In the 19th century, train travel and then the automobile enabled people to take trips to the beach. But while men stripped down to their body-hugging swimwear and went right in, women were supposed to cover up their foems, even in the water. Elaborates costumes were designed for beachwear that were barely less than a woman would wear on city streets. That wasn't good for swimming, or even staying afloat. But some woman pushed the boundaries, and gradually styles changed. See a timeline of photographs of women's swimwear as it evolved over the last hundred or so years at The Week.