A leotard is a skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso and body but leaves the legs free. It was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1839–1870), about whom the song "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" was written.

Leotards are worn by acrobats, gymnasts, dancers and circus performers both as practice garments and performance costumes. They are often worn together with tights. There are sleeveless, short-sleeved and long-sleeved leotards. A variation is the unitard, which also covers the legs.

Leotards are entered through the neck. (Constrast with bodysuits, which generally have snaps at the crotch, allowing the garment to be pulled on over the head.) Scoop-necked leotards have wide neck openings and are held in place by the elasticity of the garment. Others are crew-necked or turtle-necked and close at the back of the neck with a zipper or snaps.

History

An image of Jules Léotard in the garment that bears his name

The first known use of the name leotard came only in 1886, many years after Léotard's death. Léotard himself called the garment a maillot, which in French has now come to mean a swimsuit. In the early 20th century, leotards were mainly confined to circus and acrobatic shows, worn by the specialists who performed these acts.

The 1920s and 1930s saw leotards influencing the style of bathing suits, with women's bathing suits today similar in apperance to leotards. Leotards were also worn by professional dancers shuch as the showgirls of Broadway. Stage use of the leotard typically coordinated the garmet with stockings or tights beginning the trend to wear legwear with a leotard.

The 1950s saw leotards first used in public physical fitness, with the first "exercise leotards" typically uni-colored worn with thick tights. Between 1950 and 1970, leotards remained as such in appearance until a style change in the 70s resulted in more colorful leotards appearing on the scene, most often in ballet and exercise. Traditional leotard outfits continued to be worn by stage performers and circus actors.

The 1980s saw an explosion of leotards with the fashion craze of aerobics. Between 1980 and 1988, thousands of women joined helth clubs all sporting leotards and tights. The leotards of the time were a variety of lycra and spandex, mixed in with the more traditional cotton uni-colored leotards and tights The major leotard company Danskin flourished during this period.

Modern usage

A child ballet dancer wearing a modern design of leotard

Leotards as an exercise fashion took a downfall in the 1990s, being replaced by more comfortable exercise garments such as biking shorts and crop tops. Today the use of leotards and tights in fitness and exercise has all but vanished but the garment can still be found in traditional ballet and on the stages of musical productions.

Leotards and tights are often worn by young children in such activites as dance, exercise, and ballet. Leotards can also be worn as lingerie and are eroticised by some people, often as part of a wider spandex fetishism.

Media

Leotards were made famous in media by Jane Fonda who produced several exercise shows in the 1980s which became world known. Body Electric was another exercise program which began in the 1980s, sporting women in leotards and tights, and continues to run in production to this day.

Other media apperances of leotards include:

See also

Category