ITCHY TO ITSY-BITSY
Brief Sketches in the Evolution of the Swimsuit Over the Century.
The next time you’re catching rays at the beach, spare a thought for the wool bathing costume.
FEW AREAS OF FASHION
have altered as much over the past 100 years as swimwear. Each decade saw the shedding of more cloth or new fabric innovations to match shifting attitudes toward water sports and sun worship.
SHOW OF ARMS
In the early 1900s, women’s beachwear outfits have skirts or shorts that come to the knee, matching hats and socks or stockings. Most are all wool, which make them a nuisance, even a hazard, when soaking wet. A key player in rescuing women from the weight of voluminous bathing dresses is Annette Kellerman, a pro swimmer from Australia arrested in Boston in 1907 for wearing a man’s
one-piece swimsuit. She raises awareness of swimming for fitness, and as more women show interest in the sport, they seek suits closer to those men wear— form-fitting, with sleeveless, tank-style tops. By the middle of the 1920s, some brave women don one-piece suits with thigh-cut legs.
SNUG FIT
In the early ’30s, Lastex, yarn-covered rubber, makes swimsuits tighter, lighter and easy to swim in. Plain romper one-piece suits for women give way to innovative styling that might include cutouts or cross straps. Men and boys wear highwaisted trunks. A few men go shirtless.
GOING TO PIECES
The early 1940s sees the dominance of spaghetti straps and sweetheart necklines. The one-piece rules for women; a few are strapless, others might have ruching or an A-line skirt that mimics dress styles. Suits are still
made of Lastex, but jersey, rayon and cotton are in, too, especially for men and children. The daring new look is the two-piece that shows a woman’s midriff, although her belly button remains safely hidden. Interest in the style is aided by wartime rationing to avoid using excess fabric. The revolution against modesty
continues in 1946, when the French designer Louis Réard introduces the bikini.
CAPPING IT OFF
Rubber bathing caps with fabric flourishes protect women’s complicated hairdos, but Hollywood swimming star Esther Williams strikes a blow for bare heads in the early 1950s.
BATHING BEAUTIES
Acetate and taffeta join the swimsuit fabric arsenal in the 1950s for styles that look polished and feminine. Strapless suits have boning and other hardware to keep everything neat and shapely, but vigorous exercise is out. Lounging is in. In France, Brigitte Bardot wears a bikini to the Cannes film festival in 1953.
TEENY-WEENY
In the 1960s, girlnext-door Annette Funicello makes the bikini mainstream in her beach movies. Bright florals and graphics are designed to attract the eye. Meanwhile, Speedo in Australia makes thin suits that won’t drag. American Mark Spitz wins seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics in his Speedo—and soon men everywhere are wearing the brand.
BARELY THERE AND BACK AGAIN
The 1970s sees Farrah Fawcett in a low-cut one-piece.
And in the ’80s, legs finally get a moment in the sun with ultra high-cuts. Lately, singer Taylor Swift has led a trend back to the styles of the 1950s, while men sport the long, loose shorts favored by surfers.