 Although briefer than the two @-@ piece swimsuits of the 1930s , the bottom of Heim 's new two @-@ piece beach costume still covered the wearer 's navel . Réard 's bikini undercut Heim 's atome in its brevity . His initial design consisted of a bra and two triangular pieces of newspaper @-@ type print fabric connected by strips of material . He sliced the top off Heim 's bottoms . The Bikini , with a total area of 30 square inches ( 200 cm2 ) of cloth , was advertised as " smaller than the smallest swimsuit " . When he was unable to find a model willing to showcase his revealing design , Réard hired Micheline Bernardini , a 19 @-@ year old nude dancer from the Casino de Paris . Bernardini received 50 @,@ 000 fan letters , many of them from men . 
