Elegance is in the Italian blood, and most Italians would unhesitatingly give up comfort in order to achieve it. Italy is a nation that cherishes outward appearances. Yes, it is great if you have a good heart, but Italians would expect you to have well-groomed hair, an impeccable sense of dressing and a really neat pair of shoes besides. So it is no wonder that some of the world's best sartorial artists are from Italy.

Historians and archaeologists suggest that the bikini has been around since the beginning of the Roman Empire. The famous mosaic from the 4th Century AD, found in the Villa Romana del Casale (Piazza Armerina, Sicily), shows several Roman gymnasts wearing bandeau tops and bikini bottoms. Statues of women with cloth covering their private parts were also found in the ruins of Pompeii. Furthermore, since public bathing was a common tradition for ancient civilizations, women in ancient Rome wore swimsuits that bore a striking resemblance to modern day bikinis. So, it is safe to surmise that it was not the French, but the ITALIANS who came up with the [original] idea of the bikini.