I remember seeing square cut swim suits with laced up sides when I was 6 or 7 in our local Victorian indoor swimming pool, the fabric was generally cotton, and the boot laced sides held them on tight, but this style had disappeared by the time I was 10.
When I was about 10 I saw the Blue Peter Holiday, this children's magazine program made their presenters do dangerous feats (like climbing Nelson's Column without safety ropes) then back in the studio they'd make something out of toilet rolls and sticky backed plastic, while watched by Petra and Shep the Blue Peter dogs. On the Blue Peter Holiday they went to an exotic location and I clearly remember seeing John Noaks and Peter Purvis wearing string bikinis, the front and rear of these minimal swim suits supported by a narrow elastic waist band. So at that time the BBC considered them to be suitable wear for male children's television presenters.
Among the Stitchboy Patterns there is a string bikini, I have made one and enjoyed wearing on British and French beaches. I have an older string bikini I bought from C&A in the 1980's before they closed down in the UK. "The 1970's are always in style at C&A" said a comedian.
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