Fashion may be trying to play a joke on us. The punch line is the jumpsuit. The jumpsuit induces visceral reactions, and nobody is without an opinion. For some, it's a sexy outfit for assertive women like Pam Grier, for others it's too utilitarian. One reason for our ambiguous feelings towards the jumpsuit can be traced back to 1970s movies and TV shows and its many depictions of science fiction.

Sexy or Utilitarian?
Jaclyn Smith made jumpsuits sexy by being one of the original characters in Charlie's Angels in the 1970s. The 1970s also brought us Pinky Tuskadero on Happy Days, who was sultry in her silver jumpsuit, which she wore to ride her motorcycle.

The jumpsuit took on a more menacing force when it was worn by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. The masculine jumpsuit was reminiscent of Top Gun flight suits and bright orange prison suits. Previously the jumpsuit had comedic appeal, when it worn as part of the Ghostbusters uniform in 1984.

The jumpsuit has oft been cast as a futuristic outfit, and can also be seen in This Island Earth (1955), Buck Rogers In The Twenty-Fifth Century (1979-1981), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine and Aeon Flux (2005).

The future may be here already, since jumpsuits have found their way back to TV. The Dharma jumpsuits on Lost have become nearly iconic for millions of fans, and any Lost party or Halloween party would be incomplete without the tan work jumpsuit and Dharma logo.

At the same time the jumpsuit is working on Lost, it's being worn on MTV's The Hills, including the Helmut Lang twill jumpsuit worn by one Audrina. These two current examples show our ambiguous relationship with the jumpsuit: is it sexy or utilitarian, and can it ever fall somewhere in between?

Casual and Sexy
The casual and sexy jumpsuit, with bandeau or tube top and no straps is today's answer to the jumpsuit.

Nothing says summer like the "b" word. Beach? Bathing suit? No, bikini! It feels modern, but the bikini first hit the scene in the 4th Century AD. Much like a photo from a beach-side volleyball tournament, the mosaic shows active women showing off their curves, while wearing high cut bottoms, and torsolettes, or strapless bandeaus. More modest bathing suits pushed the bikini out of view for centuries, only to bust back on the scene as the swimsuit of choice for women for the past five decades.

Flashback to the Victorian era, when women who ventured to the beach did everything they could to stay covered while entering the surf. Women even used bathing huts or bathing machines which transported them directly to the water, minimizing the time they would be seen in their swim clothes.

Thanks in part to Australian swimmer, Annette Kellerman, a more form-fitting one-piece maillot became acceptable swimwear on the eve of the Roaring '20s. No longer were women's curves washed away by bulky fabrics. The bathing suit went sleeveless and more and more thigh was being shown. In the 1930s, a feminine silhouette brought the hemline of swimwear up high on the thigh. The bathing suits were kept feminine looking, with a skirt bottom. This more modest look is still in vogue.

The modern day bikini we all know and love was invented by Louis Reard in 1946. Two-piece bathing suits hit the beach in the 1940s, thanks to Hollywood starlets. These precursors to the modern-day bikini combined halter tops and bottoms which were higher than the bellybutton.

As the decades progressed, the bikini shrunk. By the 1960s, the "Itsy Bitsy, Teenie Weenie, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" had arrived. By the mid-1960s, thanks in no small part to Ursula Andress and her white bikini, the bikini was a must for the beach. The 1970s, brought us string bikinis, made popular by Jaclyn Smith on Charlie's Angels, and model Cheryl Tiegs.