How Swimsuits Have Totally Transformed Through The Years

One-pieces and bikinis have changed a lot over the years, going from super simple to crazy cutouts, metallics, and embellishments. Find out which suit was the most popular the year you were born!

1980: Classic One-Pieces

In the early ’80s, simple one-pieces were all the rage, particularly in black and white with spaghetti straps.

1981: Colourful One-Pieces

Classic designs started to get more colourful in ’81.

1982: Teeny Red Bikinis

Phoebe Cates pretty much changed the swimsuit game when she hit the screen in this teeny-tiny, ruched red number in 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High. All of a sudden, you saw copycats everywhere.

1983: Return of the Jedi Vibes

Cates’ red suit wasn;t the only one influencing swimwear around that time. The following year, Princess Leia’s steamy gold number, though not actually a swimsuit, inspired many a bikini style.

1984: Triangle Tops

String bikinis were widely popular in 1984, particularly ones with triangle tops. The prevalent style continues to be on trend today.

1985: Belted One-Pieces

When you think of ’80s swimsuits, odds are you imagine something like this gray suit with a thick white belt from a 1985 editorial.

1986: Scooped Necklines and Backs

And if you’re not thinking about belts, you’re definetly thinking about this kind of suit, with a scooped neck and back, which was immensely trendy in 1986.

1987: Accessorizing

Either suit (belted or scooped) would have looked excellent when paired with excessive gold accessories, as Goldie Hawn’s 1987 movie Overboard demonstrates.

1988: High-Cut Bandeau Bikinis

By 1988 one-pieces were out of favour, and two-pieces were very much à la mode-particularly bandeau-style bikini tops with high-cut bottoms, as Nicolette Sheridan illustrates here.

1989: Thong Bikinis

Speaking of high-cut bottoms, they got even higher in 1989 with an added detail: thong backs.

1990: Boy Shorts

Almost as a reaction to how much skin was showing the previous year, boy shorts became a popular option for people who wanted a tad more coverage at the beach.

1991: Neon

The year 1991 was all about neon swimwear, both in one- and two-piece designs.

1992: Baywatch Suits

Baywatch debuted in 1989, and as it rose in popularity, so did its iconic red one-piece swimsuit. The style was all over the place by 1992.

1993: Logomania

1993 was the year of the logo, as Naomi Campbell demonstrates here. You would have seen all the luxury fashion house logos, inclusding Dior and Chanel, all over the beach at this time.

1994: Bedazzled Suits

Things got much more sparkly in 1994, when rhinestones became a popular embellishment for bathing suits.

1995: Bold Patterns

The mid-’90s were all about bold patterns and prints, as Kate Moss illustrates in this 1995 photo shoot.

1996: Bra Tops

Oh, hey, Salma Hayek! Her stint in this hot burgundy push-up suit in the 1996 movie Dusk Till Dawn inspired a host of bra-like suits that year.

1997: Pearl Accents

Pearl accents – in faux-necklace form and as rhinestone-like details-were huge circa 1997, as these models show.

1998: Polka-Dots

In 1998, swimsuit styles simplified a tad, going back to classic string bikini, often with sweet polka-dot patterns.

1999 : Chainmail

Things were back on the flashy track by 1999, when gold and gold chains became popular.

2000: Sporty Spice

In 2000, sporty styles, particularly from the athletic swimwear brand Speedo, were on the top.

2001: Minimal Aesthetic

With the advent of the sporty trend, even high-fashion brands went more minimal with their designs in 2001.

2002: Mismatched

The movie Blue Crush came out in 2002, inspiring young women everywhere to give off mismatched surfer vibes at the beach.

2003: Metallic Lamé

Metallic lamé one-pieces and bikinis were huge in 2003, as this runway model proves.

2004: Chevron

Bold, geometric patterns like chevron took center stage in 2004.

2005: High-Neck Halters

You couldn’t go anywhere in 2005 without seeing someone in a high-necked halter swimsuit.

2006: Monokinis

In 2006, it was all about one-pieces that showed as much skin as possible-aka monokinis-as the model pictured illustrates.

2007: Sarongs

Oh yeah, 2007 was the year sarongs were big. People liked them because you could pair them both with bikinis and with one-pieces, and they provided a little extra coverage for when you weren’t sunbathing.

2008: Studs and Grommets

As you can see, sarongs were still having a moment in 2008-but, more importantly, so were edgy, studded accents, as our friend Kim Kardashian illustrates here.

2009: Colour-Blocking

As an alternative to patterns, it was common to spot colour-blocked swimsuits all over the pool in 2009.

2010: Strappy Bottoms

Strappy swimsuits reigned supreme in 2010. Bottoms at the time commonly had at least two strings or straps, if not a woven strap situation much like the model’s here.

2011: Futuristic Shapes

2011 was all about futuristic shapes, which often went hand-in-hand with metallic fabrics. Here, a model struts in an illusion mesh design at a Norma Kamali runway show.

2012: Low-Slung Bottoms

The result of Kate Upton’s super steamy Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover in 2012? Ultra low-rise bikini bottoms everywhere you looked.

2013: Beaded and Sequinned Suits

Embellishments, particulalry sequins and beaded details, were hot in 2013, as this pageant-show contestant illustrates.

2014: Scalloped Details

Delicate scalloped trim was everything in 2014, whether it appeared on a boyshort bikini, like Kendall Jenner’s here, or on a one-piece.

2015: Crotchet

Do you remember the moment a few years back when every single swim style was crochet? It was a major trend, and the Tommy Hilfiger show, pictured here, epitomizes the whole look.