Bandeau

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Woman wearing a bandeau bikini Bandeau Bikini adjusted.jpg
Woman wearing a bandeau bikini

A bandeau (pl. bandeaux, diminutive of French : bande meaning "strip") is a garment comprising, in appearance, a strip of cloth. Today, the term frequently refers to a garment that wraps around a woman's breasts. [1] It is usually part of a bikini in sports or swimwear. It is similar to a tube top, but narrower. It is usually strapless, sleeveless, and off the shoulder. Bandeaux are commonly made from elastic material to stop them from slipping down, or are tied or pinned at the back or front. In the first half of the 20th century, a "bandeau" was a narrow band worn by women to bind the hair, or as part of a headdress. [1]

Contents

Contemporary uses

Modern swimwear

Bandeau bikini with halter strap Woman wearing a bandeau bikini.jpg
Bandeau bikini with halter strap

The bandeau emerged as the top part of a two-piece swimsuit during the 1940s. In the 1950s the bandeau incorporated foundation so as to structure the contours of the body, while still retaining a relatively simple circle or band shape, emphasizing the bare midriff. Another variation of bandeau is a one-piece bandeau swimsuit that covers the mid-section of the body. [2] Its popularity in swimwear declined during the string bikini era, but it reappeared in the 1980s, especially with Spandex and other stretch fabric blends. Side stays, v-wire in the center front, O-rings, and the twisted top are popular design elements. [3]

In modern sports and swimwear, a bandeau is a strapless garment worn around a woman's breasts. It may be fastened in the front or back or be sufficiently elastic so as not to need a fastener at all. A bandeau may come with a detachable halter strap for extra support. A strapless bandeau, or tube top, was also worn as casual wear and sports wear starting in the 1970s, and is sometimes worn as part of a sportswear ensemble. [3]

In formal wear

Actress Halle Berry wore a pink bandeau with matching pants to the 2000 MTV Movie Awards, fueling the trend of wearing a bandeau top as an out-of-home dress. [4] Miley Cyrus also wore a cropped black bandeau top with high waisted pants at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. [5] Zendaya wore a red midriff baring bandeau outfit before winning the Fashion Icon award at the 2021 CFDA Awards. [6]

History

A 1924 Cartier bandeau made of natural pearls, diamonds, and platinum. A style of a tiara, which perched atop the hair, was adapted into this new form, mimicking the cloth bandeau fashionable women wore around the forehead. Bandeau by Cartier (38643573085).jpg
A 1924 Cartier bandeau made of natural pearls, diamonds, and platinum. A style of a tiara, which perched atop the hair, was adapted into this new form, mimicking the cloth bandeau fashionable women wore around the forehead.

In antiquity

An ancient Roman Villa Romana del Casale (A.D. 286-305) mosaic mural in Sicily depicts some earlier bandeaux. Mosaique des bikinis, Piazza Armerina.jpg
An ancient Roman Villa Romana del Casale (A.D. 286–305) mosaic mural in Sicily depicts some earlier bandeaux.

Wearing a bandeau to support a woman's breasts may date back to ancient Greece, [7] where they were called apodesmos (Greek : ἀπόδεσμος [8] ), later stēthodesmē (Gr: στηθοδέσμη [9] ), mastodesmos (Gr: μαστόδεσμος [10] ) and mastodeton (Gr: μαστόδετον [11] ), all meaning "breast-band". It consisted of a band of wool or linen that was wrapped across the breasts and tied or pinned at the back. [12] [13]

As a silhouette the bandeau was also worn in Roman times. [3] Archaeologist James Mellaart described the earliest bandeau-like costume in Çatalhöyük, Anatolia in the Chalcolithic era (around 5600 BC), where a mother goddess is depicted astride two leopards wearing a costume somewhat like a modern bandeau-style bikini. [14] [15] In the Greco-Roman world, women athletes wearing two-piece garments were depicted on urns and paintings dating back to 1400 BC. [16]

In the floor of Coronation of the Winner hall of Villa Romana del Casale, a Roman villa in Sicily that dates from the Diocletian period (286–305 AD), mosaics depict young women dressed in bandeau-like garments participating in weightlifting, discus throwing, and running ball games, [17] [18] but not swimming. The mosaic features ten maidens who have been anachronistically dubbed the "Bikini Girls". [19] [20] Other Roman archaeological finds depict the goddess Venus in a similar garment. In Pompeii, depictions of Venus wearing a bikini were discovered in the Casa della Venere, [21] [22] [23] in the tablinum of the House of Julia Felix, [24] and in an atrium garden of Via Dell'Abbondanza. [25]

Brassiere

In the 1920s the term was applied to a simply shaped brassiere, usually of a soft fabric and delicate trimmings providing little support or shaping. The design was patented in 1916 in the United States by Edgar Guggenheim and resembled the contours and wrapping effects of the scultetus binder used in hospitals. [26] [27] It was sometimes made from an elastic material to flatten or suppress the breasts in the style of the period. When the "boyish" silhouette went out of fashion, the word "brassiere" or later "bra" became the term for more shapely support garments.

Religious habits

The term bandeau also refers to the thin headband traditionally worn—until recently—underneath and supporting the veil by the nuns of many Catholic religious institutes. Together with the wimple (which covers the cheeks and neck) and the white coif to which it would be attached, it was the common headdress of a respectable woman in Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bikini</span> Two-piece swimwear

A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by girls and women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering the intergluteal cleft and a little, some, or all of the buttocks. The size of the top and bottom can vary, from bikinis that offer full coverage of the breasts, pelvis, and buttocks, to more revealing designs with a thong or G-string bottom that covers only the mons pubis, but exposes the buttocks, and a top that covers only the areolae. Bikini bottoms covering about half the buttocks may be described as "Brazilian-cut", while those covering about three-quarters of the buttocks may be described as "cheeky" or "cheeky-cut". In May 1946, Parisian fashion designer Jacques Heim released a two-piece swimsuit design that he named the Atome ('Atom') and advertised as "the smallest swimsuit in the world". Like swimsuits of the era, it covered the wearer's belly button, and it failed to attract much attention. Clothing designer Louis Réard introduced his new, smaller design in July. He named the swimsuit after the Bikini Atoll, where the first public test of a nuclear bomb had taken place four days before. His skimpy design was risqué, exposing the wearer's navel and much of her buttocks. No runway model would wear it, so he hired a nude dancer from the Casino de Paris named Micheline Bernardini to model it at a review of swimsuit fashions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lingerie</span> Womens undergarments including sleepwear

Lingerie is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments, sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashionable, or both. In a 2015 US survey, 75% of women reported having worn "sexy lingerie" in their lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tube top</span> Shoulderless, sleeveless womens garment

A tube top, colloquially known in the UK as a boob tube, is a shoulderless, sleeveless women's garment that wraps around the upper torso. It is generally tight over the breasts, and usually uses elastic bands at its top and bottom to prevent it from falling. The tube top's precursor was a beachwear or informal summer garment worn by young girls in the 1950s that became more widely popular in the 1970s and returned to popularity in the 1990s and 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nursing bra</span> Specialized brassiere

A nursing bra is a specialized brassiere that provides additional support to women who are lactating and permits comfortable breastfeeding without the need to remove the bra. This is accomplished by specially designed bra cups that include flaps which can be opened with one hand to expose the nipple. The flap is usually held closed with a simple clasp or hook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corselet</span> Womans foundation garment combining bra and girdle

In women's clothing, a corselet or corselette is a type of foundation garment, sharing elements of both bras and girdles. It extends from straps over the shoulders down the torso, and stops around the top of the legs. It may incorporate lace in front or in back. As an undergarment, a corselet can be open-style or panty-style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camisole</span> Womens undershirts usually worn over corsets or brassieres, reaching to or just below the waist

A camisole is a sleeveless undershirt typically worn by women, extending to the waist. The camisole is usually made of satin, nylon, silk, or cotton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headband</span> Clothing accessory

A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. They come in assorted shapes and sizes and are used for both fashion and practical or utilitarian purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation garment</span> Undergarment designed to mold and shape the body to a fashionable silhouette

A foundation garment is an undergarment designed to impermanently alter the wearer's body shape, to achieve what some view as a more fashionable figure. The function of a foundation garment is not to enhance a bodily feature but to make it look more presentable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiton (garment)</span> Sewn garment worn by men and women in Ancient Greece

A chiton is a form of tunic that fastens at the shoulder, worn by men and women of ancient Greece and Rome. There are two forms of chiton: the Doric and the later Ionic. According to Herodotus, popular legend was that Athenian women began to wear the chiton as opposed to the peplos after several women stabbed a messenger to death with the bronze pins characteristic of the peplos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of bras</span>

The history of bras is closely tied to the social status of women, the evolution of fashion, and shifting views of the female body over time.

A back closure is a means for fastening a garment at the rear, such as with a zipper, hooks-and-eyes or buttons. Back closures were once common on Western female clothing, but have recently become less so, especially on female casual and business attire. They continue, however, to be widely used in underwear, formal wear and specialized clothing. Back closures are also common in garments for infants and toddlers.

A bra, short for brassiere or brassière, is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover a woman's breasts. A typical bra consists of a chest band that wraps around the torso, supporting two breast cups that are held in place by shoulder straps. A bra usually fastens in the back, using a hook and eye fastener, although bras are available in a large range of styles and sizes, including front-fastening and backless designs. Some bras are designed for specific functions, such as nursing bras to facilitate breastfeeding or sports bras to minimize discomfort during exercise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Training bra</span> Lightweight brassiere for people who have begun to develop breasts

A training bra is a lightweight brassiere designed for girls who have begun to develop breasts, at Tanner stage II and III. The training bra is intended to be worn during puberty when the breasts are not yet large enough to fit a standard-sized bra. Training bras often provide minimal or no support, and may serve aesthetic purposes to fulfill cultural norms and local beauty standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trousers</span> Clothing for the legs and lower body

Trousers, slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately. In the United Kingdom, the word pants generally means underwear and not trousers. Shorts are similar to trousers, but with legs that come down only to around the area of the knee, higher or lower depending on the style of the garment. To distinguish them from shorts, trousers may be called "long trousers" in certain contexts such as school uniform, where tailored shorts may be called "short trousers" in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underwear</span> Clothes worn under other clothes

Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled or damaged by bodily excretions, to lessen the friction of outerwear against the skin, to shape the body, and to provide concealment or support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as undergarments, while others, such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts, are appropriate both as underwear and outerwear. If made of suitable material or textile, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimwear, and some undergarments are intended for sexual attraction or visual appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bikini variants</span> Swimsuits based on or influenced by the bikini

Many stylistic variations of the bikini have been created. A regular bikini is a two-piece swimsuit that together covers the wearer's crotch, buttocks, and breasts. Some bikini designs cover larger portions of the wearer's body while other designs provide minimal coverage. Topless variants are still sometimes considered bikinis, although they are technically not a two-piece swimsuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clothing in ancient Greece</span>

Clothing in ancient Greece refers to clothing starting from the Aegean bronze age to the Hellenistic period. Clothing in ancient Greece included a wide variety of styles but primarily consisted of the chiton, peplos, himation, and chlamys. Ancient Greek civilians typically wore two pieces of clothing draped about the body: an undergarment and a cloak. The people of ancient Greece had many factors that determined what they wore and when they wore it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the bikini</span> Aspect of history

Evidence of bikini-style women's clothing has been found as early as 5600 BC, and the history of the bikini can be traced back to that era. Illustrations of women wearing bikini-like garments during competitive athletic events in the Roman era have been found in several locations, the most famous of which is at Villa Romana del Casale.

Thousands of years of history provide evidence of the differing fashions, cultural norms, and artistic depictions regarding cleavage and clothes that accentuate or flaunt cleavage. From the absolute modesty of the 16th century, to the Merveilleuses Directoire dresses with their transparency, the décolleté has followed the times and is much more than a simple fashion effect.

References

  1. 1 2 "bandeau" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.) Used for headband from 1706, for brassiere from 1915.
  2. ↑ Biqiniz Bikini Glossary Know your bandeaus from your halters. Archived 2019-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 3 "Bandeau". Bikini Science. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  4. ↑ "Heat relief, what suits are hot – from tops to bottoms". San Jose Mercury News. 2001-06-08. p. 1E. Archived from the original on 2020-06-08.
  5. ↑ U.S. weekly, 24 August 2014: Miley Cyrus Looks Sophisticated, Wears Black Bandeau and Leather Pants One Year After 2013 VMAs
  6. ↑ https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/zendaya-bandeau-bra-top
  7. ↑ Wells, Jacquelyn. "The History of Lingerie [INFOGRAPHIC]". HerRoom. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  8. ↑ ἀπόδεσμος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  9. ↑ στηθοδέσμη, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  10. ↑ μαστόδεσμος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  11. ↑ μαστόδετον, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  12. ↑ Leoty, Ernest; Gautier, Saint Elme (10 September 2010). Le Corset a Travers Les Ages (1893) (in French). Kessinger Publishing. p. 120. ISBN   978-1-167-74666-6. Reprint of the 1893 edition
  13. ↑ "The Figure and Corsets. Mataura Ensign (New Zealand) November 11, 1887".
  14. ↑ Agrawala, P.K. (1983). Goddesses in Ancient India (first ed.). Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press. p. 12. ISBN   0-391-02960-6.
  15. ↑ Lucy Goodison and Christine E. Morris, Ancient Goddesses: The Myths and the Evidence, page 46, University of Wisconsin Press, 1998, ISBN   978-0-299-16320-4
  16. ↑ James, Peter J.; Thorpe, I. J.; Thorpe, Nick (1994). Ancient Inventions. Ballantine Books. p.  279. ISBN   0-345-40102-6.
  17. ↑ Kathryn Westcott, "The Bikini: Not a brief affair", BBC News, 2006-06-05
  18. ↑ "Villa Romana del Casale". Val di Noto. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  19. ↑ Guttmann, Allen (1991). Women's Sports: A History . Columbia University Press. p.  38. ISBN   0-231-06957-X.
  20. ↑ "Villa Romana del Casale". World Heritage Sites. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  21. ↑ "Pompeian Households: Image Gallery". The Stoa Consortium, Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University. Archived from the original on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  22. ↑ "Stoa Image Gallery". The Stoa Consortium, Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University. Archived from the original on 2015-10-15. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  23. ↑ Penelope M. Allison. "Pompeian Households: Information concerning the rooms in Casa della Venere in Bikini". Archived from the original on 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  24. ↑ Beard, Mary; Henderson, John (2001). Classical Art . Oxford University Press. p.  116. ISBN   0-19-284237-4.
  25. ↑ MacDougall, Elisabeth B.; Feemster, Wilhelmina Mary (1979). Ancient Roman Gardens. Dumbarton Oaks. p. 38. ISBN   0-88402-100-9.
  26. ↑ Uplift: The Bra in America, by Jane Farrell-Beck, Colleen Gau, p.199
  27. ↑ "United States patent 1,167,992 – Brassiere" – via Google Patents.
  28. ↑ "Kebaya - Indonesian Traditional Dress for Women". Expat.or.id. 1945-08-17. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
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