The history of the rockabilly swimsuit traces it's roots to
the birth of rock
and roll and rockabilly music in the early fifties.
Born in the south of America the Rockabilly music was a
blend of
country music, rhythm and blues,Western swing and bluegrass
popularized by the likes of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins
,
and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Their audience was young and they rallied around the music and icons
of the day. They were rebels without a cause. They found
their voice in
the music, and spawned new fashions in clothing as the
generation gap
was born.
Following their music and heros such as James Dean and
Marlon Brando,
they created an identity which branded a generation and and
a
decade with their own unique style.
Such unlikely opposites as Betty Paige and Daisy Mae Yokum
point
clearly toward the style. But the rockabilly swimsuit may be
seen in
glimpses as early as 1952 and was branded as the look of a
nation of
young people in the movie West SideStory.
The history of the rockabilly swimsuit is relatively brief as the
symbol of a generation. However the classic and tasteful good looks
endure and will never totally go away, proving that less is
not
necessarily more.
