longsleeve, shortsleeve, sleeveless as well as the shoulder strap--are found in both the unitard and leotard species and offer opportunity for further classification. In a technical sense, a leotard is the same topology as a maillot, or one piece swimsuit. We retain it here primarily to function in the context of the revelation of leg and the addition and subtraction of the other tard species. Its reason here will become more obvious once the aspirant bikini scientist studies the events of Annette Kellerman and the unitard invention. Tights are the topological equivalent of pantyhose and cover the pelvis, legs and feet. They are the bottom half of a unitard. They are different than slacks or stretch pants, in that tights cover the feet, where as slacks are a culotte and do not. Stockings (hose) cover the foot and the leg up to the thigh. In topological terms stockings plus a leotard equal a unitard--Annette Kellerman's invention. And stockings plus panties equals tights (which is how pantyhose gets invented). Leg warmers cover the thigh, knee, or calf or any combination thereof but they cover neither the foot nor the pelvis. Topologically socks plus leg warmers equal stockings. |
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