Evolution of suits over the years

[Torchwatch]

The trouble with men's swim suits is that they are so loosely defined, everyone having different perspectives and definitions.

To me a men's swim suit should be close fitting and exclude swim shorts, board shorts and other loose shorts used for swimming. A proper swim suit should have an elasticated waist and elasticated leg holes.
I would also exclude body suits, skin suits and wet suits as although they are meant to be used for swimming they have functions other than body cover and support built into them, eg warmth, flotation and faster movement through water.
A swim suit should have a back however brief, so I would exclude G strings and jock straps but include swim thongs.
A bikini has a fuller back than a thong but narrow sides (hips) ranging from half inch to 2 inch.
The speedo or swim brief or racing brief has sides ranging from 2 -5 inches, but has a distinct cut away leg look.
Square cuts (sangas in Brazil) lack the cut away look having full sides, resembling tight shorts, while jammers are up to knee length suits derived from cycle shorts.

Very tight brief suits and suits designed for fashion rather than speed may have a pouch front, there seems to be a fashion for pouch fronts at the moment particularly in Brazil.

Suits designed for diving, either from boards or blocks tend to have waist cords to avoid embarrassment when entering the water head first.

Many materials have been used for swim suits cotton canvas and knitted wool were early efforts. Wool is reputed to be very scratchy when dry and endlessly saggy when wet. Speedo pioneered the use of "parachute" nylon, it worked as it doesn't absorb water and just clung neatly to the body when wet. Nylon got replaced by Lycra which made suits truly skin tight although Aussibum have brought nylon back.

Seeing a picture of a suit we can spot the branding, the material and the cut and make a guess at the era and continent the suit comes from or from which the retro design is taken.