CHANGING TIDES

ANCIENT TIMES Before Victorian morality materialised a need for modesty, most people were happy to bathe naked or in their knickers – but a precursor to the bikini can be seen in mosaics from Ancient Greece. Although most men were game enough to do sports in the nude, women appear to have exercised with slim bandeau tops and brief-cut bottoms.

With the arrival of trains and trams, more people than ever had access to the sea and its newly touted health benefits. But for women, cumbersome bathing dresses, some even weighted down to ensure they