created in france in the 1940's by louis réard, bikinis became popular in brazil in the 1960's, when french actress brigitte bardot introduced it in the resort town of búzios and tom jobim and vinícius de moraes included in the bossa nova hit song 'garota de ipanema' - throughout the 60's and the 70's the amount of fabric used to design bikinis progressively decreased, and  in the 1980's rio de janeiro saw the introduction of the most daring bikini designs, gaining success and recognition worldwide. 

while not too common, it is perfectly reasonable to use a full one-piece bathing suit, referred to as a maior in portuguese, literally translating as 'bigger' - many of the maiors sold in rio de janeiro are very bold, with large cut-outs in the front and back, and with only thin pieces of thread tying the suit together.

on rio's beaches the most bold choice for women is the fio dental, or literally, dental floss, also called a thong  - the name is fitting, as the only thing in the way of complete exposure is a string thong - this bathing suit is attention-grabbing even for brazilians, and it is generally decorum to cover up if using one of these while walking the beach or boardwalk.