The best bathing suits aren’t always practical—Raquel Welch’s prehistoric two-piece wouldn’t have lasted long in open waters—but they’re impossible to forget. With a little help from InStyle Fashion Director Hal Rubenstein, we've compiled a slideshow of the most iconic swimsuits ever.
Brigitte Bardot, The Girl In The Bikini, 1952 Four years before her performance in And God Created Woman established Brigitte Bardot as an international sex symbol, she was made a stir as The Girl in the Bikini. And it’s easy to see why: The pale two-piece she wore in the 1952 film was simple, yet sensational.
Deborah Kerr, From Here to Eternity,1953 “I don’t think anyone knew I could act until I put on a bathing suit,” Deborah Kerr once said, referring to her star-making turn as an adulterous wife in 1953’s From Here To Eternity. But what a bathing suit it was! Sexy, yet structured, with a wide, waist-cinching belt, it was just the thing for a wave-splashed romp in the sand with co-star Burt Lancaster. 
Elizabeth Taylor, Suddenly, Last Summer, 1959 Yes, the plot was rather melodramatic. But the pure white tank that Elizabeth Taylor wore in 1959’s Suddenly, Last Summer—in which she played a mental patient disturbed after witnessing her cousin’s shocking death—was nothing short of perfection.
Ursula Andress, Dr. No,1962 The first-ever Bond girl, in 1962’s Dr. No, set the bar pretty high. (Indeed, this was Rubenstein’s pick for Most Iconic Suit.) “As Honey Rider,” he said, “Ursula Andress stepped out of the Caribbean and into the fantasies of every guy longing to be James Bond. The matching knife belt was a cute touch.”
Annette Funicello, Beach Party, 1963 Former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello was the original Disney star. And, just like Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus, she rebelled against her squeaky-clean image as she made the transition from girl to woman. Walt himself reportedly asked her not to wear navel-baring swimsuits when she signed on to shoot Beach Party in 1963. But Funicello, then twenty years old, nevertheless dared to don this (still pretty innocent) number.
Sally Field, Gidget,1965 Gidget, as played by Sally Field in the eponymous 1965 television series, was the ultimate California girl. A sturdy pink-and-white bikini suited the boy-crazy surfer perfectly as she went about on her Malibu misadventures.
Raquel Welch, One Million Years B.C.,1966 “If women in prehistoric times really looked and dressed like this,” Rubenstein said of the animal-skin two-piece Raquel Welch wore in 1966’s One Million Years B.C, “a lot more people today would be studying cave paintings. As fabulous as it is ludicrous, it may be film’s most famous bathing suit that never got wet.”
Pam Grier, Coffy,1973 In 1973’s Coffy, Pam Grier played a nurse-turned-vigilante (or, as the film’s poster would have it, a “one-chick hit squad”) but she looks pretty sweet in this super-'70s macramé triangle top.
Farrah Fawcett, 1976 To promote her instant celebrity in Charlie’s Angels, a Cleveland poster company arranged to shoot Fawcett in a bikini at her house in 1976. As Rubenstein explained, "She wasn’t comfortable so exposed, so she pulled this red one-piece from her closet. The company hated the pic, but Farrah had final approval (and retained photo rights). Smart girl: The poster sold over 12 million copies and is still for sale today."
Bo Derek, 10, 1979 “Her perfect score has never been beaten,” Rubenstein said of Bo Derek’s appearance in a nude maillot in the 1979 movie 10. “She may have been the best thing to happen to sales of the one-piece,” he added.
Phoebe Cates, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, 1982 In 1982’s Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Phoebe Cates plays a sophisticated teenager with, as Rubenstein said, “a skimpy bikini as red as her lipstick.” The scene in which she emerges in slow motion from a friend’s backyard pool is still a classic.
Carrie Fisher, Return of the Jedi, 1983 After being captured by Jabba the Hutt in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, Princess Leia was forced to wear this bikini Rubenstein described as “swirling gold and chain link bondage gear.” The over-the-top getup made actress Carrie Fisher a sex symbol, and copies of the so-called “slave girl costume” are still sold online today.
Pamela Anderson, Baywatch, 1995 As Rubenstein pointed out, Pamela Anderson wasn’t even in the original cast of the syndicated 90s series Baywatch. But she certainly looked good in her “sky-high-cut” red suit. “Who can imagine 'Babewatch' without her?” Rubenstein asked.
Salma Hayek Pinault, From Dusk Till Dawn, 1996 Salma Hayek Pinault played the evocatively named exotic dancer Satanico Pandemonium in 1996’s From Dusk Till Dawn, one of her first English-language films. And she looked damned good in her burgundy bikini—which she accessorized with a feathered headdress and a big yellow snake—even if she did turn out to be a bloodthirsty vampire.
Gwyneth Paltrow, The Talented Mr. Ripley, 1999 Everything Gwyneth Paltrow wore in 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley was divine; this colorful, fifties-style two piece is a particularly chic choice for tanning on the Italian coast with the young Jude Law.
Halle Berry, Die Another Day, 2002 For 2002’s Die Another Day, Oscar winner Halle Berry paid homage to the first Bond girl, Ursula Andress. She made her entrance in an unforgettable orange-red bikini, complete with a knife belt, "and killed," Rubenstein said, "both literally and figuratively."
Kate Bosworth, Blue Crush, 2002 Kate Bosworth was basically unknown when she was picked to star as the hard-core surfer girl at the center of 2002’s Blue Crush. Her mis-matched suit—like the muscular frame it displayed—was both sexy and functional.
Demi Moore, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, 2003 Her role in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, in which she played a devious ex-Angel, amounted to something of a comeback for Demi Moore. (She’d made only one film in the previous six years, and had been spending most of her time on her Idaho ranch.) But the then-41-year-old star proved she still had it when she appeared looking unbelievably toned—and improbably ageless—in this tiny, triangle-top bikini.
Angelina Jolie, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, 2003 She spent most of 2001’s Tomb Raider (and the 2003 follow-up, The Cradle of Life) in a black tank top and short shorts, but when Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft changed into this sexy two-piece, the fanboys in the theater fell even deeper in love.
Jessica Alba, Into The Blue, 2005 “Nobody remembers the film,” Rubenstein said of 2005’s Into the Blue. “It had something to do with sunken treasure, drugs, bad guys, and a water park called ‘Atlantis’.” But when this promo picture of Jessica Alba wearing an un-matched two-piece was released “plenty of people took notice. No doubt bikini separates gained in popularity."
Jessica Simpson, The Dukes of Hazzard, 2005 Jessica Simpson seemed an inspired choice to play the iconic country girl Daisy Duke in 2005’s big-screen version of The Dukes of Hazzard: She already had the accent, and she certainly filled out the namesake short-shorts. But it was this straight-from-the-set shot of the star in a skimpy string bikini that made the biggest impression on her fans.
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