Thong (clothing) - History

History

The thong, like its probable predecessor the loincloth, is believed to be one of the earliest forms of human clothing and is also thought to have been worn mostly or exclusively by men. It is thought the thong was probably originally developed to protect, support, or hide the male genitals. The loincloth is probably the earliest form of clothing used by mankind, having originated in the warmer climates of sub-Saharan Africa where clothing was first worn nearly 75,000 years ago. Many tribal peoples, such as some of the Khoisan people of southern Africa, wore thongs for many centuries. Much like the Japanese fundoshi, these early garments were made with the male genitalia in mind.

A descendant of the loincloth and thong is the jockstrap, created by Chicago sporting goods company Sharp & Smith in 1874. The first historical reference to the thong since then is in 1939 New York City when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia ordered nude dancers to dress more appropriately.


Jacques Heim's and Louis Réard's original bikini from 1946 (that introduced the term bikini) had a culotte with a thong back. Fashion designer Rudi Gernreich, who had in the mid-1960s created the first topless swimsuit, which he called the monokini, is credited with introducing the modern thong in 1974.

In the 1990s, the thong began to gain wider acceptance and popularity in the United States as underwear (and, to a lesser extent, as swimwear), especially with women, but also men. In the USA and Europe, the wearing of thongs by men was once mainly limited to the dance belt, the posing pouch for bodybuilders and the realm of male strippers. Men's thongs are now more widely available and commonly worn as day-to-day underwear or swimwear. They are not marketed as strongly to men as they are to women. In Europe thongs have been commonplace for many more years both as underwear and swimwear.

Read more about this topic:  Thong (clothing)

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    All history and art are against us, but we still expect happiness in love.
    Mason Cooley (b. 1927)

    I think that Richard Nixon will go down in history as a true folk hero, who struck a vital blow to the whole diseased concept of the revered image and gave the American virtue of irreverence and skepticism back to the people.
    William Burroughs (b. 1914)

    These anyway might think it was important
    That human history should not be shortened.
    Robert Frost (1874–1963)