WASHINGTON, July 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

SUNDAY, JULY 5: DEBUT OF THE BIKINI

Profile America -- Sunday, July 5th. One of the most daring fashion innovations ever was unveiled 63 years ago today in Paris. Designer Louis Reard had his models display a skimpy, two-piece bathing suit named for a Pacific atoll where the hydrogen bomb was first detonated -- the bikini. Many considered the design scandalous and most viewed it as a short-lived fad. However, bikini swimsuits -- now considerably older than most of the people who wear them -- are still very much in evidence on U.S. beaches. Bikinis and other swim wear are among the items being featured this summer at the nation's nearly 47,000 women's clothing stores, which have sales of more than $31 billion a year. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p.348

2002 Economic Census, NAICS 448120

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

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