The bikini has been raising blood pressures and making people blush since its modern creation in 1946. It has gone through a few changes over the years in style; different patterns, plummeting waist lines, disappearing amounts of fabric and fluorescent fishing lure-like colors, but like most things in fashion, things tend to come full circle, and designers look for something new by looking at something old for inspiration.

To celebrate these liberating two pieces of fabric, and as a reminder of the fleeting summer days, we're taking a look at the colorful history of the bikini, Styles from then and now, and the most famous (or infamous) bikinis known in pop culture.

The Most Famous Bikinis of All Time

Brigitte Bardot Credited with creating the bikini market in the US with her provocative role in the 1950's film 'And God Created Woman.'

Ursula Andress The most famous bikini scene in the history of cinema, from the 1962 James Bond Classic 'Dr. No.' In the scene Andress ermerges from the water wearing an off-white bikini.

S.I. Swimsuit Issue The first issue was published in 1964 and is credited with legitimizing the bikini. The popularity of the annual magazine, which features supermodels in bikinis in exotic locals, has grown steadily since its first release, peaking in 1989 with the 25th anniversary issue with Kathy Ireland. In 2005 the single issue carried $35 million in advertising.

Raquel Welch “Discover a savage world where the only law is lust!” In One Million Years BC (1966), a strange caveman adventure film, Welch is seen wearing a torn, fur-lined brown leather bikini.

Not that we didn't expect it but hypercolor is making its comeback into the fashion mainstream. Thanks to the uber-hipster flagship of American Apparel leading the way along with a few smaller designers. Though I don't know who exactly it was that first started this whole thing over again, regardless, once again it will be obvious how hot you really are. For people who like to highlight their body areas that give off the most heat, hypercolors will create the perfect little two color palette of heat exhaustion.

History of Hypercolor

Hypercolor was originally popular in the U.S. in the 80's and early 90's. The 'secret' is thermochromic pigment in the dye that was originally manufactured by Matsui Shikiso Chemical in Japan. Being temperature sensitive, hypercolor shirts were always getting messed up by those of us who forgot to wash it in cold water or just couldn't bear to wear it wrinkled and would decide to straighten the fabric out with a little ironing, only to find out that the shirt now included a suspect iron shape design.

New Hypercolor

The companies who are bringing hypercolor back are American Apparel and the boutique fashion duo Anzevino & Florence, plus Puma with their chameleon shoe.

American Apparel's offering includes four colors (Hyper Vermillion, Hyper Fast-Blue, Hyper Fast-Black, Hyper Green) in unisex t-shirts, that change from color to white.

When tourists visit Japan, one of the moments that they are usually hoping to capture in a photograph is a geisha in her full kimono. Although most people associate kimono with these beautiful cultural icons, the garment is in fact the national costume of Japan and worn in various incarnations by most of its residents. The origin of the word kimono actually comes from Ki (wearing) and Mono (thing), directly translating to "thing to wear". The T-shaped garment has an illustrious past, dating all the way back to the fifth century.

The earliest kimonos were actually directly influenced by traditional clothing of China. The garment actually has another name, "ganfuka", which translates directly to "clothes of Wu". It wasn't until the 8th century that kimono truly came into style, however, and the overlapping collar because a predominant part of the fashion.

Photo by roger jones

During Japan's Heian period (794-1192), kimono became increasingly stylized and elaborate, sometimes incorporating as many as ten layers of robes in varying colors beneath the top layer. Women also grew their hair to incredible lengths which complemented the long lines of the robes, resulting in one of the most striking and memorable presentations of the kimono over the years.

Oh, the palette possibilities.

Bringing to life yet another, on an already very long list of euphemism for something located in the happy-time-fun-zone, things which already have perfectly fine names, is Betty, a hair dye for those such areas; your pubic hair.

Betty products are, according to the company's website, "specially formulated color dyes for the hair down there." You can get your Betty in Blonde, Brown, Aurburn and Black, as well as colors called Malibu, Fun and Starburst.

An article in Advertising Age (must be registered on AdAge to read, or find it in the press section of bettybeauty.com) describes how Betty came to be: the creator, Nanci Jarecki, first had the idea when visiting a salon in Rome where she witnessed female customers being handed little brown bags, with "such delight," as they left the salon. In those bags, dye to match their Bettys to their Wilmas. From there, the research and development began with casual studies by a gynecologist, who reported that not one person had matching hair down there, and salon workers, who reported that many customers were interested but had "sensitivity" concerns.

Story Related Section of René Magritte's The Eternally Obvious; photo by wallyg

Currently Betty is available at 300 retail salons and online, and with its highly interesting subject matter, Betty has picked up a bit of press with mentions from DailyCandy.com, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and The Oprah Magazine.

There is no better time to show off color than during the summer, and many designers are doing just that. Taking the cue of the summer season, designers are creating some very inspiring color palettes for us to enjoy.

Hats

Still Life

Since its inception in Fall 2006, the Still Life flagship store has been home to an eclectic range of original designs- envisioned and tailored to perfection-by creative director and owner, Frenel Morris. Located in the heart of the Lower East Side, Still Life provides each client with custom hand-crafted pieces. An on-site seamstress ensures that each product is carefully assembled in a timely manner with keen attention to detail.

Still Life

Still Life will vertically integrate its production model by opening its very own millinery factory located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The Still Life Reserve will guarantee control and precision of all our products from sketch to finish. We hope that with this expansion, the brand's visibility will continue to grow- gaining continued support from the local neighborhood, loyal clientele- and spur domestic and international interest.

Turin has been named 'design world capital for 2008,' and one of the many exhibitions running this year is 'flexibility - design in a fast changing society.' The idea behind the show is this: since it is predicted that 90% of the worlds population will be living in cities by the year 2050, the already complex life of cities will rise to an even more complex state, and we will need designs to meet our increasingly complex needs. One designer at the exhibit in particular has grabbed the blog world's attention, thanks to coverage by designboom, with the creation of his unique "renewable fashion."

Photo by muscolinos

Fernando Brízio's 'renewable fashion' is a customizable, and reusable, dress where the color pattern is created by placing felt tip markers in pockets placed all over the dress. After placing your collection of markers in your dress, just sit back, have a drink or two, and watch as your dress becomes a unique expression of yourself and your maker collection. When you get tired of you color scheme or your markers start to dry up, just throw it in a wash and your back to a new palette.

As any cool kid will tell you, the most important palette you can wear is on your sneakers. Luckily, most of the shoe industry is right on track with the newly developing long-tail, Limited Edition, Artist Series, Custom Designed and DIY markets, which includes any color lover who has the perfect palette to show off on the streets.

Custom Sneakers

Most of the major brands have jumped on the DIY sneaker design track, but not all the sites are the same. While I didn't go through every shoe site, here are a few that even if you are not about to buy a new pair of shoes, will at least keep you busy and distracted as you go through all the colorway options available.

Converse

Link

• Shoes: 12 styles
• Materials: Canvas, Suede, Leather
• Colors: 30 colors and patterns
• Delivery Time: 2 to 4 weeks

There is no better time to show off color than during the summer, and many designers are doing just that. Taking the cue of the summer season, designers are creating some very inspiring color palettes for us to enjoy. Here are a few of the more dramatic and bold color palettes that, if worn, will expose any true color lover.

Womans

Insight

Insight's personality encompasses a lifestyle that surrounds everything surf, skate, art, music, fashion and popular culture. They just want to design clothing that they themselves would want to wear. It isn't high science, however they do have good ideas and good ideas can be priceless and that is one (of the many) secrets behind the labels success.

Insight

Shoshanna

Classic, fun, feminine, and sexy are what Shoshanna is all about in creating her signature swimwear and apparel. So no matter what season it may be, dive into something new.

Tattoo artists face a unique set of challenges when it comes to color. A canvas such as skin, each with its own unique tone, will seemingly change the appearance of every color used. For the tattoo artist, taking into consideration and working with the natural tones of each individuals skin creates a unique challenge. However, it doesn't deter them from creating inspiring color palettes that are even more stunning when complimented by the clients natural tones.

Header image by Adventure Addict

Here is a selection of tattoos, accompanied by a few words by each artist, from the top four artists' galleries (based on a secret algorithm) from tattooartists.org.

Alli MacGregor

I tattoo out of Inspired by Ink in Columbus, Ohio. I like to do neo traditional, big bold color work as well as color realism.

This is a large tattoo on the ribs of a girl from Kansas City. We went with swallows and small flowers to keep the image simple and feminine.

I had a lot of fun with this piece. I tattoo a lot of owls and this piece was a bit different for me.

Alli MacGregor

I started this sleeve at the Dayton Gem City Heart Attack convention. The images depicted are from the movie Princess Mononoke. As you can see we have a lot more to go. I had a lot of fun with this. I am thrilled to be doing this piece because Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most amazing animation directors in the world and his movies display so much beauty.

There is no better time to show off color than during the summer (apologies to those of you in the other hemisphere), and many designers are doing just that. Taking the cue of the summer season, designers are creating some very inspiring color palettes for us to enjoy. Here are a few of the more dramatic and bold color palettes that, if worn, will expose any true color lover.

If you ladies, and adventurous gentlemen, are wondering where I might have come across such a selection of dresses, my search started at NOTCOUTURE, from there I ran into a few online boutiques which can be seen when you click on the image/designer links.

Dress by Wenlan Chia

Twinkle designer Wenlan Chia's collection takes feminine dressing to a new level. Expect whimsical designs with bold patterns and bright colors.

Dress by Emilio Pucci

Emilio Pucci, was an Italian fashion designer and politician. He and his eponymous company are synonymous with geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colors.