And now, 100 years of women’s swimsuits in under 4 minutes

In the 1920s, women’s one-piece swimsuits started really coming into fashion. And along with them came the swimsuit police. Seriously, there were laws about how long a suit had to be—and beach patrollers walked around with measuring tape enforcing the modesty dress code.

A lot has changed in almost a century, and to prove it, Buzzfeed has provided a brief glimpse at the evolution of women’s swimsuits. From the early one-pieces to ’50s bikinis and the high-cut Baywatch ’90s swimsuit, showing skin on the beach has gone from monitored privilege, to fashion statement to body positive movement.

In addition to providing a retrospective of women’s swimwear through the past century, Buzzfeed’s “Women’s Swimsuits Through History” video includes a few fascinating tidbits of trivia. For example, did you know swimsuits were made out of wool in the 1920s? Or that the bikini came about because of war time fabric rationing in the 1940s? In under four minutes, you will learn everything you need to know about how far we’ve come as a swimsuit-wearing nation. We love a retro bathing suit, but change is good.

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